Ca' Pesaro
Santa Croce 2076, Venice
Built from 1679, for Leonardo Pesaro, Procurator of St Mark's from 1679 to 1710, on land that was part of the dowry he received from his wife, Maria Priuli. The Pesaro family had been among the most important in Venice since the 13th Century. To build his palazzo, Leonardo secured the architectural services of Baldassare Longhena (1597-1682), the greatest architect then working in Venice, and the greatest of its Baroque architects. When Loghena died just three years later it was eventually completed to his original plans by Antonio Gaspari in 1710. When the last of the Pesaros died in 1830, its priceless art and furnishings were sold at auction in London....
After 1830, the palace was acquired by the Gradenigo family before being passed to the Armenian Mechitarist Fathers who used it as a college. It was afterwards bought by the Bevilacqua La Masa family and came into the hands of the Duchess Felicita Bevilacqua La Masa. In 1898, she bequeathed the palace to the City of Venice and in 1902 it opened as the International Gallery of Modern Art, as it remains today. Its frescoes and ceilings by the likes of Bambini, Pittoni, Crosato, Trevisani and Girolamo Brusaferro can still be seen. It, along with Ca' Rezzonico, inspired the Joseph Pulitzer Mansion in New York.
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Contributed by Mark Meredith on 22/11/2020 and last updated on 23/11/2020.
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