Bernardo di Canal Palace

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General remarks:

Description:

A well conserved example of a two-familiy-palazzo of the 'gotico fiorito' with a six-light loggia in the second piano nobile, based on the Doge's Palace. The building was built before 1442, since a document proves that in said year Francesco Sforza was guest in the palazzo (terminus ante quem). As the widths of the loggia arches in the first and second piano nobile are not exactly equal, it was impossible to arrange them exactly one over another. The second piano nobile has four single windows in the wings with pendant-tracery.
The larger courtyards still has a partially original, but heavily restored stairway with small sculptures on the guardrail, leading via a platform to the portego of the second piano nobile. During the last restoration in 1998/99, some remnants of polychrome frescoes were recovered on the brick façade as well as a part of a segment-arch window in the water floor. According to the map by Jacopo de'Barbari we know that the water floor was originally lighted by such segment arch windows, and not by today's rectangular ones. Stylistically, the palace is related to the Palazzo Giustinian Faccanon and the Palazzo Brandolini d'Adda.
Until 1868, the palazzo remained property of the Bernardo family, which died out. The current owners of the second floor are the Avogadro degli Azzoni counts.

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© 1999-2007 J.-Ch. Rößler
Venice architecture - palaces