Ca' d'Oro façade overlooking the Grand Canal

Ca' d'Oro (correctly the Palazzo Santa Sofia) is one of the most beautiful palazzos on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy and surely the most famous. One of the older palazzos, it has always been known as Ca' d'Oro (golden house) due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls. Categories: Stub | Venice | Canals ... Venice is known for its waterways and gondolas Gondola. ... The Italian Republic or Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... A gilt is any of the following: A thin covering of gold. ... Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. ...

The Palazzo was built between 1428 and 1430 for the Contarini family, who provided Venice with no less than eight Doges between 1043 and 1676. Upon election, each new Doge would leave his own palazzo and take up residence in the Doge's Palace. Events October 12 - English forces under Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury besiege Orléans. ... Events May 23 - Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne The Ottoman Empire captures Thessalonica from the Venetians Year in topics 1430 in art Births Robert Morton, English composer, approximate date Antoine Busnois, Burgundian composer, approximate date Deaths Christine de Pizan... The chief office in the historical city states of Venice and Genoa was the Doge (from the Latin dux--leader). ... Events Births Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, commonly known as The Cid Deaths Categories: 1043 ... Events January 29 - Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia First measurement of the speed of light, by Ole Rømer Bacons Rebellion Year in topic 1676 in literature 1676 in music 1676 in science Births May 8 - Frederick I of Sweden August 26 - Robert Walpole, first Prime Minister of... Doges Palace The Doges Palace (Ital. ...

The architects of the Ca' d'Oro were Giovanni Bon and his son Bartolomeo Bon. The work of these two sculptors and architects epitomises the Gothic style in Venice: they are best known for their work on the Doge's Palace and in particular the Porta della Carta with its monumental sculpture of the judgement of Solomon. Gothic architecture characterizes any of the styles of European architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, in use throughout Europe during the high and late medieval period, from the 12th century onwards. ... Doges Palace The Doges Palace (Ital. ... Solomon or Shlomo (Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה; Standard Hebrew: Šəlomo; Tiberian Hebrew: Šəlōmōh, meaning peace) in the Tanakh (Old Testament), is the third king of Israel (including Judah), builder of the temple in Jerusalem, renowned for his great wisdom and wealth and power, but also blamed for falling away from worshipping the...

The principal façade of Ca' d'Oro facing onto the Grand Canal is built in the Bon's Venetian floral gothic style. Other nearby buildings in this style are Palazzo Barbaro and the Palazzo Giustinian. This elegant linear style favoured by the Venetian architects was not totally superseded by the flourishes of baroque until the end of the 16th century. Gothic architecture characterizes any of the styles of European architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, in use throughout Europe during the high and late medieval period, from the 12th century onwards. ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint The Baroque was a style in art that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

The Venetian Gothic style is Byzantine in appearance. On the Ca' d'Oro's ground floor a recessed colonnaded loggia gives access to the entrance hall (portego de mezo) directly from the canal. Above this colonnade is the enclosed balcony of the principal salon on the piano nobile. The columns and arches of this balcony have capitals which in turn support a row of quatrefoil windows of great delicacy; above this balcony is another enclosed balcony or loggia of a similar yet even lighter design. To describe the style of the palazzo simply:- it is a cross between a medieval church and a Moorish temple. This wedding cake exterior gives no hint that the palazzo is in fact built (like most other Palazzi) around a small inner courtyard. The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Villa Godi by Palladio. ... The Piano Nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture. ... The Corinthian order as used for the portico of the Pantheon, Rome provided a prominent model for Renaissance and later architects, through the medium of engravings. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

Following the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 the palazzo changed ownership several times. One 19th century owner, the ballet dancer Marie Taglioni, removed (in what today can be considered an act of vandalism) the Gothic stairway from the inner courtyard and also destroyed the ornate balconies overlooking the court. In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people that dont found their power status on any principle beyond the control of the people living in that state or country. ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Marie Taglioni circa 1831. ...

In 1922 the palazzo was bequeathed to the State by its last owner and saviour Baron Giorgio Franchetti who had acquired it in 1894. Following extensive restoration to its former glory (including the reconstruction of the stairway), it is now open to the public as a gallery. 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Links

• Galleria Giorgio Franchetti (http://www.cadoro.org)
• Ca' d'Oro (http://www.jc-r.net/venezia/palazzi/ca-d-oro-e.htm)

Literature

Goy, Richard J., The House of Gold. Cambridge, 1992