Palazzo Nani is an elegant building in the historic center of Venice, located along the foundations of Cannaregio.
The complex was built in the sixteenth century to become the
residence of the Nani family of the "di Cannaregio" branch (later Nani
Mocenigo). Already towards the eighties of the same century it was
remodeled on a project by Alessandro Vittoria, to whom we owe above all
the internal decoration.
In its golden age, the building was home
to a rich art collection, consisting of artifacts from the Roman era;
right on the sides of the entrance portal were two large statues of
consuls.
The Nanis remained there until 1810, when they moved to
San Trovaso in the Barbarigo Nani Mocenigo palace. In the following
years it began to decline, undergoing serious tampering: in 1859 it was
occupied by the Austrian army who converted it into barracks, then it
was used as a school. Meanwhile, the pieces of the collection were
gradually alienated and dispersed.
In 2021, after an important
restoration and conservation work, designed by the Italian architect
Marco Piva, it became a hotel of the Radisson Collection Hotel chain.
Palazzo Nani is spread over three levels (including the ground floor)
plus a mezzanine.
The facade, now rather unadorned, is
asymmetrical due to the heavy nineteenth-century interventions which
enlarged the building towards the right. Apart from this, the opening is
very regular, based on five axes with the central one highlighted, on
the upper levels, by simple four-light windows (those on the main floors
have projecting balconies). Two stone coats of arms are placed on the
sides of the quadrifora on the first floor.
The rich internal
decoration is linked to Vittoria's intervention, with stuccos and
frescoes still well preserved in the portego on the first floor.
The palace was complemented by a garden, the area of which is built up
today.