The Malipieros'family tree


The Cappello coat-of-arms


The Malipiero coat-of-arms


The Barnabo coat-of-arms


Malipiero Palace
(engraving)

 

The history of the Cà Grande of Saint Samuel


The Cà Grande (big palace) of Saint Samuel was probably built at the beginning of the 11th century by Soranzo family, which also built in that period, together with the Boldù family, the church of St. Samuel facing the Palace. In the 13th century a floor was added to the pre-existing bizantyne style' building, in accordance with to the custom at the time.
In the early days of the 15th century the Cappello family, one of the most energetic and industrious families of Venice, bacame owners of the Palace as a result of marriages with the Soranzos. As from the mid-16th century the Cappello enlarged the building and conferred to the facade on the Grand Canal its present shape.

Around the 1590 the Malipiero family became tenants of the Cappellos and Caterino Malipiero, within few years as from 1610, through the marriage with Elisabetta Cappello and further purchases, obtained ownership of the whole edifice. Evidence of the very many restorations done by him are the date 1622 and the initials K.M. (Caterino Malipiero) in an engraving placed over on the main door he built, giving access to the new large entrance of the Palace.
Around the year 1725, the Malipiero began new massive restoration works that gave the palace today's homogeneous aspect.

In the first half of the 19th century, with the Venetian Republic in full decline and after four centuries of successions, the Palace of the Soranzos, Cappellos and Malipieros suffered the same destiny as many other palaces of Venetian patrician families: passing from hand to hand as a result of many transfers.
These transfers accelerated the decline of the building until the Barnabò family purchased it. In 1951 the Barnabòs undertook a substantial restoration, returning the palace premises to a grand and serene eighteenth-century style.

The Cà Grande and the venetian culture

Very little information could be collected as to the events that took place in the Palace. However, it appears that the Cappello family put the palace's storehouses to good use by developing the newly discovered printing and publishing activity there.
What we know is that between 1656 and 1676, as a result of the construction of two very popular and successful theatres, a licentious way of life spread all over St. Samuel parish, and soon infected the palace. We also know that Giacomo Casanova, who was born on Calle della Commedia (later renamed Calle Malipiero), from 1740 frequented Palazzo Malipiero assiduously, as a confidant of Senator Alvise II "Gasparo" Malipiero. Here he established relationships with some influential persons and with a great many ladies. But one day the Senator caught him with Teresa Imer, on whom the Senator himself had invested some illusions, and Casanova was expelled from the Palace and later from Venice.
Casanova left a lively portrait of Alvise II in his Memoires. The latter work is historically meaningful due to its portrait of the Venetian custom in the 18th century. In this bizarre and turbulent environment, the Malipiero suffered a passive decadent demise.

St. Samuel parish cultural life was revived only after 1950 when the Palazzo Grassi Cultural Center was established.
Palazzo Malipiero also contributes to Venice's Cultural heritage revival by hosting the exhibition spaces of Studio d'Arte Barnabò Gallery and Il Tridente Multimedia Publishing House.

Malipiero Palace also contributed to this by hosting the Barnaḅ Art Studio since 1982; the headquarters of the publishing house of multimedia products Il Tridente and since the 2000s also the exhibition spaces dedicated to the Biennali d'Arte e d'Architettura di Venezia. Since 2020, together with the Barnaḅ Family's Archive, the building is hosting the 'Hon. Prof. Gianni De Michelis' House and Archive' -then Italian Republic's Minister of Foreign Affairs between year 1989 and 1992-.



A summarized bibliography and the credits are available here.


Exhibition spaces in Palazzo Malipiero
© 1999-2006 by Il Tridente