Ca' Dario is a palace in Venice, located at number 353 in the Dorsoduro district, which directly overlooks the Grand Canal. The building is famous for the alleged curse that would hang over it: according to legend, in fact, its owners would be destined to go bankrupt or die a violent death.
Origins and Construction: The Legacy of Giovanni Dario
The
palace's history begins in the context of Venice's diplomatic and
commercial ties with the Ottoman Empire during the late 15th century.
Venice, a maritime republic, was engaged in prolonged conflicts with the
Ottomans, culminating in a series of wars that strained its resources.
In 1479, following a particularly brutal phase of warfare, the Venetian
Senate dispatched Giovanni Dario (c. 1405–1494), a seasoned merchant,
notary, and ducal secretary, to negotiate peace with Sultan Mehmed II in
Constantinople. Dario, originally a non-noble (cittadino) from a modest
background, succeeded brilliantly, securing a favorable treaty that
ended hostilities and boosted Venetian trade.
Hailed as the "savior
of the homeland," Dario was rewarded with a noble title, lands, and a
substantial sum of money from the Republic. As a gesture of gratitude to
Venice, he commissioned the construction of a palace on a prime plot
along the Grand Canal. Work began around 1479–1480, with architect and
sculptor Pietro Lombardo (or a follower) overseeing the project.
Completed by the late 1480s, the palace blended Gothic elements—like
pointed arches—with Renaissance innovations, such as classical
medallions and polychrome marble cladding sourced from Eastern
influences, reflecting Dario's ties to the Orient.
The facade bears a
prominent Latin inscription: "URBIS GENIO JOANNES DARIUS" (translated as
"Giovanni Dario to the Genius of the City"), symbolizing Dario's homage
to Venice. This dedication underscored Dario's rise from commoner to
patrician, challenging the rigid social hierarchy of the Venetian
oligarchy, where only nobles typically held such power. The palace
served as both a private residence and a venue for diplomatic functions;
the Senate occasionally rented it to house Turkish envoys during the
early 16th century.
Dario lived in the palace until his death in 1494
at age 89. It then passed to his daughter, Marietta Dario, as part of
her dowry.
Early Inheritance and the Barbaro Family
Upon
Dario's death, Marietta inherited Ca' Dario and brought it into her
marriage with Vincenzo Barbaro, a wealthy spice merchant from the noble
Barbaro family, who already owned the adjacent Palazzo Barbaro Wolkoff.
The couple's tenure marked the beginning of the palace's tragic
reputation. Vincenzo suffered financial ruin through bankruptcy, was
reportedly stabbed to death, and their son was later killed in a violent
altercation on Crete. Devastated, Marietta committed suicide, setting a
pattern of misfortune that would fuel curse legends.
The property
remained with the Barbaro descendants until the 19th century, passing
through various hands within the family. During this period, it hosted
notable figures, though records are sparse. By the early 1800s, the
palace had fallen into disrepair, reflecting the broader decline of
Venetian nobility after the fall of the Republic in 1797.
The
19th Century: Revival and Emerging Curse Narratives
In the 19th
century, Ca' Dario underwent renovations and changed owners frequently,
amplifying tales of its malevolent influence. One early modern owner was
Arbit Abdoll, an Armenian diamond merchant, who went bankrupt shortly
after acquiring it. In 1838, English historian Rawdon Brown purchased
and restored the palace, but tragedy struck when his son committed
suicide there. Brown sold it in 1842 to avoid further calamity.
Subsequent owners included the Contessa Isabelle de la Baume-Pluvinel
(known as "La Belle des Océans"), who hosted literary salons but faced
personal losses. American millionaire Charles Briggs bought it in the
late 19th century but was forced to flee Venice after being accused of
homosexuality (then illegal), relocating to Mexico where he died by
suicide.
The palace's aesthetic appeal drew admiration from artists
and writers. John Ruskin praised its "exquisite" design in The Stones of
Venice (1851–1853), while Claude Monet painted it during his 1908 visit,
capturing its shimmering facade in works like Palazzo Dario, Venice.
Henry James referenced it in Italian Hours (1909), noting its
"melancholy" charm.
The 20th Century: High-Profile Tragedies and
the Curse Solidified
The 20th century saw Ca' Dario's curse legend
explode, with a string of high-profile owners meeting grim ends:
Henry de Régnier (French poet): Owned it briefly; his daughter committed
suicide, and his son died in a freak accident.
Kit Lambert (manager
of The Who): Bought it in the 1970s; died in 1981 after falling down the
stairs amid drug addiction and financial woes.
Filippo Giordano delle
Lanze (Italian count): Murdered in 1970 by his lover, Raul Blasich, who
fled but died in a car crash.
Count Lanzoni: Suffered a fatal heart
attack in the 1980s after vandalism at the palace.
Raul Gardini
(Italian businessman): Acquired it in the 1980s; committed suicide in
1993 amid the Tangentopoli corruption scandal.
Other near-owners
included actor Christopher Lambert, who sold it after near-bankruptcy,
and Woody Allen, who considered purchasing but backed out due to the
curse. Bassist John Entwistle of The Who also eyed it but died of a
heart attack in 2002 before buying.
Explanations for the "curse"
vary: some attribute it to the site's geomantic energies or Templar
graveyard foundations; others see it as coincidence amplified by
Venice's superstitious culture. Over 12–15 deaths have been linked to
the palace since its construction.
