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A Venetian family built this little house next to their palace to hold what they had inherited: pictures, books, and a room to hear music in. Three centuries later it does the last of those things full time.
At a glance
The Palazzetto Bru Zane — Centre de musique romantique française stands near the Frari, in San Polo. The building is the casino Zane, put up between 1695 and 1697 beside Palazzo Zane, from which it was separated by a French garden. Since 2009 it has been the seat of a foundation devoted to French music of the period 1780–1920: research, editions of scores and books, concerts, teaching projects and recordings.
Key facts
- What it is: a late seventeenth-century casino, now a centre for French Romantic music
- Built: 1695–1697, for Marino Zane
- Architects: the studio of Baldassarre Longhena, under Antonio Gaspari and, after his death, his assistant Domenico Rossi
- Decoration: stuccoes by the Swiss Abbondio Stazio; carving by Andrea Brustolon, including the wooden balustrade above the ballroom; frescoes later attributed to Sebastiano Ricci
- Protection and restoration: a protected monument; studied by the Venice superintendency in 2006 and restored in 2007
- Where: Campiello del Forner o del Marangon 2368, San Polo, Venice
History
Palazzo Zane was rebuilt in 1682 by the Baroque architect Baldassarre Longhena for Domenico Zane, who died before the work was finished. Domenico left his property, including a collection of pictures and valuable books, to his nephew Marino Zane; and Marino, to keep and enlarge what he had been given, had a second building raised beside the palace.
That building went up between 1695 and 1697. The commission stayed with Longhena’s studio: Antonio Gaspari took charge first, and on his death his assistant Domenico Rossi continued, bringing in other artists. The Swiss stuccatore Abbondio Stazio did the interiors; Andrea Brustolon carved, among other things, the wooden balustrade that looks down on the ballroom. The frescoes have since been attributed to Sebastiano Ricci.
The Venice superintendency for architectural and landscape heritage studied the building in 2006, and it was restored in 2007. The cultural foundation Palazzetto Bru Zane has worked here since 2009.
What you see
From the garden the casino shows a plain white front with green shutters and leaded windows, three storeys under a cornice, with a small balcony over the door. Creepers run up the wall; there are stone figures at the edge of the paving and an olive tree.
The ballroom is on the ground floor, with the carved wooden balustrade of the upper level looking down into it — a room built for the sound of a small ensemble, which is what it holds again.
Practical information
- The foundation’s programme runs from chamber music to opera and symphonic projects; check its own calendar for concerts and visits.
- The palazzetto is a few minutes from the Basilica dei Frari, in a quiet corner of San Polo.
Getting there
Vaporetto to San Tomà, then five minutes on foot; from the railway station, twenty minutes across the Ponte degli Scalzi.
Nearby
- The Basilica dei Frari, a short walk away.
- The Scuola Grande di San Marco, one of the confraternity halls of the city.
- San Polo and the Rialto market, east of the palazzetto.
Sources
- Italian Wikipedia, Palazzetto Bru Zane — Centre de musique romantique française — the casino built 1695–1697 beside Palazzo Zane, Longhena’s rebuilding of 1682 for Domenico Zane, the inheritance of Marino Zane, the roles of Antonio Gaspari and Domenico Rossi, the stuccoes of Abbondio Stazio and the carving of Andrea Brustolon, the attribution of the frescoes to Sebastiano Ricci, the superintendency’s study of 2006 and the restoration of 2007, the foundation active since 2009 and the scope of its work.
- Wikidata (Q2945371) — coordinates and address.
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →Events here — now on & upcoming
- Grandval, una nobile all'avanguardia — Palazzetto Bru Zane, Venezia03 Oct 2026 — 29 Oct 2026See the event →
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