Remarkable cities

The Venice Venice Hotel Venezia, Italy

Agape Destinations

EN

Ca’ da Mosto, a striking palazzo built in the 13th century

in Venetian-Byzantine style and one of the oldest palazzi on

The Grand Canal, was recently given a new lease on life as

a design destination and boutique bolt-hole. Known as the

Venice Venice Hotel, the four-story waterside palace is not

only a gorgeous stop-off for enlightened travelers,

it also functions as a buzzing clubhouse for Venice’s growing

creative community. Beneath ancient tapestries and ornate

wooden ceilings, carved centuries ago for the noble family

that once held residence here, and overlooking the Rialto

market just across the water, the hotel marks a meeting

place between the floating city’s esoteric traditions and

Venice’s new vibrant spirit.

The one goal of founders Alessandro and Francesca

Gallo, was to “restore the creative strength of Venice”.

Which they did by filling it to the brim with some of the most

enchanting artworks of the past seven decades.

Each place tells a fragment of history, the vision of an

artist or a current that has contributed to marking the world

of contemporary art in the last seventy years. Impressive

works by the likes of contemporary artists Francesco Simeti,

Pol Polloniato and Fabio Viale mingle with pieces by Joseph

Beuys and Giuseppe Chiari, as well as objects plucked from

the most influential movements of the last century, such as

Arte Povera and the 1970s-era Radical Design.

With such a rich contrast of old and new animating

the public spaces, Alessandro e Francesca Gallo chose

to channel the understated zen of Japanese aesthetics

within the suites. A pale color palette of whites, creams and

natural wood contribute to a sense of calm in the sleeping

area, while features like paper walls, inspired by traditional

Japanese Shoji partitions, divide the various spaces.

Meanwhile, the use of bold materials in the bathroom adds a

touch of drama, like the dark, richly veined marble that lines

the walls and floor. The designers also looked to the design

of Japanese spas, known as Onsens, for the bathroom:

they chose Agape’s Vieques, as the perfect place for hotel

guests to unwind after a day exploring the winding streets of

ancient Venice.

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Each place tells a fragment of history, the vision

of an artist or a current that has contributed to

marking the world of contemporary art in the last

seventy years.