 Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni, façade | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| Established | 1690 |
|---|---|
| Location | Venice, Veneto |
| Coordinates | 45°26′01″N12°19′15″E / 45.4336°N 12.3208°E |
| Type | Historic site |
| Architect | Antonio Gaspari |
| Website | palazzo-zenobio |
The Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni (Palazzo Zenobio, Ca' Zenobio) is a three-story Baroque-style palace structure in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, in Venice, Italy. [1] [2] The nearby bridge, Ponte del Soccorso, connects it to the Palazzo Ariani.
Constructed on the foundations of the 14th-century gothic Palazzo Morosini, belonging to the Morosini family, the property was acquired by Zenobio family on April 14, 1664. Verità Zenobio and her younger brother Pietro, commissioned Antonio Gaspari, a pupil of Baldassare Longhena, to redesign the palace. In 1690, the construction of the new palace was completed. In 1777, neoclassical architect Tommaso Temanza designed the archive and library, located at the southern end of the palace’s gardens. [3] The Zenobio family retained possession of the palace til the mid 19th century. [4] [5]
In 1844, the palace was sold to Count Salvi from Vincenza, who undertook a renovation of the palace. Among the renovations was in 1848-49, landscape architect, Antonio Caregaro Negrin created a new garden in the romantic style, with two hills and a small bridge, which still exists today. [5]
In 1850 it became the home of the College of the Armenian monks of the Mekhitarist order. The Mekhitarists had already established a monastery on the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in 1717, but there was no school for Armenian children, except for those preparing for the priesthood. [6]
Initially, two separate colleges were founded in Padua (in 1834) and Venice (in 1836, in Ca' Pesaro) with the contributions of two wealthy Armenian businessmen from Madras, India, Samuel Mkrtich Moorat and Edward Raphael. These colleges merged in 1871 to form the Collegio Armeno Moorat-Raphael (Մուրադ-Ռափայելյան վարժարան). The College served as a boarding school for Armenian students from 1851 to 1997.
The two benefactors established a gold bullion interest-bearing account at a London bank to meet the financial needs of the school. In its early years, the trust fund generated enough interest to sustain the school and provide scholarships for students in need. [6] The palace was renovated for the College's needs, with the addition of classrooms, dormitories, kitchen and refectory.
However, following World War II, the fund's income declined as gold was no longer an interest-earning currency. Consequently, the fund was converted into pounds sterling to generate interest. Limited maintenance was undertaken due to insufficient student fees, relying on benefactors. [5] By 1997, the fund existed but yielded only a few hundred dollars annually. Access to the fund was restricted, and its income negligible. To compensate for this loss of income, the Mekhitarist order in San Lazzaro found other revenue streams, such as renting out the school's halls. [6]
In 1997, the College had 52 students enrolled in four classes of senior high school. Students came from seven different countries and lessons were taught in Italian, Armenian, English and French. [5] The curriculum covered Armenian language, literature, culture and religion, alongside an Italian curriculum. [6] Tuition, room and boarding at the College cost $7,000 per year, although many students attended on scholarships provided by the Mekhitarist order. [5] The school's six year program was consolidated into four years, and new courses were introduced to make the curriculum more appealing. [6] Despite these efforts, the administration decided to close the College since it was no longer sustainable.
The College still exists as an association and remains a non-profit organisation. The palace is often rented for events, wedding receptions, and exhibitions during the Venice Biennale. [7] [8]
The Moorat-Raphael College maintained a special prestige among the Armenian diaspora, [6] with notable alumni including:
Originally positioned on the third floor arched gable of the façade, the stone coat of arms of the Zenobio family has since been relocated to the internal garden of the palace. [5]
The portego of the palace features three veduta and two etchings by Luca Carlevarijis. [5]
The Hall of Mirrors, or Sala degli Specchi, is a grand ballroom extending over two floors and facing onto the first-floor balcony. The ballroom and adjacent rooms feature frescoes decorated by Ludovico Dorigny, Gregorio Lazzarini, and a young Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, [13] [14] complemented by the stucco work of Abbondio Stazio. The panels depict mythologic scenes and the life of Queen Zenobia of the 3rd-century Palmyrene Empire, a putative ancestor of the Zenobio family.
