Ca' Rezzonico Reopens in Venice After Eight-Month Restoration

Ca' Rezzonico, the historic palace on Venice's Grand Canal housing the Museo del Settecento, has reopened after eight months of restoration. The works, funded by a €450,000 donation from Coop Italia via ArtBonus, focused on the ground floor damaged by the November 2019 acqua alta, including the bookshop, ticket office, bathrooms, and new educational spaces. The City of Venice and MUVE supplemented the donation with lighting upgrades on the first and third floors and a redesigned garden with children's play areas. MUVE President Maria Cristina Gribaudi praised the rapid restoration. Future plans include restoring the ballroom ceiling and lateral facades, costing around €2 million from the municipality, with scaffolding allowing public viewing of frescoes. The museum first opened in 1936, acquired by the city to preserve its architecture by Longhena and Massari and its Tiepolo, Crosato, and Guarana frescoes, ideal for the Museo del Settecento Veneziano. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro noted that since 2015, over €28 million in private donations have supported Venice's cultural heritage, citing ongoing restorations at Palazzo Ducale, Palazzo Correr, the Museo del Vetro on Murano, and Forte Marghera, as well as plans for the former emeroteca in via Poerio, Palaplip, and the Museo del Centro Candiani, to be managed by Fondazione Musei. A new initiative will repurpose the Petrolchimico warehouse for debates, poetry, and music.