Housed in a 13th-century Venetian-Byz-antine palace, previously known as Ca da Mosto, the hotel is set within one of the oldest palazzos in the city and hallmarks of age are seen, celebrated and beautifully exposed throughout.
Husband and wife team Francesca Rinaldo and Alessandro Gallo, owners of the Venice Venice –a member of THE AFICIONADOS–, founders of clothing and footwear brand Golden Goose and homegrown residents of Venice, wanted this hotel to be an homage to their city, and of course to the building itself. Its history speaks of a crossroads of discovery from when the palazzo was a trading hub and knowledge-exchange, further compounded in the 17th-century Grand Tour when it became a hotel that housed the European wanderers, dreamers, artists and aristocrats that flocked to Venice in search of enlightenment.
A five-year restoration began, with a major rethink needed after the hotel had stood abandoned for decades. Withparticular attention to the bones of the building, restoration with sensitivity was needed to preserve the soul of the structure, including the Byzantine exterior, brass windows and doors and the original Venetian staircase that was in factdissembled, restored and refitted exactly so.
Rinaldo and Gallo also wanted to create a design hub that would become the zenith of their ideas, a canvas for their ownburgeoning art collections, interests and artistic connections within the city and further afield, continuing its legacy as ameeting for minds. Layered onto the heritage features is an eclectic and energetic take on art curation and interior design, showing the owners mettle when it comes to multifaceted mediums and the fusing of old and new with tapestries, paintings, photography and sculpture set against the tactile patina of age. A standout must be a mirror frame created from 500-year-old clay sourced from the hotel’s foundations, set to a traditional Venetian style by a modern artist and a soberly lit sculpture by Fabio Viale entitled Piet Senza Cristo, which acts as an introduction to the hotel, sat on a smooth marble plinth against the original stairway, a masterful use of light, tradition and bold creativity.
Today the hotel seems at once classic and comfortable in its heritage finesse, and at the same time rebelliously exciting, adaringly rethought palazzo which is anchored into the world of architecture, creativity. fashion and the art of travel. Rinaldo and Gallo have termed this new wave post-Venetian, a mantra that looks to the future of Venice, making it one of the most sought after, hot-ticket addresses for nomads of style on the modern-day Grand Tour.
About The Aficionados
Founded by Iain Ainsworth, THE AFICIONADOS is a travel resource for those seeking fabulous recommendations and accommodation that effortlessly fuses luxury, design and authenticity. It comprises over 90 hotels, designer homes for private hire and guesthouses, from all across Europe and a fabulous outpost in New York, the United States, together with a selection of over 100 creatives who round out the offer of this culture and lifestyle emporium for travel and good living. The Aficionados also publishes five printed magazines: Blueprint Beauts, Farmhouse Fabulous, Casa Gorgeous, Neu Heritage, and Alchemists of Italy.
