Palazzo Fontana Rezzonico Historical Timeline

Origins

The palace was built for the Fontana family, merchants from Piacenza who had settled in Venice around the mid-16th century. In the early 17th century they acquired an older building on the site, demolished it, and built the present palace in its place.

Turning points

Toward the end of the 17th century, the palace was rented to the recently ennobled Rezzonico family while their own, much larger palace on the Grand Canal was still under construction. It was here, in 1693, that Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico was born -- he later became Pope Clement XIII.

Cultural evolution

Like many Venetian families, the Fontanas were forced to sell the palace amid the financial crisis that followed the fall of the Venetian Republic. The banker Johann Conrad Reck bought it, and ownership later passed to the Levi family and then to the Sullam family.

Present-day significance

The Sullam family still owns the palace today, and it remains a private residence rather than a museum -- one of several Grand Canal palaces in Venice that stay in continuous private use rather than being converted for public visiting.