Press Information
Date: November 05, 2014
Breath-taking diversity / Through the “Watergate” into the Ca’ / The special
charm of Veneto-Byzantine palaces / Windows encased by discharging
arches and private bridges of the early Renaissance / High Renaissance
brings triumphal arches, double columns and new window combinations /
From arched and single windows to inner halls and side rooms in the
Baroque era / Magnificent façade decor: a Venetian speciality
Historical architecture in Venice: gazing upon and beyond
the doors and windows of "The Floating City"
Venice/Leinfelden-Echterdingen - (rp) There was not much space in
Venice for building houses. Buildings had to be squeezed into an area
of just 35km²: Centuries-old churches, palaces and merchants’
houses. No other city in the world has such density of historically
significant architecture. Visitors however are often ambivalent about
the city’s two faces: grandeur on the one hand, decay on the other.
Venice is controversial. Venice is inspiring. The town’s special location
makes it unique: Venice without Water? Unthinkable! The city’s
founders settled in the Lagoon and learned to live with the tides.
There were no roads, no bridges, no plazas – only waterways. Today,
the most beautiful buildings are strung along these waterways, like
pearls on a necklace – “with façades that have preserved the
staggering diversity of artistic styles for generations to come”,
Professor Stefano Croce extolled at the 9th International Roto Trade
Press Day in Venice.
At first, Venice was shaped by Byzantine influence; later by Gothic,
Renaissance and Baroque styles. All these styles were adapted by
Venetian architects in keeping with the special character of the city,
creating a new and unique style. “The façades reflect countless
historical developments and artistic influences”, architect, university
Page 1/7
lecturer and author Professor Croce explained in his presentation
“Historical architecture in Venice – gazing upon and beyond the doors
and windows of the city”. The composition principle of Venetian
palaces – that is, the placement of doors and windows – has
remained the same over the centuries, as has the basic layout of the
buildings: The first floor had a store-room and a watergate leading to
the canals. The second floor was the so called “piano nobile” ("noble
floor”) with reception halls and arcades leading to the loggia. Typically,
the palazzo’s roof was adorned with a parapet topped with
crenellations. In later times, additional floors were added.
Through the “Watergate” to the Ca’
Flourishing sea trade made Venetian merchants immensely rich. As
their trading activities took these merchants to the Orient, they
became fascinated by Byzantine architecture. The façades of their
palazzos had countless windows and balconies, representing the
owners’ pride in their own achievements. According to Professor
Croce, entrances were built for different purposes, some of them
enabling boats to unload their merchandise. Over time, these
watergates or galleries, sometimes referred to as “water portals”,
evolved into prestigious entrances and luxurious reception halls.
Venetians did not refer to their palaces as “palazzos”, but called them
“ca” – short for “casa” (house). This understatement was meant to
emphasise the equality of all noble families. Only the most prominent
buildings – such as the Doge’s Palace or the Bishop’s Palace – were
called palazzo.
The special charm of Veneto-Byzantine Palaces
One of the best-preserved examples of the Veneto-Byzantine style of
the 13th century is Ca’ Corner (often referred to as Palazzo LoredanCorner). Although it later underwent substantial expansion and
remodelling, it has retained its special Byzantine charm: a great
variety of arches atop marble columns with Byzantine capitals and
Page 2/7
imposts, engraved with floral ornaments and animals and above the
arches, circular reliefs of mythical creatures.
Venice reached its zenith of wealth and power during the 13th to 15th
centuries, the era of Gothic Art. This style left the most profound mark
on Venetian architecture. Its emphasis on lightness and grace in
structure proved perfect for building on unstable, marshy soil. The
palaces in Venice blended Gothic and Byzantine elements: The
Gothic lancet arch dominated loggias, adorned with tracery and
flanked on either or both sides by a narrow façade with windows on it.
