Photos of the Historic Medieval Grand Canal Venice Palaces

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Photos of the Beautiful Historic Medieval Grand Canal Venice Palaces. Photos by Photographer Paul E Williams.    (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Beautiful Historic Medieval Grand Canal Venice Palaces

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Photos of the Grand Canal Palaces,Venice Italy and the Rialto Bridge.

Grand Canal Venice Palaces

Venice is divided into two halves by The Grand Canal which snakes in an S shape through the centre of the city. With an average depth of 5 Mts.(16 ft) the Grand Canal was deep enough for trading ships to moor outside the 170 Venetian merchants palaces that line both side of the canal.

The merchants of Venice spent vast amounts to decorate their Grand Canal Palaces to show their wealth & success as great traders. The ground floors of the Palaces were store and trading rooms with living quarters above.

Venice was originally founded on the island of Torcello. The island was plagued with malaria bearing Mosquitos so the inhabitants moved to Fondemente Nova, present day Venice. The first houses of Venice were built around present day Rialto District. Wood piles were driven into the low island sandy island. On top of these houses could be built above the water level.

The building of the Grand Canal Palaces

As Venice became more successful the founding patrician families built bigger and bigger buildings on hundreds of thousands of wood piles driven into the mud banks of the island.

The Grand Canal still has well preserved Palaces from the 12th & 13th century like the Ca’farsetti which have loggias with the Romanesque round arches of the Venetian Byzantine style.

The Looting of Constantinople

After the sack of Constantinople in 1204, instigated by Doge Enrico Dandolo, vast amounts of booty was shipped back to Venice. Byzantine sculptures and columns were built into the facades of the 13th century Venetian Gothic palaces of the Grand Canal.

Venetian Gothic

The Venetian Gothic Style is typified by the pointed arches and fine tracery of the loggias and balconies of the Grand Canal Palaces.

Rialto Bridge

In the middle of the Grand Canal is the iconic Rialto Bridge which spans the canal in a single arch. Completed in 1591 by Antonio da Ponte, the audacious design required thousands of wood piles being driven into the ground 100 meters each side of the bridge to support it’s weight. The Rialto is still the only stone bridge to cross the Grand Canal.