PALACE INTRIGUE

Vincenzo De Cotiis writes the next chapter for the historic Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, situated on the banks of Venice's Grand Canal

- HANNAH MARTIN 

We were inspired by Venicethe architecture, the history, the monumentality," says AD100 designer Vincenzo De Cotiis over Zoom, swinging open the shutters of the Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, a Baroque-style palace in the city where he has recently taken up residence on the piano nobile. It's a misty afternoon in February and a few small boats are traveling along the waterway that has facilitated trade, transit, and cultural exchange for centuries. "When you're here, you understand what happened in the 15th century," continues the designer's wife, Claudia Rose De Cotiis. "How Venice became a world market."

This palazzo watched it all unfold. Likely constructed around the 15th century by the Miani family, it was bought by the Lolins in the early 17th century. Following plans by the Venetian architect Baldassare Longhena, it was rebuilt around 1630, then willed to one of their relatives, Giovanni Giustinian. The design featured a striking, rather classical façade defined by three bands of pilasters (festooned curtains above the Corinthian columns lend a dash of baroque flair), but Longhena left some traces of the medieval structure intact, like narrow peaked windows and the original floor plan.

Since the 19th century, the building has seen a variety of residents, including the doctor Francesco Aglietti and the dancer Maria Taglioni. In the 20th century it became home to the European music foundation of Ugo and Olga Levi, which still resides on the second floor. Each inhabitant has left their mark on the property, resulting in a sort of architectural millefeuille with many centuries-old details still present: dazzling Murano glass chandeliers; cyan-colored silk wall panels; and, unforgettably, four paintings by Jean Raoux, part of the palazzo's inventory in 1766 and reacquired by the Ugo and Olga Levi Foundation in 1977.