Venice’s storied Palazzo Ca’ Dario has long been shrouded in mystery and rumours of a curse, making it difficult to sell despite its prime location on the Grand Canal. The elegant 15th-century Renaissance palace, with its nine bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and grand reception rooms adorned with frescoes, has been empty for years as estate agents struggle to overcome its reputation as “Venice’s cursed palace.”
The palazzo’s troubled history is marked by a string of untimely, and in some cases violent, deaths of its owners and guests over the centuries. In 1970, its then-owner, Count Filippo Giordano delle Lanze, was murdered within its walls by his boyfriend, a sailor who later fled to London and was himself later killed. In the 1980s, the palace was bought by Italian financier Raul Gardini, who became embroiled in a high-profile corruption scandal and took his own life in Milan in 1993.
Other tragic tales associated with the property include the case of operatic tenor Mario Del Monaco, who planned to buy the palazzo in 1964 but changed his mind after being involved in a serious car accident on his way to view it. John Entwistle, the bassist of the rock band The Who, died in the US in 2002 just a week after renting the property.
These stories have fueled local legends of a curse surrounding Palazzo Ca’ Dario, and some prospective buyers are said to have been put off by its “ghostly undertones.” However, Arnaldo Fusello, a general manager at Christie’s in Venice, argues that Venetians are known for their love of storytelling, especially when it comes to entertaining tourists. He points out that the palazzo has also been home to many inhabitants who lived to a ripe old age, including its first owner, Giovanni Dario, who died of natural causes at 80.
Davide Busato, a historian in Venice, suggests that the rumours surrounding the palazzo’s curse gained momentum in the 1970s and reached a fever pitch after Gardini’s suicide, sparking a “journalistic field day.” He believes that while Venetians are generally pragmatic and unsusceptible to superstition, they do enjoy telling captivating stories, especially to those from outside the city.
Despite its eerie reputation, the newly renovated Palazzo Ca’ Dario is now being marketed by the Venice unit of Christie’s International Real Estate and Engel & Völkers as an “architectural gem” with a prime location in a “peaceful” Venetian neighbourhood. Fusello is confident that the building will overcome its curse and find a buyer, with “a lot” of interest already from a mix of Italian and foreign buyers. As he puts it, “This is a place where history lives, and if you want to live history, then this is the perfect home.”