Over the years, arches of different shapes and styles became
increasingly fashionable: from cusped arches with a Moorish touch to
ogee and trefoil arches crowned with finials, as well as the specific
local version of the late Gothic era’s Flamboyant Style.
Windows encased by discharging arches and private bridges of
the Renaissance
Venetians were traditionalists; therefore it was hard for Renaissance
architecture to become accepted in the city of lagoons. It took until the
mid-15th century for this new modern style – already well-established
at that time in central Italy – to emerge in Venice. When it finally
began to spread, Renaissance architecture reached new artistic
heights in Venice. An outstanding example is Ca’ Vendramin Calergi,
built in the years 1481 to 1509. This elegant building, which is
currently home to the Casino Municipale di Venezia, still displays the
hallmarks of Renaissance palaces on its façade: columns, prominent
string courses and discharging arches, each encasing a small circular
and a two-light window. Ca’ Vendramin Calergi has landward access.
As Prof. Croce explained, by the mid-15th century Venetians begun to
build large landward entrances. What is more: “Private bridges also
proved a practical solution.” Even if some of them did not provide
direct access to the entrance door, they were part of the private
access ways, which could be locked by the house owner. As the city’s
Page 3/7
population grew and demand for public infrastructure was increasing,
these hitherto private bridges were nationalised.
The second phase of Venetian Renaissance, the classical period,
begun in the 16th century. At its peak, palaces were adorned with
large arcades and columns in colossal order. Façades became
heavier, lines graver. The airiness was lost. Mascaron ornaments on
round arches, high rectangular windows with segmented pediments
as hood moulding, fluted or double pilasters and heavily protruding
balconies characterised the façades of Venetian palaces. Instead of
building only one imposing façade facing the waterway, now both
fronts of the building were ornamented. While houses had previously
been built to the same height, the new buildings were made of
massive stone blocks and towered over the older ones. Being heavier,
they required more robust foundations.
High Renaissance brings triumphal arches, double columns and
new window combinations
An outstanding example of this development is Palazzo Grimani.
Construction started in 1556, resulting in a building that seemed to
crush all adjacent houses. The ground floor is dominated by a façade
element which is inspired by a triumphal arch. It marks a trend, which
according to Prof. Croce was characteristic for public palaces. The
central arch takes up the entire height of the ground floor, while the
arches on the left and right side are much lower. Overlapping windows
indicate a mezzanine floor. The triumphal arch motive is repeated on
the first floor at the center in slightly altered form: as a floor-to-ceiling
Palladian window. Low, rectangular windows on the side are
augmented by fanlights. The ground floor façade is vertically
structured by pilasters, on the upper floor columns are used for the
same purpose. For the first time, a Venetian palace boasted what
appeared to be an end-to-end balcony. On the inside, Palazzo
Grimani has a three-part structure, which is apparent from the double
columns on the façade. A large round arch at the palace entrance
Page 4/7
opens onto the courtyard in the back, which can also be accessed
through the landward entrance.
From arched and single windows to inner halls and side rooms in
the Baroque era
“Many palaces and public buildings of the Renaissance era had
prestigious landward entrances,” Prof. Croce explained. Many of
these entrances were built in a monumental style, such as that of a
triumphal arch. Large inner portals were also built for reasons of
prestige, while having no practical use whatsoever. With the classical
Renaissance style and emerging Baroque architecture, the principle of
repetition on façades became obsolete. Now there was a clear
differentiation between arched and single windows. Their position and
design shed light on the rooms in the building: Central openings
typically led to inner halls and single windows to side rooms.
This principle is clearly visible in the construction of the Ca‘
Rezzonico, one of the most magnificent museums in Venice. Built at
the end of the 16th century in Venetian Baroque style, on the ground
floor there is an entrance hall with two windows on each side. Each of
the seven equal windows of the second and third floor have a balcony
in front. The fourth floor has no oval windows. The rectangular
palazzo houses an inner courtyard decorated with a fountain and
there is a magnificent double-height ballroom at the rear of the
building. Sadly, neither the architect, nor the owner lived to see the
palace completed. After numerous modifications, the building was
finally finished at the end of 1756, by a new architect and a new
owner.
