Works of art and antique furniture | Ca’ Marcello
The interiors of the house are tastefully furnished and decorated with antique furniture.
Overall, there is an almost perfect state of preservation of all spaces, always lived and maintained with passion by the owners.
The visitor can appreciate the authentic and original aspect of Ca’ Marcello, walking through rooms full of precious objects specially purchased or crafted for this house between the seventeenth and the nineteenth century.
Family ancestors’ portraits, everyday objects, curtains and artifacts… a curious and fascinating world that helps to understand the Venetian Villas culture and lifestyle.
Theatre’s chairs
Collection of chairs, called “a ribalta”, dating back to 1700 and used by the Marcello family for their private stage at La Fenice Theater in Venice.
This type of seats wasn’t part of the theater furnishings, but they were brought from the noble palace to the shows every single time.
For this reason, they are perhaps the only objects survived to the fire that destroyed La Fenice Theatre on January 29th, 1996.
Murano glass chandelier
The house is entirely furnished with Murano glass chandeliers. The one in the picture is the most precious of all. It is located in the dining room and recalls the shape of a twisted grape vine. Its structure is entirely made of glass, with asymmetrical shape and originally without any metal support. It is composed by 88 different interlocking elements: this feature makes it a unique and invaluable piece of art.
Marcello’s coat of arms
Big and precious wooden artifact from the flagship of Lorenzo Marcello who led the triumph of the Venetian fleet against the Turks in 1656, during the Battle of the Dardanelles. The coat of arms depicts a golden wave on a blue background, recalling the surname of the family as the union of the words “sea” (mare) and “sky” (cielo).
Everyday objects
A wide collection of objects dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries shows us the daily habits of the nobles of the past. In the rooms you can see the ivory combs, hair slides and traveling sets. The stainless razor, the opera glasses, the stamps to seal personal letters with wax remember a far lifestyle.
Period clothing
A room of the villa contains some antique clothes found in the trunks of the house: an elegant ladies dresses with sequins, corsets and precious lace, the damasked dress of the Venetian Procurator and a fine Chinese dress of the eighteenth century decorated with silk threads.
Ancient paintings
Among many works of art in the villa, there are also valuable paintings acquired over the years by the owners or received as a gift from many artists who frequented the house. Worthy of note are the portraits of the family ancestors painted by Sebastiano Mombelli and displayed in the main hall of Ca’ Marcello.
Ballot box
This ballot box was used in the Hall of the Grand Council of the Doge’s Palace in Venice and is one of very few examples survived. They were used to collect the wooden beads (balote) for voting procedures. It is a proof of how the Serenissima Republic would respect individual freedom, because thanks to them the votes could remain secret.
