Palazzo Morosini Sagredo is a palace in Venice, located in the Cannaregio district and overlooking the Grand Canal between Palazzetto Foscari and Palazzo Giustinian Pesaro.
The building was renovated on behalf of the Morosini family and, in particular, by Michele Morosini starting from 1382. The building was purchased, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, by Gerardo Sagredo, a relative of the more famous Nicolò Sagredo and part of the same family to which Gerard of Csanád had belonged. Under the new ownership, the building was restructured again under the guidance of Andrea Tirali, who unified the lateral side, built the prestigious monumental staircase and had the attic enhanced with stucco. Tommaso Temanza also participated in the works: he designed a new scheme for the facade, with the aim of unifying its appearance. The project, similar to that of Palazzo Grassi, however never saw the light of day, as the descendants of Gerardo Sagredo protracted a long judicial dispute relating to the inheritance for several years. In fact, Gerardo Sagredo had decided to leave the palace to the richest family among those who would inherit his property, hoping that his majestic project would thus be completed without the problem of economic difficulties. When the last descendant of the family, Agostino, died, the residence was stripped of his works of art. The restoration work, which lasted more than seven years and was supervised by the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Venice, restored all of its ancient splendor to the Palazzo.
The structure of the building is typically fourteenth-century and clearly recognizable in other similar structures of the same period, in which trade, which branched off through the canals, led to the use of the rooms on the ground floor, which surrounded the courtyard, as warehouses and offices. Today, the hall of a luxury hotel corresponds to the ancient courtyard of the building.
The complex and disjointed facade facing the Grand Canal takes us back through the architectural history of the building. The imposing hexaphora on the first floor, flanked by single lancet windows supported by slender columns, was initially placed in the center of the building; it currently appears decentralized, as a result of the enlargement subsequently carried out, with respect to the original construction, for which the exaphora is today found to be the window of a suite. The restructuring of the building in later periods includes the addition of the right wing in the direction of Campo di Santa Sofia and the insertion of Gothic trefoil windows. Above the hexaphora you can see a Gothic quadrifora, surmounted by four quadrilobes, architectural elements that give grace to the facade, making it unique and particular, and at the same time create enchanting light effects inside.