Palazzo Labia
Encyclopedia
Palazzo Labia is a baroque
palace in Venice
, Italy
. Built in the 17th-18th century, it is one of the last great palazzi
of Venice
. Little known outside of Italy, it is most notable for the remarkable frescoed ballroom painted between (1746-47) by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
, with decorative works in trompe l'oeil
by Gerolamo Mengozzi-Colonna.
In a city often likened to a cardboard film set, the Palazzo is unusual by having not only a formal front along the Grand Canal, but also a visible and formal facade at its rear, and decorated side as well, along the Cannaregio Canal. In Venice, such design is very rare. The palazzo was designed by the architect Andrea Cominelli (by Alessandro Tremignon according to others), the principal facade
is on the Cannaregio Canal; a lesser three bayed facade faces the Grand Canal
. A later facade probably designed by Giorgio Massari
is approached from the Campo San Geremia
.
family, who commissioned the palazzo, were originally Spanish
and bought their way into nobility in 1646, hence considered arriviste by the old Venetian aristocracy
. The wars with the Ottomans had depleted the coffers of the Republic of Venice
which then sold inscriptions into nobility, thus giving political clout. It has been said that they compensated their lack of ancestor
s by a great display of wealth. Today the Palazzo Labia is the sole remaining example of this ostentation.
It is the members of the Labia family of the mid 18th century to whom the palazzo owes its notability today, it was inhabited by two brothers with their wives, children and mother. The brothers Angelo Maria Labia and his brother Paolo Antonio Labia employed Tiepolo at the height of his powers to decorate the ballroom. Employing Tiepolo seems to have been the most remarkable thing the brothers ever achieved. Angelo Maria became an Abbé, merely in order to escape the political obligations of an aristocrat of the Republic. Curiously his holy employment did not prevent him marrying. His wife however was a commoner, which indicates an almost morganatic status to the marriage. Angelo's chief interests were constructing a marionette
theatre, which concealed real singers behind its scenes. The marionettes often performed satirical plays which Angelo wrote himself. In later life he failed to endear himself to Venetian society by becoming an informer to the dreaded inquisition
. His younger brother Paolo, married conventionally into the old Venetian aristocracy, a class prepared to accept the Labia's money and hospitality if not equality. Paolo too never assumed any public duties. It appears that it was their mother, Maria Labia, who was the intellectual driving force of the family, in her youth a great beauty, she was painted by Rosalba Carriera
. The French traveller and social commentator Charles de Brosses
reported that in old age she had a lively wit, flirtatious nature and possessed the finest collection of jewels in Europe. This collection was also portrayed in some of Tiepolo's work in the palazzo.
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 pilaster
s, the tall windows are fenced by balustrade
d 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.
While Tiepolo's frescoes in the Ballroom have been described as amongst his finest in Italy, they also display Tiepolo's shortcomings as an artist. He was totally uninterested in psychology
a result of this, a debate continues today concerning the depiction (illustrated right) Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, is this the meeting or the parting of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra. Some experts claim they can detect a certain stiffness in Cleopatra's pose which indicate some form of farewell is intended, but opinion is strongly divided.
The remaining state rooms, built around the internal courtyard, pale in comparison to the ballroom, but this is purely because if inevitable comparison each is a masterpiece in its own right, the Green Damask Salone in addition to its sculpted fireplace of inlaid marble , contains huge frescoes, and a ceiling by Pompeo Batoni
.
In 1948 the palazzo acquired a new owner, Don Carlos de Beistegui
(Charlie de Beistegui), French-born heir to a Franco-Mexican fortune, who began an intensive restoration. Beistegui was a skilled natural interior decorator, and for the derelict palazzo, he purchased furnishings acquired from the palazzo's less fortunate neighbours, including frescoes by Raphael
, Annibale Carracci
, and Guido Reni
. These works of art, coupled with newly acquired tapestries and antiques, restored to the palazzo its former splendour. So avid a collector was Don Carlos that his taste became known as le goût Beistegui (the Beistegui style)."
On 3 September 1951 Don Carlos held a a masquerade ball
, Le Bal oriental, at the Palazzo Labia. It was one of the largest and most lavish social events of the 20th century. It launched the career of the Venetian fashion designer Pierre Cardin
, who designed about 30 of the costumes worn by members of the "dolce vita" who attended. Christian Dior
and Salvador Dalí
designed each other's costumes. Cecil Beaton
's photographs of the ball display an almost surreal society, reminiscent of the Venetian life immediately before the fall of the republic at the end of the 18th century. The party was to be one of the last truly spectacular events in the famous ballroom.
Don Carlos had a series of strokes in the 1960s and retired to his French seat at Montfort l'Amaury, so he sold it to RAI
, Italian State television, who used it as their regional headquarters. He died in 1970, without leaving a will. His estate, which included many of the Palazzo Labia's former contents, and his French home Château de Groussay, which was similarly furnished, went to his brother, who gave Groussay to his son Jean (Johnny) de Beistegui. When Groussay and the former Palazzo Labia items were auctioned by Sotheby's
in 1999, it proved to be France's largest and most highly priced auction
.
Occasionally the ballroom is used for high ranking international conferences and summits; this room and some of the state rooms are open to public viewing by appointment.
In April 2008 RAI put the palazzo on sale, binding it to cultural use, as requested by Venice Municipality.
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
palace in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Built in the 17th-18th century, it is one of the last great palazzi
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. Little known outside of Italy, it is most notable for the remarkable frescoed ballroom painted between (1746-47) by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo , also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice...
, with decorative works in trompe l'oeil
Trompe l'oeil
Trompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English as trompe l'oeil, is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.-History in painting:Although the phrase has its origin in...
by Gerolamo Mengozzi-Colonna.
In a city often likened to a cardboard film set, the Palazzo is unusual by having not only a formal front along the Grand Canal, but also a visible and formal facade at its rear, and decorated side as well, along the Cannaregio Canal. In Venice, such design is very rare. The palazzo was designed by the architect Andrea Cominelli (by Alessandro Tremignon according to others), the principal facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is on the Cannaregio Canal; a lesser three bayed facade faces the Grand Canal
Grand Canal of Venice
The Grand Canal is a canal in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city...
. A later facade probably designed by Giorgio Massari
Giorgio Massari
Giorgio Massari was a prominent late-Baroque Venetian architect. Among his masterpieces are the Chiesa dei Gesuati and the Palazzo Grassi-Stucky...
is approached from the Campo San Geremia
San Geremia
San Geremia is a church in Venice, northern Italy, located in the sestiere of Cannaregio. The edifice is popular as the seat of the cult of Saint Lucy of Syracuse, whose remains are housed inside.-History:...
.
The Labia
The LabiaLabia (family)
The Labia family was a noble family of Venice. Originally merchants of Spanish origin, they bought their titles from the Venetian Republic in 1646...
family, who commissioned the palazzo, were originally Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and bought their way into nobility in 1646, hence considered arriviste by the old Venetian aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
. The wars with the Ottomans had depleted the coffers of the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
which then sold inscriptions into nobility, thus giving political clout. It has been said that they compensated their lack of ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
s by a great display of wealth. Today the Palazzo Labia is the sole remaining example of this ostentation.
It is the members of the Labia family of the mid 18th century to whom the palazzo owes its notability today, it was inhabited by two brothers with their wives, children and mother. The brothers Angelo Maria Labia and his brother Paolo Antonio Labia employed Tiepolo at the height of his powers to decorate the ballroom. Employing Tiepolo seems to have been the most remarkable thing the brothers ever achieved. Angelo Maria became an Abbé, merely in order to escape the political obligations of an aristocrat of the Republic. Curiously his holy employment did not prevent him marrying. His wife however was a commoner, which indicates an almost morganatic status to the marriage. Angelo's chief interests were constructing a marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
theatre, which concealed real singers behind its scenes. The marionettes often performed satirical plays which Angelo wrote himself. In later life he failed to endear himself to Venetian society by becoming an informer to the dreaded inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
. His younger brother Paolo, married conventionally into the old Venetian aristocracy, a class prepared to accept the Labia's money and hospitality if not equality. Paolo too never assumed any public duties. It appears that it was their mother, Maria Labia, who was the intellectual driving force of the family, in her youth a great beauty, she was painted by Rosalba Carriera
Rosalba Carriera
Rosalba Carriera was a Venetian Rococo painter. In her younger years, she specialized in portrait miniatures...
. The French traveller and social commentator Charles de Brosses
Charles de Brosses
Charles de Brosses, comte de Tournay, baron de Montfalcon, seigneur de Vezins et de Prevessin was a French writer of the 18th century.-Life:...
reported that in old age she had a lively wit, flirtatious nature and possessed the finest collection of jewels in Europe. This collection was also portrayed in some of Tiepolo's work in the palazzo.
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 LonghenaBaldassarre Longhena
thumb|250px|Tower of the church [[Santa Maria del Soccorso]], [[Rovigo]].Baldassarre Longhena was an Italian architect, who worked mainly in Venice, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period....
had previously dominated the palazzo architecture of the city in a style exemplified by dramatic facades, rich in moulding
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
with detached columns - a style little changed since the late renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
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
San Geremia
San Geremia is a church in Venice, northern Italy, located in the sestiere of Cannaregio. The edifice is popular as the seat of the cult of Saint Lucy of Syracuse, whose remains are housed inside.-History:...