Magnificent façade ornaments: a Venetian speciality
Typically a palace’s façade used to be plain and cool: string courses
were used to structurally separate floors, pilasters were built to add
vertical emphasis. Not so the façades in Venice: “Many additional
ornaments were added as eye-catchers, later becoming characteristic
Page 5/7
features of this style”, Prof. Croce concluded. Ca’ Vendramin Calergi
is a good example: terrazo floors, sculptures, frescoes, cornices with
or without figurines, wall niches, pediments, fluted and annulated
columns characterise the centuries-old Venetian decorative traditions.
So it is well worth taking a closer look at Venetian façades with their
splendid windows and doors and a tour through the idyllic canals is
the perfect way to do so: Venice is not just a city on the sea, but a
unique outdoor museum.
Captions
One of the best-preserved examples of the Veneto-Byzantine style of
the 13th century is Ca’ Corner (often referred to as Palazzo LoredanCorner). Although it later underwent substantial expansion and
remodelling, it has retained its special Byzantine charm: A great
variety of arches atop marble columns with Byzantine capitals and
imposts, which are engraved with floral ornaments and animals.
Above the arches circular reliefs of mythical creatures.
Ca’_Corner.jpg
Photo: Roto / Croce
Ca’ Vendramin Calergi was built in the years 1481 to 1509. Currently
it is home to the Casino Municipale di Venezia. The elegant building
still displays the hallmarks of Renaissance palaces on its façade:
Columns, prominent string courses and discharging arches, each
encasing a small circular and a two-light window.
Photo: Roto / Croce
Ca’_Vendramin_Calergi.jpg
Palazzo Grimani was built at the height of the Renaissance period. A
triumphal arch-like element in the center of the facade dominates the
ground floor. The central arch takes up the entire height of the ground
floor, while the arches on the left and right side are much lower.
Page 6/7
Overlapping windows indicate a mezzanine floor. The triumphal arch
motive is repeated on the first floor at the center in slightly altered
form: as a floor-to-ceiling Palladian window. Low, rectangular windows
on the side are augmented by fanlights.
Photo: Roto / Croce
Palazzo_Grimani.jpg
Ca‘ Rezzonico is one of the most beautiful museums in Venice. Built
at the end of the 16th century in Venetian Baroque style, on the
ground floor there is an entrance hall with two windows on each side.
Each of the seven equal windows of the second and third floor have a
balcony in front. The fourth floor has no oval windows.
Ca’_Rezzonico.jpg
Photo: Roto / Croce
Having graduated from Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia
in historical architecture,
Prof. Stefano Croce is an expert on
historical architecture in Venice. He has been in charge of numerous
refurbishment projects in Italy and has been teaching at several
renowned universities abroad. The author of numerous scientific
papers on restoration gave a presentation on the occasion of the 9th
International
Roto
Trade
Press
Day.
Prof
Croce
spoke
to
internationalist journalists about Venetian palaces and the “breathtaking diversity of their façades - for eternity”.
Photo: Roto / Croce
Stefano_Croce.jpg
Print free – copy requested
Publisher: Roto Frank AG • Wilhelm-Frank-Platz 1 • 70771 Leinfelden-Echterdingen • Tel.
+49 711 7598 0 • Fax +49 711 7598 253 • info@roto-frank.com
Editor: Linnigpublic Agency for Public Relations GmbH; office Koblenz • Fritz-von-UnruhStraße 1 • 56077 Koblenz • Tel. +49 261 303839 0 • Fax +49 261 303839 1 •
koblenz@linnigpublic.de; office Hamburg • Flottbeker Drift 4 • 22607 Hamburg • Tel. +49
40 82278216 • Fax +49 40 82278217 • hamburg@linnigpublic.de
Page 7/7