Palazzo Cappello Layard is a Venetian palace located in the San Polo district and overlooking the Grand Canal where the Rio di San Polo flows into, more precisely between Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza and Palazzo Grimani Marcello.
The palace's design is notable for its adaptation to the canal
confluence, resulting in three facades that vary in elaboration. The
primary facade on the Grand Canal is the widest and most sober,
characterized by a series of lancet windows that provide a restrained,
elegant appearance. On the first piano nobile (noble floor), there is a
large rectangular three-mullioned window that opens onto a terrace
adjoining the neighboring Palazzo Grimani Marcello. This facade lacks
ornate decorations, emphasizing functionality and symmetry typical of
Renaissance influences.
The facade along the Rio di San Polo is more
decorative, featuring two prominent three-mullioned windows with
balconies and intricate capitals, flanked by pairs of lancet windows.
These elements retain some Gothic floral motifs from the original
structure, with 19th-century additions like stone-carved paterae
(circular reliefs) in a Romanesque style. The Rio delle Erbe facade is
the least distinctive, with minimal ornamentation and a simpler layout.
Internally, the palace is organized around a small central courtyard,
which historically defined its layout. During its 16th-century
renovation, the interiors were adorned with a celebrated fresco cycle by
Paolo Veronese and Giovanni Battista Zelotti, depicting classical
deities such as Ceres, Pomona, and Pallas. These frescoes, praised by
contemporaries like Giorgio Vasari and later historians, were
unfortunately damaged by fire and lost by the 19th century. Under later
owners, modifications included the installation of Assyrian reliefs on
the staircase (later donated to a museum) and floral paintings. The
building's blend of Gothic and Renaissance styles, along with its
canal-side prominence, makes it a fine example of Venetian palazzo
architecture.
Historical Timeline
The history of Palazzo
Cappello Layard spans from its 16th-century origins through periods of
artistic flourishing, diplomatic residency, and modern academic use. Key
phases include:
16th Century: Construction and Renaissance Renovation
The palace was built in the 16th century with Gothic roots but underwent
a major restructuring in the Renaissance style under the ownership of
Antonio Cappello, a prominent procurator of San Marco. Cappello, who
oversaw significant Venetian projects like the Rialto Bridge and the
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, commissioned the renovation to align with
contemporary architectural trends. This included the addition of the
fresco cycle by Veronese and Zelotti, which transformed the interiors
into a showcase of mythological art. The facade displays coats of arms
from the Cappello and Bembo families, hinting at alliances through
marriage or inheritance. By mid-century, the palace had become a symbol
of noble prestige in Venice.
1648: The frescoes are documented
and praised by art historian Carlo Ridolfi in Le Meraviglie dell’arte.
1674: Marco Boschini notes fire damage to the frescoes in Miniere della
Pittura Veneziana.
1760: Anton Maria Zanetti publishes engravings of
the surviving fresco figures in Varie Pitture a Fresco de principali
maestri Veneziani.
19th Century: The Layard Era and Cultural
Salon
In the late 19th century (sources vary between 1874 and 1878),
the palace was purchased by Austen Henry Layard, a British
archaeologist, diplomat, and art collector renowned for excavating the
ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh. With assistance from historian Rawdon
Brown, Layard acquired the property and shipped his extensive collection
of Italian Renaissance paintings there in 1875. He retired to Venice
around 1883 (or fully by 1894 after diplomatic service), renovating the
interiors with artifacts from his excavations, including Assyrian
reliefs from Nineveh and a Hellenistic funerary piece from Samos
(donated to the Museo Civico Correr in 1892 and replaced with paintings
by Francesco Lavagna).
The palace became a vibrant salon for British
and international elites, hosting intellectuals like John Ruskin,
Giovanni Morelli, Robert Browning, and Horatio Brown, as well as
nobility such as Countess Annina Morosini. Layard's wife, Lady Enid
Layard, played a key role in these gatherings, documenting them in her
diary. The interiors featured luxurious elements like felt wall
coverings in red, yellow, and green, Spanish silks on balconies, and a
gallery housing masterpieces, including Gentile Bellini's Portrait of
Mehmet II. The Layards fostered Anglo-Venetian ties, supporting
institutions like St. George’s Anglican Church. Notable events included
private meetings between Kaiser Wilhelm II and Lord Kitchener in 1911,
and visits from royalty like Queen Alexandra and Empress Victoria of
Germany.
