Palazzo Priuli Stazio is a stately building in Venice, located at
number 1777 in the Santa Croce district (parish of San Giacomo
dall'Orio).
It is between the narrow calle del Megio, to the
east, and the rio del Megio, to the west.
The first evidence of Palazzo Priuli Stazio is provided by the famous
map of Venice by Jacopo de' Barbari from 1500. We know that it initially
belonged to the Surian patricians, but in 1584 Giovanni Surian sold it
to the Prezzato from Bergamo. The renovation of the building dates back
to this period, taking on its current seventeenth-century form.
In 1636 it was bought by the Stazio, a family of wool merchants, and
remained with them until the following century. In 1701, following the
marriage between Elisabetta Stazio and Michele Priuli "di Santa Sofia",
it passed to the latter's family (since then called Priuli Stazio) who
continued to live there until 1853, when they rented it out. In 1859 it
was sold to the Municipality of Venice.
From this moment on the
building was used as a barracks and underwent various tampering
especially as regards the organization of the interiors: the stairs were
demolished, the ceilings and floors were redone, the private oratory was
destroyed and two external galleries were removed. Starting from 1890 it
was converted into a school, a function it still performs as the seat of
the "Francesco Morosini" middle school.
In the 1980s it underwent
an important conservative restoration.
Palazzo Priuli Stazio has the C-shaped structure typical of late
Gothic Venetian palaces, with an internal front courtyard on the access
street.
It is a building of considerable size which is spread
over six floors. Each level has a large central space inside (portego)
with openings onto the calle and the rio, while the rooms for use are
arranged on the long sides.
The main facades, the one towards the
calle and the one towards the rio, have architectural elements in
Istrian stone; the second, in particular, is characterized by two
superimposed serliane and two balustrades. The other two fronts, which
face the courtyard, are more sober due to the use of Istrian stone
limited to the cornices only and the absence of architectural elements;
perhaps these parts were partly adjacent to other buildings that have
now disappeared.