Standing shoulder to well-bred shoulder with some of La Serenissima’s most illustrious palaces, and sharing this celebrated segment of the Grand Canal with the likes of the Bauer Il Palazzo and The Gritti Palace hotel, the remarkable Palazzino Alvisi, its views and interior, captures the heart and must be seen to be believed.
Italian home in the 19th century of wealthy American socialite and patron of the arts Katharine Bronson who welcomed, amongst others, the writer Henry James and poet and playwright Robert Browning into the fabled ‘literary salon’ she established within its walls, the Palazzino was restored by architect Count Mantegazza in the 1920s under the ownership of Italian senator and industrialist Achille Gaggia, whose family safeguards his legacy to this day.
Peony pink-hued, private and peaceful behind closed doors, yet prominently positioned above the shimmering Grand Canal waters directly opposite the entrance to Longhena’s iconic Church of Santa Maria della Salute, accommodation is both luxurious and unforgettable, and like all great style icons, offers a barely discernible nod to the fleeting fashions of the outside world… with the notable exceptions of Wi-Fi and A/C!
Ethereal in beauty and other-worldly in atmosphere, its striking interior is a lovingly preserved testament to deeply held traditions and a Venice of the past – a home where twinkling chandeliers, silk adorned walls, speckled terrazzo, and the prettiest stuccoes provide a breathtaking backdrop to blissfully lazy days and the most elegant soirées.
Gracing the glossy cover of the recently published ‘Inside Venice: A Private View of the City’s Most Beautiful Interiors’ by Director of Venetian Heritage, Toto Bergamo Rossi, and featured in a number of other books including Assouline’s ‘Venetian Chic’ by Venetian art connoisseur and hotelier, Francesca Bortolotto Possati, the Palazzino accommodates 7 guests in 4 bedroom/4 bathroom comfort and spans a staggering 700+ sqm on the building’s first floor.
Reached in style by private water taxi alighting at the Palazzo’s private water entrance on the Grand Canal, or on foot via its discreet landside entrance within a short stroll of St. Mark’s Square, the accommodation is served by lift from the main ‘androne’ hallway and comprises:
- Three stately and utterly breathtaking reception rooms
- A central formal drawing room dressed in verdigris green Marmorino and featuring a wall of French windows opening directly onto a spellbinding south-facing furnished terrace clad in climbing wisteria, flowering jasmine, geraniums and agapanthus. Shaded at your request by a retractable striped awning, the terrace offers magical vistas – possibly the finest in all Venice – across the gondola-dotted waters towards Salute, the tiny island of San Giorgio Maggiore just beyond the Bacino di San Marco, and the Punta della Dogana (the old customs house/ centre of contemporary art) with its 17th century ‘Fortune’ weather vane guarding the mouth of the Grand Canal
- A second cosier and rather more intimate drawing room opening onto the terrace, with dusky pink silk walls, stuccoed ceiling and plush sofas tailor-made for relaxation
- A third exceptionally spacious sitting room also accessing the terrace, with walls of golden silk, decorated wooden beams and a splendid tiled fireplace leading to
- A formal dining room with delightful salmon pink stuccoes and furnished with an extendable dining table for entertaining larger gatherings
- A traditional well-equipped kitchen with professional range
- There are 3 elegant double bedrooms in the classic Venetian style
- A swooningly romantic master bedroom to the front of the Palazzino with balconies on the Grand Canal and a study to the side
- Two further double bedrooms overlooking the verdant garden* to the centre
- A single bedroom also overlooking the garden* and connecting with one of the double bedrooms
- All bedrooms have en suite bathrooms with bathtub
*Please note that the garden is not available to guests of Palazzino Alvisi