Palazzo Bembo is a magnificent example of the Venetian gothic style heavily influenced by Moorish architecture, a form of contamination that developed thanks to the journeys of Venetian merchants in the eastern Mediterranean. It was built on the Canal Grande at the end of the 1300s by the noble Bembo family, along the shore used to unload of coal, the Riva del Carbon. The Bembo family was originally from Bologna and found refuge in the lagoon at the time of the invasions by nomadic peoples from the North-East of Europe. The family became famous over the centuries, thanks to eminent figures such as Giovanni John Bembo, who defeated the Uscocchi pirates and became the doge in 1635. Another famous member of this family was Pietro Bembo, appointed cardinal in 1539, famous for his [Renaissance] studies and for having written one of the first Italian grammars. Today the splendid rooms of this fifteenth-century palace are partly occupied by a luxury hotel.

1300 - 1400 - S. MARCO - rev. 0.1.6