Residential
RESTORATION OF THE FAÇADE OF PALAZZO CONTARINI DELLE FIGURE
Venice, 2022
The restoration project for the façade of Palazzo Contarini was developed with the ambition of restoring the degraded façade of the 16th Century Palazzo and the legibility of its unique decorative apparatus.
The facade of Palazzo Contarini, known as Contarini delle Figure, is uniquely innovative in the panorama of early Renaissance Venetian architecture. First and foremost, because it is entirely made in stone. Secondly, because it introduces an architectural language which is, to a large extend, foreign to the Venetian building tradition.This facade rises on the bank of the Grand Canal in one of the most qualified portions of its long development.Conceived in the very early years of the sixteenth century - probably in 1504 – the facade develops on three levels, elaborating on the Vitruvian concept of overlapping architectural orders. Contributing to qualifying the design of this facade are the windows (which are "aedicule-like" in both the first and second orders) and the singular "shape" of the central polyphora of the first level, composed of free fluted columns of Carrara marble supporting a frontispiece of classical inspiration (which had never yet been used in the Veneto region).
The restoration of this facade and the sculptural elements that decorate it was carried out after a codification of the marbles that characterize its image; the eight months-long process was conducted with the commitment of specifically qualified workers and the most up-to-date techniques of consolidation and restoration of stone elements. Special care and caution were needed, in particular for the cleaning and preservation of the saccharoidal marble of the columns of the central polyphora and for the cleaning and consolidation of the colored marbles that were used to enhance, in specific areas, the architectural design.Of particular note for its uniqueness, within this context, is the use of ‘Brentonico’s’ marble within the triangular frontispiece and, in particular, the treatment of this with an ancient dye so as to make it appear as porphyry.
Image credits all photographs © DSL Studio
The facade of Palazzo Contarini, known as Contarini delle Figure, is uniquely innovative in the panorama of early Renaissance Venetian architecture. First and foremost, because it is entirely made in stone. Secondly, because it introduces an architectural language which is, to a large extend, foreign to the Venetian building tradition.This facade rises on the bank of the Grand Canal in one of the most qualified portions of its long development.Conceived in the very early years of the sixteenth century - probably in 1504 – the facade develops on three levels, elaborating on the Vitruvian concept of overlapping architectural orders. Contributing to qualifying the design of this facade are the windows (which are "aedicule-like" in both the first and second orders) and the singular "shape" of the central polyphora of the first level, composed of free fluted columns of Carrara marble supporting a frontispiece of classical inspiration (which had never yet been used in the Veneto region).
The restoration of this facade and the sculptural elements that decorate it was carried out after a codification of the marbles that characterize its image; the eight months-long process was conducted with the commitment of specifically qualified workers and the most up-to-date techniques of consolidation and restoration of stone elements. Special care and caution were needed, in particular for the cleaning and preservation of the saccharoidal marble of the columns of the central polyphora and for the cleaning and consolidation of the colored marbles that were used to enhance, in specific areas, the architectural design.Of particular note for its uniqueness, within this context, is the use of ‘Brentonico’s’ marble within the triangular frontispiece and, in particular, the treatment of this with an ancient dye so as to make it appear as porphyry.
Image credits all photographs © DSL Studio
| Project Title: | Palazzo Contarini delle Figure |
| Location: | Grand Canal, Venice |
| Year: | 2022 |
| Status: | Completed |
| Scale: | L |
| Client: | Private |
| Partner/s in charge: | Giulia Foscari |
| Team: | Antonio Foscari (Construction Supervision), Barbara del Vicario |
| Collaborators: | Lares Restauri (Restoration) |
Speak up for Antarctica now
Learn about the ongoing call to action to protect the Antarctic and, in turn, our Planet
Learn More