The Palazzo Zen ai Frari is a historic building in the San Polo district of Venice. Its main façade is located on the Campo San Stin. It is one of several palaces built by the same family. The Zen family still own it.
Palazzo Zen ai Frari Venice
Address, Opening Hours and Admission Price
The address of the Palazzo Zen ai Frari is San Polo 2580 – Venice (tel. unknown). Vaporetto: Ca’ Rezzonico (line 1). Ferry: Orange line. Opening Hours and Admission: The palace is privately owned and can only be visited from the outside.
History and description
The Ca’ Zen, as the Palazzo Zen ai Frari is also called, was built in the 15th century. It is still the residence of its original owners, the extremely wealthy and influential Zen family during the time of the Republic. (Part of the building is now the seat of an administrative department of the Veneto Region.)
The present building is the result of a reconstruction carried out in the 16th century by Baldassarre Longhena. The original construction was characterized by a Gothic style.
The L-shaped building consists of a first floor with two piani nobili.
The façade is characterized by the beautiful Renaissance-style entrance gate. The two entrance floors each have a quadrophore with a balcony on each side.
On the roof there are two small obelisks, symbols of the navy.
The second piano nobile was decorated by Jacopo Guarana in 1765. Later Sebastiano Santi added several ornaments.
In the garden to the left of the building is a fountain dating back to the Gothic period. The garden is closed by a gate on which the coat of arms of the Zen family can be seen.
The Palazzo Zen ai Gesuiti was constructed by the same family.