Palazzo Reale di Venezia fully restored and opens 20 new rooms

The Palazzo Reale in Venice, part of the Museo Correr, has completed its restoration, adding 20 new rooms (850 sqm) to the museum. The royal apartments, housing Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor Franz Joseph, Empress Sissi, Maximilian of Habsburg, and Kings Vittorio Emanuele and Umberto I, were used as offices after the monarchy, causing damage. Restoration began in 2000, focusing on the portico, staircase, ballroom, and throne room ceiling. Later phases restored Sissi's and Maximilian's apartments, and the final phase (2013-2014) covered the emperor's study, audience hall, and King Umberto's rooms, plus the "Sublime Canova" project. Tapestries and furnishings were recreated from original designs. The project was led by Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and Comune di Venezia, with support from the Comité Français pour la Sauvegarde de Venise and international patrons. Director Gabriella Belli called the 19th-century revival a "revenge" for Venice's post-Republic decline. The new rooms double the Correr's exhibition space, linking to the Doge's Palace.