Modern Era and Current Status
In the 21st century, Ca' Dario was owned by an American conglomerate
before being listed for sale in 2026 at around €20 million ($21.5
million). It features nine bedrooms, eight bathrooms, grand halls with
frescoes, a garden, boat ramp, and rooftop terrace. Despite its luxury,
the curse has deterred buyers, with the palace remaining vacant and
closed to the public.
Today, Ca' Dario stands as a symbol of Venice's
opulent yet precarious history, blending architectural splendor with
macabre folklore. While skeptics dismiss the curse as urban myth, its
enduring mystique continues to captivate historians, artists, and
tourists alike.
The slender and asymmetrical facade on the Grand Canal, characterized
by a limited width of about 10 meters, hangs on one side due to a
structural failure and presents elements of clear Renaissance matrix, in
contrast with the other facades which maintain the Gothic style then
still widespread in Venice. It is completely decorated with polychrome
marble and Istrian stone, alternating in eighty circular medallions. The
ground floor has two single-lancet windows and a water portal, while
each of the upper floors is illuminated by a four-lancet window and a
single-lancet window.
The fireplaces, in typical Venetian style,
are among the few original examples of the period that have survived to
this day. The neo-Gothic balcony was added in the 19th century. At the
base of the building there is the inscription VRBIS GENIO IOANNES DARIVS
(in Latin, "John Darius, in honor of the genius of the city").
Internally, the building is characterized by a large atrium with a
marble well curb, a finely decorated marble staircase that leads to the
noble floors and an oriental-inspired internal fountain, located in a
room that follows the Moorish style in the decoration and shape of the
windows. The rear facade, with a clearly restored Gothic appearance,
appears uneven: the characteristic red color acts as a glue for a set of
fireplaces, roof terraces, Gothic windows and loggias.
The architectural beauty of Ca' Dario contrasts with its reputation
as a cursed building, a reputation conferred on it by the tragic fate
that has united many of its owners. According to an alleged curse that
would weigh on the house, in fact, the owners of Ca' Dario would be
destined to end up broke or to die a violent death.
Marietta, the
daughter of Giovanni Dario, committed suicide following the financial
collapse of her husband Vincenzo Barbaro, who was stabbed to death.
Tragic end also for their son Giacomo, who died in an ambush in Candia,
on the island of Crete. These three deaths caused a sensation among the
Venetians, who anagrammed the inscription on the façade, transforming it
from VRBIS GENIO IOANNES DARIVS to SVB RVINA INSIDIOSA GENERO (in Latin,
"I generate under an insidious ruin").
The descendants of the
Barbaro family inherited the palace until the early 19th century, when
Alessandro Barbaro sold it to Arbit Abdoll, an Armenian gemstone
merchant, who went bankrupt shortly after taking possession of the
mansion. Abdoll, in 1838, was forced to sell Ca' Dario for 480 pounds to
the Englishman Rawdon Brown, who, in turn, resold it four years later
due to lack of money to renovate it. The building was then bought by a
Hungarian count and then resold to a rich Irishman, Mr. Marshall, to be
bought in 1896 by the Countess Isabelle Gontran de la Baume-Pluvinel,
who had it restored, and by her friend Augustine Bulteau.
It
hosted the French poet Henri de Régnier, invited by the Countess de la
Baume-Pluvinel, until a serious illness interrupted his stays in Venice.
After the war Ca 'Dario was bought by Charles Briggs, an American
billionaire, who was however forced to flee Venice due to the constant
rumors about his homosexuality, taking refuge in Mexico, where his lover
committed suicide.
Having remained without an owner for a long
time, in 1964 the purchase was proposed to the tenor Mario Del Monaco,
who however did not take it into consideration precisely because of the
rumors about the previous owners.
A few years later Ca' Dario was
bought by the Turin count Filippo Giordano delle Lanze, who was killed
inside the palace in 1970 by a Croatian sailor named Raoul Blasich, with
whom he had a relationship. Blasich, convicted of the murder at first
instance, fled to London, where he disappeared and according to one
version was himself assassinated.
The building was then bought by
Christopher "Kit" Lambert, manager of the rock group The Who, who fell
in love with its romantic and melancholy appearance. In this environment
his addiction to drugs worsened to the point of undermining, in 1974,
his relations with the band, causing his arrest for possession of drugs
and favoring his financial collapse. While claiming that he did not
believe in the curse, Lambert had confided in some friends that he slept
in the gondoliers' kiosk of the nearby Hotel Gritti to "escape the
ghosts that haunted him in the Palazzo".
In 1978, three years
before his death, Kit Lambert sold Ca' Dario to a Venetian businessman,
Fabrizio Ferrari, who moved there with his sister Nicoletta, who died in
a freak car accident without witnesses. Fabrizio Ferrari, after a short
time, was involved in a financial crash and was also arrested on charges
of beating up a model. At the end of the eighties the building was
bought by the financier Raul Gardini, who intended to give it to his
daughter. Gardini, after a series of economic setbacks and involvement
in the Tangentopoli scandal, committed suicide in 1993 in circumstances
that have never been fully clarified.
After Gardini's death no
one wanted to buy Ca' Dario anymore, to the point that the first
brokerage firm that had received the mandate for the sale gave up and
put the job back on. At the end of the nineties the director and actor
Woody Allen seemed intent on buying the building, but he gave up. In
2002, a week after renting Ca' Dario for a holiday in Venice, bassist
John Entwistle died of a heart attack. In 2006 the property passed to an
American company representing an unknown buyer and is currently
undergoing restoration.