Palazzo Contarini o del Bovolo by flavia49
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
The Snail House of Venice was a palace of the Contarini family. The Contarini were an aristocratic Venetian family, eight of whose members became Doge of Venice. The Contarini mostly resided in prestigious palaces lining the banks of the Grand Canal, the most fitting environment in which to display their enormous wealth. The Palazzo del Bovolo was one of their "lesser" residences, tucked away in an obscure alley near the Piazza San Marco. In order to compensate for the palace's obscure location the architect, Giorgio Spavento, was commissioned to add an elegant spiral staircase (bovolo = snail shell) with a series of vertical arches to the Gothic tower completed by Giovanni Candi in 1499.
The frescos, which once covered the entire façade, are now only visible from one of the stairwell’s platforms while several passages to the piani nobili have been bricked up. The half-arches on the fourth floor were originally full arches but were partially demolished in order to reduce maintenance costs.
The stairwell has always been well-preserved and has fascinated successive generations of tourists including Lord Byron and John Ruskin.
Comments (23)
delbeke
Wonderful capture of a spiffy house. I have seen it person and it is grand!
artaddict2
A magnificent eyecatching building, wonderful architecture. and a Superb POV.
kasalin
Impressive and stunning building
durleybeachbum
Great pic and info!
dbrv6
Magnificint capture of the stair and the detail that goes into that hints out how they are made.
jocko500
architectural wonderfula and a wonderful shot too
cole4965
Really beautiful!!!
goldie
oh, this is such a wonderful capture...you know how much i love venice :) thanks for sharing!
stevey3d
Superb image! Terrific pov portrays the height very well!
PIERRE25
Majestueux bâtiment, belle photo!
RodolfoCiminelli
Impressive and fabulous architecture.....!!! Splendid photo and spectacular POV Flavia.....!!!!
MrsRatbag
Great POV & capture!
Radar_rad-dude
An astoundingly phenominal Point of View!!!! A most wonderful and magnificent photographic capture! Very nice lighting and framing! An all around masterpiece of photography! Extremely WELL DONE!!!!!
Buffalo1
One of the Doge's "lesser" residences? What do the "greater" ones look like? This is a striking study of beautiful architecture using POV and perspective. Superb photography ad a favorite!
smillinfaces
what a great picture and architecture
Mousson
Ca c'est une vue ! Beau cadrage et belle composition
Darkwish
You did really fantastic shot!
Digital_Mischief
A great POV and enjoyed the details.
prutzworks
great pov and compoition
mss
Magnificent structure emphasized by a well chosen point of view! Also, thank you for the information. I want a snail shell staircase...
tennesseecowgirl
Lovely building and architecture!!
myrrhluz
Having to go up and down this daily would keep one fit! Beautiful architecture and capture! Wonderful detail and POV!
junge1
Beautifully captured Flavia and an interesting historic accounting!