Palazzo Surian Bellotto is an architecture of Venice, located in the Cannaregio district and overlooking the Cannaregio canal.
This palace, one of the most impressive facades of the Cannaregio
canal, was built by the will of the patrician family of the Surian (of
Armenian origin) in the 17th century, based on a project attributed to
the architect Giuseppe Sardi, author of the nearby Palazzo Savorgnan.
At the end of the same century, it was sold to the Bellottos (of
Brescian origin). In the 18th century, it became the Venetian seat of
the French embassy: it was the period in which the philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived there.
After the fall of the Republic
of Venice, in the 19th century the building began a long period of
deterioration, during which the sumptuous interiors, their original
structure and decorations were irreparably lost.
The Palazzo was
represented in the "view of the Cannaregio canal" by the painter
Francesco Guardi around 1770.
It is currently one of the few
historic buildings in Venice inhabited by Venetians. On the ground floor
of the building on 9 December 2016 the Laguna Libre, a cultural
eco-osteria, came to life. After an important restoration according to
the principles of green building, this large venue was created which is
both a restaurant with local, high quality and organic products, the
most important Jazz & world music club in North East Italy (in
collaboration with Veneto Jazz), as well as a space for public and
private events, venue for temporary art and photographic exhibitions,
book presentations and public debates in collaboration with NGOs and
networks. Laguna Libre also houses the headquarters of Smart Venice, a
research and consultancy company that deals with gender equality,
inclusive innovation and sustainability projects. On 2 December 2020,
the well-known cultural broadcast of channel France 3 of the French
national television "Des Racines et des Ailes" aired the documentary
"Notre-Dame, Chartres,Venise: chefs-d'oeuvre en renaissance". In the
documentary, the Surian Bellotto Palace with its history and the Laguna
Libre with its cultural and gastronomic project represent one of the
examples of the possible rebirth of the city after the high tide of
November 2019 and the covid-19 Pandemic of 2020/ 2021.
The best preserved and most important part of Palazzo Surian is the
large Baroque-style facade, which, with its high four floors, soars
above the neighboring buildings.
The facade is asymmetrical,
having the central axis shifted to the left: it is here that the most
valuable openings are found: on the ground floor, two arched portals
with masks, inserted in a rusticated band; to these correspond, on the
main floors, two pairs of serliane, the one on the second floor
partially walled up; the other openings are large single lancet windows
with stone frames recalling the serliane motifs. All the openings on the
noble floors are equipped with balustrades and masks. The fourth floor
has a band of smaller rectangular windows.
The levels of the
facade are marked by elaborate string course frames, while the top is
crossed by an indented cornice.