Venetian Palazzo

I arrived in Venice, Italy late in the afternoon and was able to get comfortable on my ship.  In the evening, I took a short walk through the narrow streets to an area along the Grand Canal. My group was given a private tour of the Palazzo Nani Bernardo by the owner who happens to be a countess.

We started in the garden where we saw a 200 year old wisteria (below) that has grown over the small courtyard entrance to the garden. We had to duck down under a particularly stubborn branch that now blocks the entry of the garden.

Below is the view of the garden from one of the drawing room windows in the palazzo. At the center is the largest palm tree in Venice, which is fitting since this is the largest garden in Venice.  Palazzi were large homes built by the wealthy who had once been part of the Roman patricians and later became the medieval nobles. This palazzo is owned by a countess, who gave us a personal tour of the garden and house.  The palazzo was built more than 600 years ago and the garden was the result of her family buying several properties behind the palazzo 200 years ago and demolishing them to create the space.  Land is rare in Venice, so gardens are especially rare.  Gardens were a sign of wealth, so to keep them from the poor of the city, the nobles had walls built around their gardens.

Inside one of the drawing rooms is a Carnival dress from the time 18th century. It is in front of a painting of a woman wearing the same style as she prepares to go to the annual festival. The dress is embroidered with actual threads of silver.

The Palazzo Nani Bernardo is located on the Grand Canal along with many other palazzi that have become hotels and museums because of the high cost to maintain the buildings.  We rode in a water taxi along the canal and back to the ship.  Below is a view of the Grand Canal from the balcony of the drawing room.