Dorigny’s ceiling composition, Allegory of the Dawn (Aurora), [15] features a quadratura framed by pilaster enriched with foliage and animated with male and female figures incarnating the Sciences and the Arts. In the center is a winged female figure representing Aurora, welcoming Apollo driving his four-horse sun chariot. Above, two putti in flight hold a torch and a bowl of dew, symbolising the dawn. [5]
The music video for Madonna's 1984 song "Like A Virgin" was filmed in the Hall of Mirrors, as well as for Laura Pausini's 2005 song "Vivimi". [16] [17]
The Italian film Viaggi di nozze, directed by Carlo Verdone, features a scene in front of the palace where Raniero and the palanquins emerge with the coffin in which Fosca rests. [18]
In Season 29, Episode 7 of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race, contestants took a water taxi to Ca' Zenobio to find their next clue. [19]
San Lazzaro degli Armeni is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon which has been home to the monastery of the Mekhitarists, an Armenian Catholic congregation, since 1717. It is one of the two primary centers of the congregation, along with the monastery in Vienna.
Vittoria Aganoor was an Italian poet with Armenian ancestry. She is considered a "minor but important figure in nineteenth century poetry".
Ca' Pesaro is a Baroque marble palace turned art museum, facing the Grand Canal of Venice, Italy. Today it is one of the 11 museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia system.
Ghevont Alishan was an Armenian Catholic priest, historian, educator and poet. He was a prolific author throughout his long career and gained recognition from Armenians and European academic circles for his contributions to Armenian literature and scholarship.
Mikayel Chamchian, known also in English as Michael Chamich, was an Armenian Mekhitarist monk, historian, grammarian and theologian. He is best known for writing a comprehensive and influential history of Armenia in three volumes.
Mkirtich Achemian (1838–1917) was an ethnic Armenian poet.
Marco Khan is an Iranian-born Armenian-American actor and stunt performer. He has appeared in numerous well-known film and television series like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Iron Man, and 10,000 BC, as well as numerous independent and short films.
Armenians in Italy covers the Armenians who live in Italy. There are currently 2,500-3,500 Armenians in Italy mainly residing in Milan, Rome and Venice; another main centre of Armenian culture and history is Padua.
Ararat Sarkissian, is an Armenian post-modernist conceptual artist. He currently lives in Yerevan. He is a Member of the European Academy of Natural Sciences and International Association of Art.
Haroutin "Ariel" Pascale Agemian was an Armenian-American artist who worked predominantly in Italy, France, and New York City in the United States.
Edgar Chahine was a French painter, engraver, and illustrator of Armenian descent.
Tovmas Terzian was an Armenian poet, playwright, and professor.
Yervant Voskan was an Armenian painter, sculptor, instructor, and administrator. He is the first known sculptor in modern Turkish sculpture history and as the first sculpture teacher at the Sanay-i Nefise he educated the first generation of Turkish sculptors.
Léon Gurekian was an Ottoman Armenian architect, writer and political activist. He was active in the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and Italy.
Ohannés Gurekian was an Armenian architect, engineer, and alpinist.
Boghos Lévon Zékiyan is an Armenologist, philosopher, Professor of Armenian Language and Literature at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Pontifical Oriental Institute of Rome and Istanbul University, a member of the Academy of Venice, Foreign member of Armenian National Academy of Sciences, Corresponding member of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (1992). He is the Armenian Catholic Archeparch of Istanbul. Zekiyan is the Founding President of the Associazione "Padus-Araxes", the director of Summer Intensive Course of the Armenian Language and Culture at the University of Venice, and former editor of Hye Endanik (1974–82) and Bazmavep (1980-1985) periodicals.
Jean Boghossian is a Belgian-Lebanese artist, sculptor, and painter of Armenian descent. He is one of the few artists globally who experiment by applying fire and smoke to his works.
Palazzo Savorgnan is a palace in Venice, Italy, located in the Cannaregio district and overlooking Canale di Cannaregio, to the right of Palazzo Priuli Manfrin.
Narine Arakelian is an Armenian interdisciplinary feminist artist; she works with Performance art, Installation art, Painting, Sculpture, Video art and Environmental art combining Fine Arts and Digital Technologies by using the custom designed Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). The artist creates artworks based on social, cultural and political issues focusing predominantly on social justice and gender identity.
 | This article about a palace in Italy is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |