Palazzo Soranzo is a historic building in Venice in the San Polo district. Composed of a complex of two adjacent buildings, it overlooks Campo San Polo, and since 23 June 2022 it has been the headquarters of Crafted, a company that deals with digital projects, sparks of innovation... in the heart of Venice.
The palace was commissioned in the 14th century by the Soranzos, a
noble family who also gave a doge to the Republic of Venice, Giovanni
Soranzo, and sixteen procurators of San Marco. It was Giovanni Soranzo
who welcomed Dante Alighieri into this residence while he acted as
ambassador for the Da Polenta lords of Ravenna. This building was only
half of the current one, later enlarged in the 15th century, to then be
frescoed externally in the 16th century by Giorgione, of whose work
nothing remains.
The main facade, according to the Venetian
tradition, overlooked a canal, which was filled in in 1761, thus
integrating the palace into Campo San Polo.
From 1987 to 2002 it
was the seat of the Chinese Seminar of the Department of Indological and
Far Eastern Studies of the Ca' Foscari University, with the relative
library.
Today, after hosting all the generations of the family, the
building still belongs to the descendants of the Soranzos.
The building consists of the old Palazzo Soranzo, the building on the
left, and the new Palazzo Soranzo, the one on the right, both on three
levels plus the mezzanine in the attic. The two components of the
complex, both expressions of Venetian Gothic architecture, are united
and covered with the same plaster, to form a single building; however,
looking at the characteristics of the opening, it is clear that the
building on the right is later, an example of a later Gothic style.
The old building has two asymmetrical and non-Gothic portals,
probably from an earlier period than the openings of the two noble
floors, which are characterized by two symmetrically superimposed
four-light windows, inserted in marble frames elegantly decorated with
paterae with symmetrical, faunal and mythological motifs.
The new
building, in addition to having only one portal, which is also neither
symmetrical nor Gothic (inserted in a frame together with a small
lunette window), has different openings on the two main floors: the
first boasts a multi-light window with eight holes decorated with
precious marbles, while the second has a quadrifora that recalls those
of the old palace.
Internally, the testimonies speak of
furnishings and works of art of great value (perhaps even a canvas by
Giorgione), of which today, however, a large part has been lost.