Palazzo Bernardo is a rooftop apartment in the heart of Venice.
A delightful apartment amid the quiet of Venice's rooftops - the gentle lapping of the water induces a meditative calm. There is a large sitting room with three sofas upholstered with sumptuous Venetian fabric, with a splendid dining room leading into a newly furnished, well-equipped kitchen with espresso coffee machine. A display cabinet of traditional Venetian pieces adorns the corridor. Here there is one double and one single bedroom (4+1 beds), overlooking the Rio de la Madoneta, looking down onto the Grand Canal. A modern bathroom completes the apartment.
The apartment sits within a superb old Venetian palazzo, Palazzo Bernardo. It was in the early decades of the 14th century that the Bernardo family began work on its new residence on the Grand Canal, on the corner of Rio de la Madoneta. It was completed in 1442 when the Republic used it to accomodate Duke Francesco Sforza and his wife Bianca Visconti. The palazzo served this public function again on other occasions; the Bernardo family withdrawing to a part of the palazzo, probably its first floor.
[ View on Google Map | map of region ]Variations in the widths of the spaces between the windows can be noted in the layout of the three-part facade. The mullioned window with six lights on the first floor faces and is shifted to the right, losing not only its central position but also its vertical alignment. There are two doors giving access from the canal, probably because the palazzo was home to two households belonging to the same family. There is no mezzanine floor, while the first floor ("piano nobile") has single and mullioned windows with pointed arches, and a rose window, clearly defined like the openings on the 2nd floor. The minimum price of apartment is €200 per day.
The triple arches develop into the series of highly ornamental four-light windows; the single-light windows at the side, with rose window, have a perforated marble cross beam. Note the entwined pointed secondary arch with projecting central capital. There are three narrow string-courses running across the entire width of the facade, with the windows of the top floor directly above the highest one. The spaces between the windows are decorated with statue niches and crests.
A beautiful and historic setting then, for this rooftop apartment in the heart of Venice.
