After a 500-year restoration by British architects, Venice’s iconic landmark is now open for business. It will be revealed its Renaissance architecture and magnificent gilt ceilings.
It is the cornerstone of St Mark’s Square and one of the most recognisable facades in Italy.
Despite being photographed every year by millions upon millions of tourists, the interiors of the Floating Capital have been kept secret for hundreds years.
Sir David Chipperfield will lead a renovation that will see the building, which measures 150 yards long, open to tourists starting in April.
It will now be transformed from a partially abandoned location into an exhibition space with high-tech technology and new staircases. The Renaissance-era wooden beams of the building will also be restored.
After a 500-year restoration, one of Venice’s iconic landmarks was opened for the first times in 500 years.
One of Italy’s most well-known facades is the Procuratie Vecchie, which forms the perimeter colonnaded of St Mark’s Square.
This abandoned location will become a new high-tech exhibit centre with large screens and ample spaces for the public.
Sir David Chipperfield will lead a renovation that will see the building, which measures 150 yards long, open to tourists starting in April
There are chandeliers, frescos and other 19th-century artifacts being restored on the first floor. These were once part of the old management offices.
There will be offices to accommodate refugees and space for humanitarian charity, cafeterias, and auditorium.
Generali italien insurance, an Italian company that has its headquarters in Rome since 1832, initiated the project.
While the restoration covers 11,000 sqm over 4 floors, the façade remained untouched.
Chipperfield, who also led the rebuilding of the Neues Museum in Berlin, told The Times: ‘This was a private world and it is a pleasure to turn it into a public place.’
The buildings was occupied previously by nine Venice procurators. They were chosen from among the richest families in Venice.
Generali in Italy, the Italian insurance company, initiated the project. It has had its Italian headquarters since 1832.
Although the mammoth restoration work covers 11,000 sqm over 4 floors, the façade remains unaltered
There will be offices to accommodate refugees and space for humanitarian charity, cafeterias, and auditoriums.
They worked and lived in the Procuratie, took care the basilica and managed wills.
Their office represented Venetian society’s elite and was the second highest after the doge.
Alberto Torsello was the site manager for the building. He said that they were part of the rigid control that Venetians exercised over them, and that the fact that they lived above the largest square in Venice would have been a sign that this control is still present.
Before the addition of the second facade, the first building was built in 1532.
Later, the second building was home to Caffe Florian, a famous cafe that served Enlightenment intellectualsia as well as famous writers and artists like Marcel Proust and Charles Dickens.
Despite the fact that the Floating city is visited by many millions of tourists every year, its interiors remain closed to the public since centuries.
Venice’s nine procurators (from the richest families in Venice) occupied this structure previously.
After the completion of the original building in 1532, a twin façade on the opposite corner was constructed in the following century.
It has 52 arches at ground level, and 300 windows higher up. This facade was once a meeting spot for Venetians.
The Procuratie became an official residence of Napoleon’s French occupation. A church was built and then the entire building was demolished.
Generali occupied the building in the 1990s, but it has remained largely deserted since.
However, the insurance company returned to St Mark’s Square and is planning to create a roof terrace for 200 people, an auditorium with 200 seats, and large screens that will display exhibitions.
The Procuratie, which was under French occupation during Napoleon’s time of French rule, became an official royal residence. A church and part of the building were also demolished
Now, the insurance company is back and plans to redesign St Mark’s Square. They want to create a roof terrace and 200-seat auditorium, as well as big screens for large exhibitions.
There are 52 arches above ground and 300 windows up. The facade is a popular meeting point for Venetians.
Chipperfield said that the architects love Chipperfield’s three connected buildings, which he calls ‘the kind of ruthlessness that a building is that long that makes it a square.
The rooms will be protected by marble skirting at the ground floor from the flood waters of Venice’s lowest region, which is underwater when the tides rise to 90cm.
The first floor houses chandeliers and frescos dating back to the 19th Century. They are currently being restored at the site of the former company management offices.
Chipperfield states that tourists can take the Procuratie as a whole for granted. However, Chipperfield claims that architects love the architecture of the three connected buildings.
The marble skirting will be installed on the ground floor to protect rooms from flooding waters.