1894: Austen Henry Layard dies in London from cancer;
Lady Enid continues the salon's activities.
1898: Lady Gregory
records Kaiser Wilhelm II recognizing Lady Layard at the palace.
Early 20th Century: Transition and Legacy
Social activities at the
palace declined after Lady Enid's death in 1912, exacerbated by the
outbreak of World War I. Her will bequeathed the art collection to
London's National Gallery, dispersing treasures like Bellini's portrait
(originally in the Layard Gallery). The property passed to the
Carnelutti family, becoming the residence of jurist Francesco
Carnelutti.
Modern Era: Academic Use and Controversies
In
1967, the palace was acquired by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where
it now houses the Department of Asia and Mediterranean Africa Studies
(formerly known as the Istituto Orientale). This shift transformed it
from a private residence into an educational hub, aligning with Layard's
legacy in Near Eastern archaeology. However, in 2013–2014, a
controversial proposal emerged to swap the palace (along with others
like Ca' Bembo) for a modern 1957 building formerly owned by a state
electricity company. Defended by university chancellor Carlo Carraro for
financial reasons, the plan faced criticism for bypassing public
auctions and potentially violating Italian heritage laws on listed
properties, as reported in media like L'Espresso and Gazzettino di
Venezia.
Notable Residents and Cultural Significance
Antonio
Cappello (16th century): As procurator, he elevated the palace's status
through renovations and artistic commissions, linking it to Venice's
golden age of public works.
Austen Henry Layard (c. 1875–1894): The
archaeologist's residency marked the palace's peak as a cultural center,
blending Venetian art with Assyrian artifacts and attracting global
visitors.
Lady Enid Layard (1894–1912): She sustained the salon's
vibrancy, fostering diplomatic and artistic networks until her death.
Francesco Carnelutti (post-1912): The jurist's ownership bridged the
palace's private era to its institutional future.
It is a palace of Gothic origin but substantially renovated in the
16th century according to the styles of Renaissance art at the behest of
the then owner, the procurator of San Marco Antonio Cappello. It was
once famous for the many frescoes painted by Giovanni Battista Zelotti
and Paolo Veronese, which were entirely lost due to a fire.
Being
on the crossroads between several canals, it has three facades:
facade on the Grand Canal. In its breadth it appears poor and devoid of
decorations, distinguished by the presence of a large number of single
lancet windows. The first noble floor is enriched by a simple and
linear-looking boxed three-mullioned window, which opens onto a terrace
leaning against Palazzo Grimani Marcello.
facade on the Rio delle
Erbe. It has no architectural interest and appears very poor in
decorations.
facade on the Rio di San Polo. It has two important
three-mullioned windows with balconies and elaborate capitals flanked by
two pairs of single-lancet windows. All the coats of arms and paterae
are nineteenth-century imitations.
A small courtyard develops in the
center of the building.
Antonio Cappello and the cycle of
frescoes by Zelotti and Veronese
Of great importance in the history
of the building was the decision of its ambitious owner, the procurator
of San Marco Antonio Cappello, supervisor of important public art works
in the mid-sixteenth century, such as the beginnings of the factories of
the Rialto bridge, the of the works at the Marciana National Library and
the construction of the Scala d'Oro of Palazzo Ducale to take care of a
substantial renovation operation of the building, entrusting the
redecoration of the external spaces to the duo of Giovanni Battista
Zelotti and Paolo Veronese, who had already received important
commissions through the mutual friendship with the Veronese architect
Michele Sanmicheli. Giorgio Vasari recalls how Paolo Veronese "with the
same Giovanni Battista Zelotti again painted the facade of the house of
M. Antonio Cappello which is in Venice above the Grand Canal". The
frescoes were described more fully by Carlo Ridolfi in Le Maraviglie
dell'Arte (1648) “above the grand canal in the houses of Cappelli
colored [Veronese] some figures of Ceres, Pomona, Pallas & other
deities. Those above were painted by his friend Zelotti ”. But the cycle
did not have a long life: it was already damaged and partially
disappeared due to a fire when it was described by Marco Boschini in The
Rich Mines of Venetian Painting (1674), and the memory of Paolo
Veronese's fresco had been lost: " At the end of the Rio, above the
Grand Canal, the Capello house is painted by Gio: Battista Zelotti
Veronese: but because it was set on fire, some figures remained under
certain windows with various goddesses and in particular Diana".
