Ca' da Mosto Palace
palazzi - index
General remarks:
| Date: | 13th century |
| Address: | Cannaregio 5631 |
| Current use: | none |
| Overview map: | locate |
Description:
Concerning the original "byzantine" substance, the Ca' da Mosto surely is the most important example of a 13th century palace in Venice, especialy after all other palaces from that period - like the complex Loredan and Farsetti near the Rialto - have endured 19th century restorations. In the 16th century, a floor with a central serliana was added on the pre-gothic piano nobile with windows of second order. The holes of the former grilles are still visible in the lateral single windows of the first floor, each of which is crowned by a patera. An aperture of the central loggia was bricked up later. Apart from the patere, this loggia with its seven arches has reliefs with floral motifs in the marble incrustation.
The famous navigator Alvise da Mosto is supposed to be born in the palace. From the 17th to the early 19th century, the palace served as the "Albergo Leon Bianco". The da Mosto, who did not build the palace, owned it from the mid of the 13th century until 1554. Remnants of an open stairway can be seen in the public courtyard.
Especially in the water floor, the brickwork is severely damaged. The palace's condition regularly causes polemics in the Venetian press.
Today, the da Mosto counts reside in the Palazzo Muti. Another Palazzo da Mosto has its baroque façade on the Canale di Cannaregio, and another building of this "casata" exists the parish of St. Agnese.
Related buildings
Literature
Schulz, Jürgen: Ca' da Mosto, in: Kittell, Elllen E.(ed.): Medieval and Renaissance Venice, Urbana 1999, pp. 69-95
© 1999-2007 J.-Ch. Rößler
Venice architecture - palaces
