Searching for a luxury vacation home in Venice, Italy, you say? Look no further!
When it comes to Venetian style, the words 'simple' and 'austere' do not come to mind. In music, Venice-based composers were famous for their florid "colossal style" of baroque. In art, the style of the Venetian School experienced its peak during the decorative and highly expressive Renaissance era. In crafts, Venetian glass has been renown for centuries worldwide for its fanciful style and color. And in architecture, the sumptuous-yet-graceful Venetian Gothic style has adorned the scarce land of Venice, enchanting travelers, architects, designers, and dreamers the world over.
With its definitive boundary as an island cluster in the Adriatic Sea, no new housing is being constructed -- only conversions or subdivisions of current structures. With the housing supply so scarce and the cultural art style flamboyant, it's no surprise that Venetian homes are decorated more extravagantly than the average house in, say, Omaha.
Now that you've been briefed in Venetian Gothic style, let's take a peek into a couple of homes for sale in Venice.
Merati Palace
Talk about a grand entrance! What other entry hall has museum-quality winged putti stuccowork over the double entry? And such a fabulous ceiling!
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| Images courtesy of Sotheby's International Realty. |
Entry hall, opposite view.
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I love that this living room, as architecturally grand as it is, manages to pull off a certain cozy realness. The red coffee table looks smashing with the red garland along the upper walls.
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| Living Room |
That ceiling fresco, that Murano chandelier, the fabulous painting hung directly on the mirror!
How many winged putti are too much for one house?? The alcove stuccowork, according to Sotheby's website, is almost unique to Venice. A nearby comparable palazzo's alcove stuccowork was sold and transported to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is still on display.
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| Bedroom |
15th Century Palazzo on the Giudecca Waterfront
This 4 bedroom, 2 bath palace boasts both waterfront and private garden views. The interior is original, with terrazzo flooring, ceiling frescoes, and a series of overdoor grisaille portraits.
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| Entry Hall |
The fresco on this ceiling is original to the 15th century structure. And only a bed of this stature can hold its own such a grandiose room.
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| Bedroom |
In this bedroom you can see windows' Moorish architectural flourishes, which, combined with Byzantine design, are identifying hallmarks of the Venetian Gothic style. Again, a truly spectacular ceiling.
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| Bedroom |
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| From Loggia, looking out into private garden. |
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| Million dollar view! Balcony overlooking the Giudecca Canal |