Foscarini ai Carmini Palace

 


Venice: Palazzo Foscarini ai Carmini - 22 kB


General remarks:

Date:before 1574
Address:Dorsoduro 3464
Current use:private
Overview map:locate

Description:

While the formal language of Palazzo Foscarini (adjacent to Palazzo Vendramin dei Carmini) is similar to the contemporary palaces Bellavite Baffo and Da Ponte, the composition of the façade differs from the traditional scheme: two single windows at the left, a serliana, two single windows, and another serliana. The façade once was opened in large parts, but the serlianas were bricked in order to increase the stability. Behind the left serliana, the depth of the building is reduced, and therefore no second portego exists. A room decorated with chinese-style ceramics is preserved in the mezzanine floor. A incision by Giuseppe Filosi shows a feast celebrated in the Palazzo Foscarini for the Duke of Modena in 1749 and is the only testimonial of the former portego decoration. After the fall of the Republic, the Foscarini ai Carmini, once among the richest families of Venice, suffered a economic downfall and eventually had to sell their patrimony to consolidate the debts. The former library in the garden still exists, but is today separated from the palace and has different owners.


Related buildings

Literature

Bassi (1976) pp. 342-347, 414

 

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Venice architecture - palaces

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