Palazzo Girardi Zecchini or Benci Zecchini alla Madonna dell'Orto is a 15th-century palace located near the church of the Madonna dell'Orto in the Cannaregio district of Venice.
The palace was founded by the Lioncini family on the edge of the city
and became the property of the Mazza family in 1575. The Girardi family,
originally from Bergamo, who later appropriated the Zecchini name
through marriage, partially rebuilt the palace. Their heraldic symbols
are carved on the well in the courtyard. But construction proceeded
slowly and the marble intended for this palace was sold to the Pesaro
family for their palace in the parish of San Stae in 1635.
The
name Benzi was attributed to the Zecchinis when Valeria, daughter of
Laura Girardi Zecchini and Benigno Benci of a Turin family married in
1635. In 1828, Elisabetta Casser, widow of the last Benzi-Zecchini
descendant left the palace in 1837 to the Casa di Ricovero of Venice
which became an orphanage, where children could be carried by baskets
from the canal.
There is also Villa Benzi Zecchini in the
municipality of Caerano San Marco which was also sold by Elisabetta to
the municipality for the care of the sick. The villa is now used for
cultural events and exhibitions.