Listing of the Day
Location: Venice, Italy
Price: €28 million ($33 million)
Looking out onto the Grand Canal in Venice, this 1.5-acre Neo-Gothic-style estate, Donà Giovannelli, was built between the 15th and 16th centuries and was later gifted to Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, who made his home there in 1538, according to the listing.
"This palace has exceptional characteristics, such as its historic value, its incredible size and the position near the Grand Canal," said Arianna Giovannini, a spokeswoman for Lionard Luxury Real Estate. "It can be reached by boat and there is a great door that creates access from the canal."
More:Canals Offer Luxe Waterfront Living Even in Some Very Urban Areas
Currently owned by an Italian company, the estate hit the market at the end of 2016. Ms. Giovannini didn’t reveal why the current owner put this property on sale, but suggested the palace could be transformed into a luxury hotel with more than 60 rooms.
"There have been several clients interested in the palace but not a concrete offer yet," she said.
The historic building also once played host to "The Tempest," a Renaissance painting by Italian master Giorgione. The painting arrived at the palace in 1875, when Venetian Prince Giuseppe Giovannelli bought the work of art from the Manfrin noble family, paying 127,000 lira, beating a museum in Berlin, which had offered the same price but was not able to seal the deal due to a late payment, according to the New York Art Resources Consortium.
The painting stayed in the prince's home for 60 years, until the family's financial problems forced his heirs to sell it to the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice for 5 million lira in 1932. From then on, the painting has hung there.
A Private Venice Palazzo Is an Art Lover’s Dream https://t.co/ikBsJcqfKN pic.twitter.com/JAhvFSqT97
— Mansion Global (@MansionGlobal) September 23, 2017
Stats
Located at the confluence of two streams, the estate has a 7,600-square-foot central courtyard with the palace built around it. The estate has a total space of nearly 70,000 square feet with a 57,048-square-foot villa and a 8,880-square-foot showroom.
Amenities
The building, which still maintains its old splendor, has two facades: the main one is an imposing Late Venetian Gothic style; the second is 131-feet-long and incorporates styles from different architectural periods.
An octagonal staircase leads to the upper floor, including the "piano nobile," which was once home to Prince Giovannelli. The original gilded ceilings are decorated with stuccos and paintings. It also features multi-colored windows and the mosaic floors.
Celebrity cachet
The estate was built between the 15th and 16th centuries and was owned by Duke of Urbino Francesco Maria della Rovere, Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donà and Venetian Prince Giuseppe Giovannelli.
More:Historic Palace Where Nuns Once Lived Outside Florence, Italy, is Reborn
Neighborhood notes
The estate is in the center of Venice, just a few steps away from the Grand Canal and the Piazza San Marco, which is a huge square famous for its Gothic buildings, the parades during Carnival and the open-air projections during the Venice Film Festival.
Agent: Lionard Luxury Real Estate