Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo has recently returned to its former splendour thanks to costly restoration. The exclusive nature of the building is due to the adjacent tower with its large spiral staircase (“bovolo” in Venetian dialect) built by Giovanni Candi 1499. The Scala Contarini del Bovolo is quite unique: extraordinarily elegant, yet hidden inside a small courtyard at the end of a narrow calle, running off Campo Manin. This is one of the most striking examples of Venetian architecture during the transition from the Gothic style, well-rooted in local culture, to the Renaissance style.

In order to improve the inner façade of the palace, Giovanni Candi designed a series of overlapping loggias to join the various floors to the open spiral staircase inside a cylindrical tower with light coming in through ascending arches. The staircase ends with a domed viewpoint offering a magnificent panorama: the roofs, the towers and the domes of St. Mark’s and a view over the whole city.

1300 - 1400 - S. MARCO - rev. 0.1.5