History

The construction of the Palazzo that now houses Hotel Ca’ Bonfadini was commissioned by the Bonfadini family, Tyrolean merchants who came to Venice in the second half of the 16th century who would go on to become nobility. This imposing three-storey building also known as Palazzo Bonfadini Vivante was constructed with a mezzanine first floor, a second noble floor and a third level dedicated to the servants’ quarters.

The façade, characterised by perfect symmetry and unfussy aesthetics, dates back to the period 1648–61. The Serlian window on the second floor stands out as the only aristocratic element, surrounded by rectangular windows supported by subtle string courses. This structure, likely the result of the merger of two lots from the Gothic period (1100–1400), hints that the original lots were formed differently, one C-shaped with an inner courtyard, now occupied by the lift, and an adjacent L-shaped structure.

With the fall of the Republic in 1797, the Bonfadini family abandoned the property and moved to the mainland. The Palazzo ended up divided into apartments, one of which was occupied by the Vivante family. The latter acquired the entire property in 1815, enriching it with numerous frescoes, including the neoclassical decorations by Carlo Bevilacqua that can still be admired today.

In 2019, the Palazzo was purchased by I Palazzi Historic Experience Hotels Group, which undertook a restoration project that lasted more than two years. Thanks to this restoration, beautiful frescoes and stuccoes that had been hidden behind plasterboard walls for years emerged once more.