The Venice Blog

This 19th century house in the Piscina San Samuele (San Marco 3427, half way between Campo San Stefano and the Traghetto) was recently renovated. After the removal of the scaffold some days ago, it appears in a lurid red without any respect for important neighbours such as the gothic Querini and Pisani palaces. Note especially the insane treatment of the round arches painted all over, while only the middle pillars and the loggia cornice were left white. The fettlers’ work is sleazy, and the plaster already has first signs of decay.

As always, there are, apart from the owner of the house, three culprits: the architect (responsible for the choice of plaster and colour, and for the lack of supervision), the Soprintendenza, which is responsible for the preservation of monuments (for accepting the architects’ choice, and for the lack of supervision as well) and the City of Venice (for approving the architect’s project, and for the lack of obligatory restoration guidelines).