The Fondacho dei Turchi, or Fondega dei Turchi, is a 13th century palazzo on the Grand Canal of Venice. The building then was a combination home, warehouse, and market for traders. Its name derives from the its assignment in the fourteenth century to the Turks (Ottomans). Originally the site belonged to the Duke of Ferrara. The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... The Grand Canal in Venice, Italy The Grand Canal (italian: Canal Grande) is Venices largest waterway. ... Country Italy Region Veneto Province Venice (VE) Mayor Massimo Cacciari (since April 18, 2004) Elevation m Area 412 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 271,251  - Density 646/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Veneziani Dialing code 041 Postal code 30100 Frazioni Chirignago, Favaro Veneto, Mestre...

Because of the suspicions held for the muslim Turkish traders, despite the commercial allure, the windows of the fondaco were sealed; and rooms were lit only from an interior courtyard. There was an enclosing wall and gates; and the gates, like those in the ghetto were closed at night). The two corner turrets on the landside, which might serve for defence, were razed. A ghetto is an area where people from a specific racial or ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion. ...

Now the building houses the Venetian Museum of Natural history with historical collections of flora and fauna, fossils, and an aquarium.

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