Located in the Cannaregio district,
just in front of the Jewish Ghetto,
Ca' Bonfadini stands out for the simple beauty of the building
and the amazing richness of the internal stuccoes and frescoes.
Designed in the heart of one of the liveliest districts as the patrician residence of a merchant family of the sixteenth century, it hides the secret magic of the city behind the rigorous mask of its facade.
The history of Cà Bonfadini is tightly connected to the history of Venice, as well as to the establishment of the Jewish Ghetto.
In fact, the palace was built in the sixteenth century on behalf of a merchant family, the Bonfadinis.
In that same period the Jewish community of the city was growing stronger in the Cannaregio district, in what is now the Ghetto Nuovo, just on the opposite side of the canal where Cà Bonfadini is located.
Commercial traffic intensified and with it the construction of palaces and synagogues, making this area one of the richest in cultural melting pot, where artists such as Tintoretto and Titian found space.
Among these alleys Shakespeare set the drama “The Merchant of Venice”: after some hints in two other works, the Bard totally surrenders to the magic of the city, dedicating to it one of his most successful comedies.
A charm that you will find even today just breathing the mood of the district.
A city gateway to the East for centuries, exotic and fairy-tale; its secrets, hidden in the mist rising from the canals, are visible only to an expert eye.
The statues at the corners of alleys recall witches and mythical characters, the bas-reliefs on the buildings are traces of messages of love, and the alchemical symbols mark esoteric paths between alleys and squares.
Mysterious tales of virtues and values that you will also find in the majestic frescoes framed by neoclassical stuccos in the rooms of Ca’ Bonfadini.
A palace that holds in every room a dialogue between the art and the history of the city.
The staff of Ca’ Bonfadini is available for responding to your requests.
