Palazzo Grassi in Venice

Palazzo Grassi, located in Campo San Samuele and overlooking the Grand Canal, was the last palace built before the end of the Venetian Republic in 1772 .

The stairwell

The grand staircase is frescoed by Michelangelo Morlaiter and Francesco Zanchi, while the ceilings are decorated by artists Giambattista Canal and Christian Griepenkerl. In 1840 the Grassi family sold the palace, which passed through the hands of several owners before becoming the International Centre of Arts and Costume in 1951 .

The Fiat acquisition

In 1983, Palazzo Grassi was bought by Fiat as a space for art and archaeological exhibitions, and the building was adapted by the Milanese architect Gae Aulenti . In 2005, the Palazzo , for years the venue for important exhibitions on the great civilisations of the past, was taken over by the François Pinault Foundation , which started a renovation project entrusted to the Japanese architect Tadao Ando .

The result is a fascinating combination of the Pinault collection and the historical location, which plays as a contrasting frame to the contemporary works of art . The palace hosts frequent art exhibitions with a selection of works from around the world.

The article Palazzo Grassi in Venice comes from Venice City Tours - Blog.