Palazzo Pisani is a Venetian palace located in the San Marco
district, overlooking the Rio del Santissimo and bordering Palazzetto
Pisani and Palazzo Morosini, overlooking Campo Pisani, adjacent to Campo
Santo Stefano. It is the seat of the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory.
«The last major renovation was entrusted to Girolamo Frigimelica,
architect of the Pisani family, the same one who built the imposing
Villa Pisani in Stra. The purpose of the construction was eminently
celebratory: the noble Pisani family, at the time one of the richest in
the city, wanted a building worthy of their grandeur, gradually making
their way through the neighboring houses to reach the Grand Canal.
Famous people, sovereigns and princes stayed here: the chronicles speak
of the magnificence of the furnishings and decorations, of the gallery
full of paintings by the most famous painters. The huge facade of the
building, criticized by some for its ostentation, is enlivened by two
large arches above the entrance door»
(Benedict Marcellus)
"[in Palazzo Pisani] what is remarkable [there is] only the courage of
the ancient owner to spend so much money badly"
(Wild Peter)
Construction
In 1525 the Pisanis already lived in the area of
Santo Stefano, but the construction of the building only began between
1614 and 1615. The first nucleus developed where both a house already
owned by the family (obtained by inheritance) and other buildings
purchased specifically for the need to build this home. Alvise Pisani,
the client, decided not to turn to an architect for the supervision of
the activities but to provide for it himself, contacting the craftsmen
directly, perhaps due to the absence at that time of a great artistic
personality in the city. In 1634 an earthquake destroyed part of the
house, which had to be rebuilt. It has been thought that for the
rebuilding of the building, built "in the Roman style", the proto of the
time, i.e. Bortolo da Venezia, known as Manopola, may have also been
contacted. In the 18th century Vincenzo Maria Coronelli attributed the
design of the building to Jacopo Sansovino.
Expansion
In 1728
the Pisani family commissioned Gerolamo Frigimelica to provide for the
elevation and expansion of the complex. His intervention involved the
destruction of the large central dormer, the raising of a floor, the
construction of the internal courtyards and the decoration. At the end
of the 18th century other works were carried out which caused the
alteration of the plan. The new owner of the building, a certain Alvise
Pisani, in fact decided to transform the halls of the second noble floor
into smaller rooms, dividing them according to the project by Bernardino
Maccaruzzi. The building now had about 200 rooms. In this period Gustav
III of Sweden was also a guest of the palace, who claimed that he could
never have reciprocated the sumptuous welcome received. Numerous other
transformations followed: the plan was revised several times, the art
collections were removed, the entire complex was divided into rental
apartments. In the meantime, the owner family had in fact had to cede a
large part of the building, remaining owner only of the northern wing.
In 1880 the owning family died out. In 1940 the building was changed
into a conservatory. In 1947 the painter Zoran Music had his studio in
the attic.
Facades
The building, which clearly demonstrates the Pisani
family's desire to reach the Grand Canal, an objective achieved with the
acquisition of Palazzetto Pisani, has considerable dimensions and
therefore more facades.
The main facade overlooks Campo Pisani
and is characterized by the Istrian stone decoration, which gives it a
majestic appearance. It traditionally appears tripartite: in the center
of the ground floor we find a large portal, taken from the serliane of
the upper floors. On the sides of the latter there are windows with
round arches, whose keystone is decorated with a human head. They are
arranged to form mullioned windows: the two windows constituting the
modular unit then repeated have a column in the center and pillars on
the sides. The exceptionally powerful balcony on the first floor is
supported by two modillions and its parapet is decorated with a square
motif.
Secondary facades develop towards the Grand Canal
(completed only in 1751) and towards the Rio del Santissimo. Both have a
bare appearance, not comparable with that of the main one. Their
decoration mainly consists of single lancet windows.
Plant
The
structure of the plant has characteristics that are very different from
the traditional ones, which see a succession of rooms on the sides of
the portego. In this case, however, the building develops around two
courtyards, separated only by a loggia.
Interior
The building
has been the victim of looting over the years. Despite everything,
numerous works of art still survive today, concentrated in the ceilings
and stuccos. The portal is surrounded by two sculptural groups,
depicting the Slaying of the Nemean lion and the Capture of Cerberus:
they are usually attributed to the school of Girolamo Campagna. The back
wall of the entrance hall is dominated by the large fanò, the lantern
that stood at the stern of Andrea Pisani's galley. In the room of the
ancient library, on the fifth floor, there are two medallions with the
profiles of Martin Luther and John Calvin. In the mezzanine there are
some rooms decorated with stuccoes dating back to the second half of the
18th century.
The portego on the first noble floor once had a
collection of paintings depicting the faces of the most famous men of
the family: today only those of Andrea Pisani and Alvise Pisani survive.
The decoration of the room is instead the work of the painter Jacopo
Guarana. Decorations abound in the rooms on the first floor: among
others Francesco Zugno worked there for the creation of the frescoes
that decorate the room on the field and the adjacent one. The same floor
also has a chapel with an altarpiece on the theme of the Holy Family and
San Giovannino, created by Giuseppe Angeli.
As for the wing
overlooking the canal, it has two rooms which once must have been richly
decorated but which today appear bare. On the same side there was also a
room used as an art gallery, where valuable works were housed. According
to an inventory made in 1809, it consisted of 159 works, of which
two-thirds from the 16th century, about forty from the 17th century and
a dozen from the 18th century. The inventory also mentions the names of
the artists, including Titian, Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, Bassano,
Palma il Vecchio. Adjacent to this room is one rich in white and gilded
stucco, attributed to Giuseppe Ferrari who allegedly made them in 1776.
To the right is a chapel dedicated to the Madonna del Rosario, enlarged
and decorated in 1717.
Another particularly important room is the
ballroom, now used for concerts. Its shape was defined by Almorò Pisani
between 1717 and 1720. The most valuable piece of art in the room was
once the canvas that decorated the ceiling, made by Giovanni Antonio
Pellegrini between 1722 and 1723. The canvas was sold in 1895 but it was
replaced in 1904 by a work by Vittorio Emanuele Bressanin, depicting the
Glorification of Music. This work was done for free. Simultaneously
Bressanin also dedicated himself to the realization of the fresco in the
other room towards the central staircase, once decorated with five
paintings by Veronese. In the room that now houses the direction of the
conservatory there is a bronze knocker, attributed to Alessandro
Vittoria.
Nothing remains of the ancient Pisani library other than a catalog dating back to 1807. Three years later everything went to auction and was dispersed. The library had been founded by Almorò Pisani and was the richest among those available to individual Venetian nobles. During the period of its activity it was open to the public twice a week and had a caretaker. The collection was rich in what were called forbidden books as they were frequently connected to heresies. The library also housed a vast numismatic collection, consisting of 6,000 pieces, to be added to the complete series of Venetian coins.