The Grand Canal

The Grand Canal was once the richest main street in the richest city in the world. It’s lined with over 100 palaces (technically called Ca’, as only the home of the Doge could be called a palace) built between the 12th and 18th centuries. The remnant of a river that once spilled into the Adriatic, it runs about 1.5 miles and is about 15 feet deep. Only 3 bridges cross the span (a fourth is almost complete), so it’s not very convenient to get from one side to the other. Our apartment was very near the Rialto Bridge, which was the first crossing to be built. Rialto translates to rivo alto or high bank, as this area is one of the highest and safest in the lagoon. The current bridge was erected in 1588 although a bridge has existed on this site since the 11th century.

Among the palaces you’ll find Ca’ Barbaro (Angie’s maiden name) and Ca’ Dario (also owned by the Barbaros). Apparently the Barbaro’s are documented as holding high office in The Republic of Venice as early as the 9th century. Ca’ Barbaro was built in 1425 and then expanded upon in 1694 to house a new ballroom and library. The ceiling in the library contained a masterpiece painted by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, titled “The Glorification of the Barbaro Family”, which currently resides in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In later years, one of Ca' Barbaro's frequent guests was Claude Monet. During one of his visits he created a painting of Ca’ Dario (which is across the canal from Ca’Barbaro) that now hangs in the permanent collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. Besides all the artwork created for the palaces, Ca’ Barbaro was also the setting used in the film adaptation of a Henry Jame’s novel titled “The Wings of a Dove”.

Ca' Dario
Ca' Barbaro with the addition on the right.