Villa Mocenigo

I°: Mirano, Venezia, Murano, Torcello, Lido, Alberoni
II°: Padova, Vicenza, Colli Euganei, Arquà Petrarca
III°: Noale, Treviso, Castelfranco, Bassano del Grappa, Asolo
IV°: Caorle Grado, Trieste
V°: Riviera del Brenta, Chioggia, Ravenna

STYLES IN VENICE
Venice is truly extraordinary city.
It was the most important market centre in the Mediterranean in the 12th – 15th centuries, a link between east and west. Its inhabitants created a special civilization, as we can admire in the churches, museums and galleries.
As a result of its geographical position, of the way it developed over the centuries and of the lack of any strong classical tradition, the art and culture o Venice up to the 12th – 13th remained essentially Byzantine, witness the greatest of all the city’s religious buildings, the Basilica of St. Mark’s. A few unmistakable basic elements identify Byzantine style: rounded stilted arches, capitals decorated with elegant relief, colourful marble-work.
Also the Romanesque style, with its simple rounded arches and thick, solid supporting walls, was typical of 12th and13th century buildings.
The Ducal Palace, the most important Venetian public building and a classical symbol of Venice’s beauty, was built in Gothic style.
The essential sympathy of Gothic style with the qualities of light and water which characterize Venice soon became apparent and the city took on a clear and original Gothic stamp which has coincided with Venice’s century of greatest splendour – the 15th century.
Architecture during the Renaissance in Venice often imposed rather heavy classical forms on the city and the influence of Michelangelo was felt. But it was rather in the decoration of ceilings, vaults and walls that Renaissance style made its finest contributions, and that because it was more in keeping with the established local traditions in these fields. Rather then the rounded arches, the orders and the proportions which governed the delineation of the space, it was the new spirit with which these elements were manipulated which characterized the essence of Renaissance influence.
In the 17th century the Baroque, which was always prone to over decoration in its attempt to harness the chromatic possibilities of movement, left one masterpieces in the church of S. Maria della Salute and then declined into even greater exaggeration and over burdening of the decorative element. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Neo-classical movement rose the primacy and devoted itself primarily to the restoration and protection of Venice’s incomparable artistic heritage.
The layout of the town reflects a way of life organised around its maritime location, with restricted spaces, narrow lanes, canals everywhere, some broad, some narrow, with the Grand Canal, the most imposing of all, few open spaces, with life set around the main centres – Rialto, St. Mark’s and the Arsenal, all facing the sea.
Due to the type of territory – small islands and sandbanks – the need to strengthen the foundations of the buildings with wooden piles, the corrosion with which these are threatened and the movement of the waters, the architects have always tried to limit the weight of the walls with spacious openings and by using bricks. This means that there is no monumental architecture in Venice, but there are marble decorated rows of windows and inner and outer mosaic embellishments.

CIVIL ARCHITECTURE
The ancient tradition in civil architecture dates back to the period of trade exchange between Venice and Byzantium.
Architectural distribution of the different parts of the house makes provision for long, spacious rooms, lending themselves to the transfer and storage of goods. Due to the particular attributes of available building land the Venetians saw the Byzantine fondaco, a street-level dwelling serving as both warehouse and office premises, as a suitable building model.
Ca’ Corner Loredan, ground-floor plan.
A Portico. B Hall. C Store-rooms. D Stairs. E Garden
Villa Mocenigo, ground-floor plan.
B Hall. C Store-rooms. D Stairs. E Garden