Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni

Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni
	Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni, façade
	Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Established	1690
Location	Venice, Veneto
Coordinates	45°26′01″N 12°19′15″E / 45.4336°N 12.3208°E
Type	Historic site
Architect	Antonio Gaspari
Website	palazzo-zenobio.com

The Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni (Palazzo Zenobio, Ca' Zenobio) is a three-story Baroque-style palace structure in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, in Venice, Italy.^[1]^[2] The nearby bridge, Ponte del Soccorso, connects it to the Palazzo Ariani.

History edit

Constructed on the foundations of the 14th-century gothic Palazzo Morosini, belonging to the Morosini family, the property was acquired by Zenobio family on April 14, 1664. Verità Zenobio and her younger brother Pietro, commissioned Antonio Gaspari, a pupil of Baldassare Longhena, to redesign the palace. In 1690, the construction of the new palace was completed. In 1777, neoclassical architect Tommaso Temanza designed the archive and library, located at the southern end of the palace’s gardens.^[3] The Zenobio family retained possession of the palace til the mid 19th century.^[4]^[5]

In 1844, the palace was sold to Count Salvi from Vincenza, who undertook a renovation of the palace. Among the renovations was in 1848-49, landscape architect, Antonio Caregaro Negrin created a new garden in the romantic style, with two hills and a small bridge, which still exists today.^[5]

Moorat-Raphael College (1851-1997) edit

The Hall of Mirrors ballroom (2009)

In 1850 it became the home of the College of the Armenian monks of the Mekhitarist order who had a monastery on the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni near Venice.

Initially, two separate colleges were founded in Padua (in 1834) and Venice (in 1836, in Ca' Pesaro) with the contributions of two wealthy Armenians from India, Samuel Mkrtich Moorat and Edward Raphael. These colleges merged in 1871 to form the Collegio Armeno Moorat-Raphael (Մուրադ-Ռափայելյան վարժարան). The College served as a boarding school for Armenian students from 1851 to 1997.

The palace was renovated for the college's needs, with the addition of classrooms, dormitories, kitchen and refectory. Throughout the college's operation, limited maintenance was undertaken due to insufficient student fees, relying on benefactors.^[5]

Thanks to the legacy of Moorat and Raphael, many students attended the boarding school for free.^[5]

In 1997, there were still 52 students in four classes of senior high school. However, the administration decided to close the College since it was no longer sustainable. Students came from seven different countries and lessons were taught in Italian, Armenian, English and French.^[5]

The College still exists as an association and remains a non-profit organisation. The palace is often rented for events, wedding receptions, and exhibitions during the Venice Biennale.^[6]^[7]

Notable alumni edit

Notable alumni include:^[8]^[9]

Mkrtich Achemian – poet
Kurken Alemshah – composer and conductor
Arpiar Arpiarian – writer and political activist
Ara Baliozian – author, translator and critic
Arsen Chabanian – painter
Edgar Chahine – painter
Mihran Damadian – freedom fighter, political activist, writer and teacher
Léon Gurekian – architect, writer and political activist
Ohannés Gurekian – architect, engineer and alpinist
Marco Khan – actor and stuntman
Edgar Manas – composer
Vahram Papazian – actor
Tovmas Terzian – poet, playwright and professor
Daniel Varoujan – poet
Yervant Voskan – sculptor and teacher

Architecture edit

Originally positioned on the third floor arched gable of the façade, the stone coat of arms of the Zenobio family has since been relocated to the internal garden of the palace.^[5]

The portego of the palace features three veduta and two etchings by Luca Carlevarijis.^[5]

The Hall of Mirrors ceiling decoration, Allegory of the Dawn (Aurora), by Ludovico Dorigny (ca. 1685)

The Hall of Mirrors, or Sala degli Specchi, is a grand ballroom extending over two floors and facing onto the first-floor balcony. The ballroom and adjacent rooms feature frescoes decorated by Ludovico Dorigny, Gregorio Lazzarini, and a young Giovanni Battista Tiepolo,^[10]^[11] complemented by the stucco work of Abbondio Stazio. The panels depict mythologic scenes and the life of Queen Zenobia of the 3rd-century Palmyrene Empire, a putative ancestor of the Zenobio family.

Dorigny’s ceiling composition, Allegory of the Dawn (Aurora),^[12] features a quadratura framed by pilaster enriched with foliage and animated with male and female figures incarnating the Sciences and the Arts. In the center is a winged female figure representing Aurora, with the chariot of the Sun approaching behind her. Above, two putti in flight hold a torch and a bowl of dew, symbolising the dawn.^[5]

In popular culture edit

The music video for Madonna's 1984 song "Like A Virgin" was filmed in the Hall of Mirrors, as well as for Laura Pausini's 2005 song "Vivimi".^[13]^[14]

The Italian film Viaggi di nozze, directed by Carlo Verdone, features a scene in front of the palace where Raniero and the palanquins emerge with the coffin in which Fosca rests.^[15]