Palazzo Labia - Design

Design

While the palazzo was begun at the very end of the 17th century it can be considered a product of the 18th century, such architects as Baldassarre Longhena had previously dominated the palazzo architecture of the city in a style exemplified by dramatic facades, rich in moulding with detached columns—a style little changed since the late renaissance.

Two little-known architects, Tremignon and Cominelli, were commissioned to design the palazzo. The selection of two comparatively unknown architects is strange, considering the desire of the Labia family to make an impression on Venetian society. However, the placement of the site more than compensated for any risk involved in the selection of unknown architects. The site chosen for the palazzo was the junction of the Cannaregio Canal and the Grand Canal in the parish of San Geremia, in fact the church of San Geremia was the palazzo's immediate neighbour, its campanile seemingly incorporated into the palazzo. The Cannaregio Canal is one of the most important tributaries of the Grand Canal.

While like many of the other larger palazzi in Venice the Palazzo Labia is rectangular in design built around an inner courtyard, the two architects Tremignon and Cominelli broke the architectural traditions of such architects as Longhena, by designing the facades of the Palazzo Labia to be more simple and less cluttered, than those of the earlier Venetian classical palazzi, while still maintaining a baroque richness achieved through the effect of light and shadow, a second break with Venetian architectural tradition was that the new palazzo had three facades, it was common practice in Venice for only the waterfront facade to have a richness of detail, while the rear elevations were often an evolved mismatch of asymmetrical windows and styles. The new palazzo's site being at the junction of two canals, and also bordering the Campo San Geremia provided the opportunity for three facades. Hence this attention to detail of the less obvious parts of the palazzo's exterior, away from its principal water front facade, was able to provide further evidence of the Labia's vast wealth.

The facade facing the Campo San Geremia is of equal splendour to that on the Cannaregio. The Grand Canal facade is the smaller of the three, set back from the fondamenta itself and of only three bays. The palazzo is of five floors. The ground and first floors are both low, the first being rusticated, the next two floors the piano nobile and the secondo piano, have tall segmented windows separated by pilasters, the tall windows are fenced by balustraded balconettes. The fifth floor is a low mezzanine beneath the projecting hipped roof, here the small oval windows are divided by the heraldic eagles of the Labia family. The facade on the Campo San Geremia designed by Tremignon which hints at the more floral Venetian Gothic style contrasts to the more classical canal facades. However the Venetian Gothic is more of a subtle suggestion than defining style, the typical central recessed loggias of the piano nobili, typical features of the Venetian Gothic, are however glazed, and the roof line, unlike on the water fronts, is concealed by classical balustrading, but the repetition and placing of the fenestration continues the theme of the canal facades.