, in fact the church of San Geremia was the palazzo's immediate neighbour, its campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
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
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
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
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
, the next two floors the piano nobile
Piano nobile
The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...
and the secondo piano, have tall segmented windows separated by pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, the tall windows are fenced by balustrade
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
d balconettes. The fifth floor is a low mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
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.
Interior
The double height palazzo ballroom (or Salone delle Feste) is entirely frescoed depicting scenes from the lives of Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra. These frescoes were a collaboration between Tiepolo and Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna. The frescos are principally of an architectural nature, featuring doorways, windows and balconies in trompe l'oeil, through the illusionary doorways and windows can be viewed the meeting of Anthony and the Egyptian Queen and Cleopatra's banquet, while from the painted balconies and upper windows members of Cleopatra's court seem to look down. It is though the models for these figures were members of the Labia's household. In a banquet scene Cleopatra is depicted dissolving a priceless pearl in a goblet of wine, this represents the Labia's position in Venetian society, Maria Labia identified herself with Cleopatra - with her great wealth and jewel collection, she too was well able to afford to dispose of pearls in such a fashion if she chose. A legend has persisted in Venice that Maria Labia herself was the model for Cleopatra, but no documentary evidence exists to support the claim.While Tiepolo's frescoes in the Ballroom have been described as amongst his finest in Italy, they also display Tiepolo's shortcomings as an artist. He was totally uninterested in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
a result of this, a debate continues today concerning the depiction (illustrated right) Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, is this the meeting or the parting of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra. Some experts claim they can detect a certain stiffness in Cleopatra's pose which indicate some form of farewell is intended, but opinion is strongly divided.
The remaining state rooms, built around the internal courtyard, pale in comparison to the ballroom, but this is purely because if inevitable comparison each is a masterpiece in its own right, the Green Damask Salone in addition to its sculpted fireplace of inlaid marble , contains huge frescoes, and a ceiling by Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...
.
20th century
The wealth and power of the Labia family declined with the fall of the Serene Republic in 1797. During the 19th century the Palazzo fell into decay. This coincided with a period where Tiepolo's work was unpopular and unappreciated. In 1945 a munitions boat exploded close to the palazzo, shattering its already precarious foundations, and causing fragments of the ballroom frescoes to fall to the ground.In 1948 the palazzo acquired a new owner, Don Carlos de Beistegui
Carlos de Beistegui
Don Carlos de Beistegui y de Yturbe , also known as Charles or Charlie de Beistegui, was an eccentric multi-millionaire art collector and interior decorator and one of the most flamboyant characters of mid-20th century European life. His ball at the Palazzo Labia in Venice in 1951 is still...
(Charlie de Beistegui), French-born heir to a Franco-Mexican fortune, who began an intensive restoration. Beistegui was a skilled natural interior decorator, and for the derelict palazzo, he purchased furnishings acquired from the palazzo's less fortunate neighbours, including frescoes by Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
, Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque painter.-Early career:Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood first apprenticed within his family...
, and Guido Reni
Guido Reni
Guido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
. These works of art, coupled with newly acquired tapestries and antiques, restored to the palazzo its former splendour. So avid a collector was Don Carlos that his taste became known as le goût Beistegui (the Beistegui style)."
On 3 September 1951 Don Carlos held a a masquerade ball
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
, Le Bal oriental, at the Palazzo Labia. It was one of the largest and most lavish social events of the 20th century. It launched the career of the Venetian fashion designer Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical...
, who designed about 30 of the costumes worn by members of the "dolce vita" who attended. Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
and Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
designed each other's costumes. Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
's photographs of the ball display an almost surreal society, reminiscent of the Venetian life immediately before the fall of the republic at the end of the 18th century. The party was to be one of the last truly spectacular events in the famous ballroom.
Don Carlos had a series of strokes in the 1960s and retired to his French seat at Montfort l'Amaury, so he sold it to RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
, Italian State television, who used it as their regional headquarters. He died in 1970, without leaving a will. His estate, which included many of the Palazzo Labia's former contents, and his French home Château de Groussay, which was similarly furnished, went to his brother, who gave Groussay to his son Jean (Johnny) de Beistegui. When Groussay and the former Palazzo Labia items were auctioned by Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
in 1999, it proved to be France's largest and most highly priced auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
.
Occasionally the ballroom is used for high ranking international conferences and summits; this room and some of the state rooms are open to public viewing by appointment.
In April 2008 RAI put the palazzo on sale, binding it to cultural use, as requested by Venice Municipality.