Ca' da Mosto
The Ca' da Mosto is a thirteenth-century palace in Venice, northern Italy, the oldest building on the Grand Canal. It is in the Veneto-Byzantine style, with high narrow arches and distinctive capitals.
History
The features of the palace show its beginnings as a casa-fondaco, the home and workplace of its original merchant owner. A second floor was added at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and a third in the nineteenth.
The palace takes its name from the Venetian explorer Alvise da Ca' da Mosto, who was born in the palace in 1432. It stayed in the da Mosto family until 1603, when Chiara da Mosto left her entire estate to Leonardo Donà dalle Rose, a nephew of her second husband, rather than her da Mosto relatives, with whom she had fallen out.
Between the 16th and the 18th centuries the Ca' da Mosto housed the well-known Albergo Leon Bianco (the White Lion Hotel). In 1769 and 1775 the Holy Roman Emperor and son of Maria Theresa, Joseph II, lived here during his stay in Venice.
Present day
The Ca' da Mosto currently sits empty, with the high waters of the canal having breached its basement. According to an interview in The Lady, the palace is admired by Francesco da Mosto, a descendant of its eponymous former owners, and is the Venetian building he would most like to see restored.[1]
Sources
- Francesco da Mosto, Francesco's Venice (London: BBC, 2004)
References
- ↑ "Francesco's Venice". The Lady Magazine. Archived from the original on 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2006-07-17.
Coordinates: 45°26′23″N 12°20′09″E / 45.43972°N 12.33583°E