S. Marco, 4303, 30124 Venezia VE
Scala Contarini
del Bovolo
Scala del Bovolo and Palazzo Contarini di San Paternian
The Palace was born as a “fontego” house having an evident late gothic taste. In fact the first body of the building dates back to 1300, and it has been chosen by the noble Contarini of the San Paternian branch as family residence owing to the strategic location occupied by the building, equally distant from Rialto – place of commerce – and from San Marco – centre of the Venetian political power.
In 1499 Pietro Contarini commissioned the beautiful and graceful spiral staircase (“bovolo” in Venetian) in order to “embellish” even more this side of the palace, already richly frescoed in itself with floral motifs, of which few remaining fresco fragments are still present today.
The paternity of this impressive piece of architecture is still unknown. Some historians attribute it to the local master builder Giovanni Candi, others suggest the name of the architect Giorgio Spavento.
The artefact is formed by a spiral of steps developing inside a 26 meters high cylindrical tower built in Istrian stone and exposed bricks, perforated with series of arches and flanked by lodges connecting it to the adjacent building.
The Palace, in its century-old history, has been inhabited by several owners. In the nineteenth century, for example, it was turned into a lodging-house by Arnaux Marseille, called “il Maltese”, who local rumours suggest had been the inspiration for Corto Maltese, the main character of Hugo Pratt’s comics.
It was really one of the lodging-house guests, the German astronomer Ernst Wilhelm Tempel, who discovered the C/1859 comet and the Merope Nebula of the Pleiades during one of his sky observation activities.
In 1849 the Palace was donated by its last owner to the “Fraterna dei Poveri di San Luca”.
In 1880 it became the home of the Congregazione di Carità – the public institution wanted by Napoleon in order to bring together all the “pious institutions” – and, from there, it became part, in its own right, of the Venetian welfare services history till it was ‘ferried’ into I.P.A.V. (Istituzioni Pubbliche di Assistenza Veneziana [Public Institutions of Venetian Assistance]) – the current owner – which turned it into its management and administrative headquarters.
Visit the Scala Contarini del Bovolo!
Opening Hours
Summer Timetable
from 26th February to 27th October
Every day: 10 A.M. - 6 P.M.
Last admission at 5:30 P.M.
Winter Timetable
from 28th October to 23rd February
Every day: 9:30 A.M. – 5:30 P.M.
Last admission at 5 P.M.
Timetable changes
Scheduled
Closing days
25th, 26th December
Variations in opening/closing times
1st January: open from 2 P.M. to 6 P.M.
Last admission at 5:30 P.M.
24th, 31st December: closing at 4 P.M.
Last admission at 3:30 P.M.
Extraordinary
11st December: closing from 3:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. (last admission at 3:00 P.M.)
Tickets
Booking is reccommended, not mandatory. Reservations required for groups of more than 10 people, write to: booking@fondazioneveneziaservizi.it
- 8€ Full Price* (9€ from 1st January 2025)
- 6€ Reduced** (7€ from 1st January 2025): guys from 12 to 26 included, seniors over the age of 65 included, FAI members, Touring Club Italiano (TCI) members, TGS Eurogroup members.
- Free Admission**: children under 12 years of age, licensed tour guides, residents of the City of Venice with proof of residence, IPAV and Fondazione Venezia Servizi alla Persona employees with identification card, people with disabilities and companion.
*In the event of closure of the exhibition rooms there will be a single entrance fee of 6€ (7€ from 1st January 2025), excluding categories with the right of free entry.
**The requirements for applying the reductions and the free entry will be verified at the ticket office. Those who are entitled to a free admission and wish to book a specific date and time of their visit can purchase it online at a cost of € 1 (select free ticket + € 1 presale).
Current Exhibition
Arborescenza Segreta
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
Michele Zaza
6th December 2024 – 12nd January 2025
Scala Contarini del Bovolo
