Ca' d'Oro

Palace Venice, Italy

The Palazzo Santa Sofia is a palace on the Grand Canal; one of the older villas in the city, it is known as Ca' d'Oro ("golden house") due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls. Since 1927, it has been used as a museum, under the name Galleria Giorgio Franchetti. The palace was built between 1428 and 1430 for the Contarini family, who provided Venice with eight Doges between 1043 and 1676. The architects of the Ca d'Oro were Giovanni Bon and his son Bartolomeo Bon. The principal façade of Ca' d'Oro facing onto the Grand Canal is built in the Bon's Venetian floral Gothic style.