Restored in 1982 with a contribution from Save Venice general funds.

Planned as a grandiose palace in the 1750s, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni was never completed above the ground floor; this accounts for the truncated appearance of the façade. The architect, Lorenzo Boschetti, was a student of Giorgio Massari; he also provided the design for the extensive renovation of the church of San Barnaba, his only other documented work in Venice. A model of Boschetti’s design for the palazzo in the Correr Museum shows that if completed, it would have boasted a magnificent classical façade rivaling that of Jacopo Sansovino’s Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Grande across the Grand Canal, and would have been much larger than earlier Venetian palazzi.

In 1949, the American art collector Peggy Guggenheim purchased the palace; she resided there for thirty years and allowed the public to view her extensive collection of cubist, abstract, and surrealist art. After her death in 1979, the entire palace was converted into a museum, under the management of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; it opened to the public in the following year.

Shortly after the opening of the museum, the perilous state of the façade and balconies became apparent, and immediate repairs were necessary. In 1982 Save Venice participated in the restoration effort and contributed funds toward the restoration of the façade. The work was completed in 1983, and the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni — with its sweeping façade along the Grand Canal, its lush garden within, and its distinguished collection of modern and contemporary art — was once again open to the public.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Lorenzo Boschetti (active 1709–1772)
Façade of the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni
1750s, Istrian stone

Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Homepage

Peggy Guggenheim Collection: The Unfinished Palace