However, the divinities painted by Zelotti were still visible when in
1760 Anton Maria Zanetti the younger published Various fresco paintings
by the main Venetian masters, and added to his considerations on the
fresco cycle the reproduction in etching and burin of four of the
frescoed divinities still visible , attributing them to Zelotti and
arguing that the fire had destroyed the work of Veronese, which,
contrary to what Ridolfi claimed, was on the second and not the first
noble floor.
Ca' Cappello was acquired, between 1874 and 1878, by the English
archaeologist, diplomat and politician Austen Henry Layard, with the
help of the doyen of the English community in Venice, the historian
Rawdon Brown, and accompanied by his wife , the energetic and younger
Lady Enid Layard.
Layard, who moved his vast collection of
Italian Renaissance painting to Venice in 1875, made permanent residence
in the palace after retiring from a diplomatic career while serving as
British ambassador in Istanbul following profound disagreements with
William Gladstone and the sultan , until his death in London from cancer
in 1894.
At Ca' Cappello Layard carried out important restoration
works. Red, yellow and green velvets covered the interiors, and Spanish
silks were hung outside the lancet windows and draped over the
balconies, giving the palace an instantly recognizable look. Some
Assyrian reliefs from his personal collection were set alongside the
palace staircase together with a Hellenistic bas-relief of a funerary
subject from Samia. These objects were then donated to the Correr Museum
in 1892, and replaced by floral paintings by the Neapolitan painter
Francesco Lavagna.
Much more important was the collection of
paintings assembled by the Layard spouses, who created a gallery of
great importance in the palace, whose highlight was the portrait of
Mehmet II by Gentile Bellini. The collection was subsequently donated to
the National Gallery in London. Thanks to the prestige it enjoyed, Ca'
Cappello rapidly transformed into a meeting place for "the main
representatives of the cultural, political and diplomatic
intelligentsia, both British and international, of the last quarter of
the 19th century and the first decade of the XX". The Layards were soon
recognized as the main exponents of the small but influential English
community in Venice, also thanks to their efforts to build the Anglican
Church of San Giorgio.
The death of Austen Henry Layard did not
diminish the social role of Ca' Cappello, and Lady Layard continued to
make the house a meeting place for nobles, writers and artists. Among
the most frequent visitors are John Ruskin and Giovanni Morelli, the
poet Robert Browning, the historian Horatio Brown, and Venetian nobles
such as Annina Morosini, considered the most beautiful woman in Venice
at the time, but whom Lady Layard considered vulgar. The Layard spouses
also received visits from monarchs at Ca' Cappello. In particular, Lady
Layard maintained a close friendship with Queen Alexandra and with
Germany's Empress consort Victoria (born in London as Princess Victoria
Adelaide Marie Luise Saxe-Coburg Gotha). In 1898, Lady Gregory, a close
friend of Lady Layard and a frequent visitor, noted in her diary how
Victoria's son, Kaiser Wilhelm II, passing Ca' Cappello "recognizing
Lady Layard on the balcony tipped his hat in greeting two o three
times". In 1911 Lady Layard even went so far as to host a series of
private talks at Ca' Cappello between the Kaiser and Lord Kitchner
The death of Lady Layard in 1912 and the outbreak of the First World War ended Ca Cappello's role as the leading social and literary salon in Venice. The palace was then acquired by the Carnelutti family and home to the jurist Francesco Carnelutti, before passing to the Ca' Foscari University of Venice in 1967, which still owns it today.
The palace was the subject of a controversial real estate exchange process initiated in 2013 by the then rector Carlo Carraro, who planned to exchange it together with Ca' Bembo and Palazzo Cosulich, with a property owned by the Uno Energia real estate fund in an operation equal. The operation was contested by the Municipality of Venice where the transformation of the buildings into hotel structures was feared. The operation, which avoided a public auction, was the subject of a cross-political dispute, which led to a parliamentary question by the PD and SEL MPs Giulio Marcon, Davide Zoggia, Michele Mognato and Giulia Narduolo and to another tougher one signed by Lega Nord deputy Emanuele Prataviera. The rector had instead defended the disposal of the historic buildings with a view to a consolidation of the accounts, announcing serious consequences for the budget in the following six years, a forecast that did not come true, however. The opinion of the undersecretary for education Gabriele Toccafondi was also in favor of the sale of the building, for which reason he was the object of strong criticism in Venice.