Ca' Foscari Palace, Venice, Italy

Ca' Foscari, the palace of the Foscari family, is a Gothic building on the waterfront of the Grand Canal in Venice. In 1453 the Republic of Venice regained possession of the older palace and sold it to the Doge of the time, Francesco Foscari; he had the palace demolished and rebuilt in late Venetian gothic style. The building was chosen by the doge for its position on the Grand Canal.

Foscari immediately set about rebuilding the palace in a manner befitting his status: he moved the site of the new palace forward on to the bank of the Grand Canal. Buying and rebuilding the palace for himself meant for the doge affirming his political and military role: he actually represented the continuity of the military successes of that period, lasted 30 years, and was the promoter of the Venetian expansion in the mainland (terraferma). The huge new palace could hardly have been finished when Foscari was disgraced in 1457 and retired to his new home until his death.

Presently the palace is the headquarters of the Ca' Foscari University, which has made accessible to the public some of the most beautiful halls, such as the 'Aula Baratto' and the 'Aula Berengo'.

Ca' Foscari is a typical example of the residence of the Venetian nobles and merchants. The structure is one of the most imposing buildings of the city and its external courtyard is the biggest courtyard of a private house after that of the Doge's Palace. In common with other palaces, Ca' Foscari's principal and most decorated facade and entrance faced the Grand Canal - the city's main thoroughfare. This façade is characterized by a rhythmic sequence of arches and windows; this style, known as Floral Gothic, is emulated throughout the city and can be identified through the use of pointed arches and carved window heads. At Ca' Foscari, the tops of each column are decorated with carved quatrefoil patterns; the Gothic capitals are adorned with foliage, animals and masks. Above the Gothic window is a marble frieze with a helmet surmounted with a lion couchant representing the role of the doge as the captain of the republic; at each side of the central helmet we can find two putti holding a shield symbolising the Foscari's coat of arms with the winged lion of Saint Mark, symbol of Venice.

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User Reviews

Muhammad Abdullah (16 months ago)
very near to bus & rail stations staff was very supportive

Ann Eaglet (2 years ago)
It is a decent one-star hotel, well-maintained and clean, amazingly located a short walk from everything. There is free wifi, that works best in the common area on the ground floor. The reception desk was polite and helpful and let us store our baggage after check out. The hotel offers breakfast for 5 euros and dinner for 9.50euros. For those with high expectations and standards it might be the wrong place to book. However, for anyone looking for a cozy clean place in the heart of Venice to rest the tired bones, this is definitely a nice option. There are also some great pizza 'to go' places nearby, popular with locals and easy on the budget.

All Natural (2 years ago)
Cosy little hotel in Venice. Near to city center and vaporetta stop S. Toma. Clean and neat.

Iñaki del Olmo Madariaga (2 years ago)
We spent 2 nights with shared bathroom. Everything was clean and the St. Toma vaporetto station is 5 minutes away. Good location.

clark cruz (2 years ago)
Old hotel like everything in Venice. No elevator and all the rooms are 2 floors up a narrow stairs. Good place to stay if you'll only sleep there at night, but it's about a 1km walk from the transit stations. If you have a lot of baggage, try and stay close to the transport stations.

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