Palazzo Widmann Rezzonico Foscari – Virtual Tour 360°

At a glance

Architect

Baldassare Longhena (1598–1682)

Date

1634 in the national catalogue; built for the merchant Paolo Serotti in the second quarter of the seventeenth century

The Widmann

Carinthian merchants, admitted to the Venetian patriciate in 1646

Where

Cannaregio 5403, Fondamenta Widmann, on the rio di San Canciano

Access

Private. Not open to visitors

Overview

The palace sits on a canal a few steps behind Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, on the fondamenta that carries the family name. It is an early work of Baldassare Longhena, the architect who would later build the Salute, and the entrance and the balcony on scrolled consoles are the best-preserved original parts.

One correction worth making at the outset: the Widmann did not commission it. It was built for the merchant Paolo Serotti, and the family bought it later. The national catalogue dates the building to 1634; the restoration literature places the construction between 1625 and 1630.

History

The Widmann — also written Widman or Vidman, later Widmann Rezzonico — were Carinthian merchants who moved into the Veneto in the fifteenth century and settled in Venice. Ferdinand III made them barons of San Paterniano and Someregg.

In 1646 they were admitted to the Venetian patriciate among the so-called Case fatte per soldo, the houses made by money: the Republic, fighting the Ottomans for Crete in the War of Candia, sold entry to the nobility to families able to pay for the war. The label is usually delivered as a sneer; the reason behind it is worth knowing, because it explains how a merchant house from the Alps ended up in the Golden Book.

They did well from it. In his political essay of 1756 Giacomo Nani ranks the Widmann among the twenty-four families he calls assai ricche. The Venetian line ended with Abbondio Widmann Rezzonico, who died in 1878, and the Foscari have held the palace since.

Around 1700 Giovanni and Carlo Aurelio Widmann had the piano nobile redecorated, with stuccos attributed to Giuseppe Maria Mazza and frescoes to Gaspare Diziani. The building was restored around 2016.

What you see

The water front on the rio di San Canciano is the thing to look at, and the best view of it is from the Ponte Widmann. From land the approach is through the Sotoportego Widmann off the campiello of the same name.

The interior is not accessible: the building contains private apartments, some let for short stays. Nothing is on show, and no tour exists.

Practical information

• Address: Cannaregio 5403, Fondamenta Widmann, 30121 Venezia
• Private building. There are no visits, no interiors open and no events open to the public
• Best seen from the Ponte Widmann, over the canal
• Do not confuse it with Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari at Mira on the Riviera del Brenta, which is a different building with a park, a carriage collection and public opening

Nearby

• Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo — 91 m away
• Scuola Grande di San Marco — 63 m away
• El Magazen, risto-bacaro — Bar, 40 m away
• Teatro Malibran — about 200 m away

Sources

• Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali (ICCD), record CRV-A_0000950, compiled by Regione Veneto: «Palazzo Widmann Foscari – 1634», attribution Baldassare Longhena, Cannaregio 5403 Fondamenta Widmann
• Restoration literature on the 2016 works, for the commission by Paolo Serotti and the dating 1625–1630
• Giacomo Nani, political essay of 1756, on the standing of the family