Labia a San Geremia Palace

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General remarks:

Description:

This palazzo is one of the last great buildings in Venice. Baldassare Longhena's influence on the subsequent venetian baroque architecture and architects becomes apparent. Having been aggregated to the Venetian patriciate, the Labia family, originally from Spain, built a new palace near the church of San Geremia. The main façade is on the Canale di Cannaregio; a smaller façade, limited to three window axis, is towards the Canal Grande. Numerous crowned eagles (the Labias' coat of arms) can be found between the oval windows below the roof. Especially on the Canal Grande façade, the relatively large areas between the windows are accentuated by rectangular fields. Besides the traditional portego, a ballroom with the height of two floors is a Leitmotif of the venetian baroque palaces.
The building is well known for the frescoes (1746-47) by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, which (among other themes) show the story of Cleopatra and Marc Anton, Zephyr and Flore and Bellerophon on Pegasus. Trompe-l'-oeil architectures were created by Gerolamo Mengozzi, called Colonna.
After the fall of the Labia family, the palace was sold to the Bohemian prince Lobkowitz, and later acquired by another Labia count, who was not related to the initial owners. Having suffered from vandalism and having served as a school, it later became property of the Italian broadcasting company RAI, which subsequently restored the building.

Additional pictures:

The campo façade of Palazzo Labia

Literature

External resources

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