Palazzo Contarini
An exclusive place to spend your holiday in Venice

Welcome to Palazzo Contarini della Porta di Ferro, in Venice. This ancient Palazzo dating back to the 14th century, is rich in history and legend, and is only a few steps from St. Mark's Square. It offers exclusive apartments and elegant suites, ideal for long stays, romantic weekends or even just one night in Venice. The Palazzo Contarini offers a refined concept in hospitality: attentive and personalised, guaranteeing an experience far removed from the usual tourist hustle and bustle of Venice. However, it is very much part of this city which boasts a history spanning more than a thousand years.

Access to the Palazzo is through an ancient doorway that opens into a private courtyard, adorned with carvings, marble sculptures and Byzantine friezes. The rear door of the Palazzo provides access direct from the canal grid. The network of canals is one of the features that makes Venice unique throughout the world.

The Palazzo Contarini della Porta di Ferro is a special place for spending a night or an exclusive holiday. Immersed in the ancient history of the city, yet tucked away in a tranquil spot, this is the ideal place from which to discover Venice.

All the rooms and the apartments are equipped with mini-bar, phone, satellite TV, air conditioning, safe, hair dryer. The apartments are fitted with kitchenette, complete with electric oven, hotplate, dishwasher, cutlery and crockery, and refrigerator.

Palazzo Contarini has six rooms (of three different categories: Superior, Deluxe and Suite). There are also eleven apartments, meticulously furnished and decorated with tapestries, rugs, paintings and valuable antique furniture. Each apartment has been fitted with a kitchen, equipped with fridge, hotplate, oven and dishwasher. All bathrooms in the Palazzo are finished in white marble or stone, and have either a shower or Jacuzzi. On the main floor, where at one time you would have found the Doge's apartment, you will now find a ballroom, a dining room with windows overlooking the canal, and two small halls. Also there are four rooms, each with a private bathroom.

A sumptuous English buffet breakfast, with table service, is provided in the breakfast room or, on request, in your own room or apartment.

The Palazzo Contarini della Porta di Ferro has its own waterside entrance that opens directly onto the Canal of Francesco della Vigna. It is, therefore, possible to gain access to the Palazzo directly by a water taxi.

In Venice, about 10 minutes' walk from St Mark's Square, the Palazzo is in the Sestiere di Castello, near the Church of San Francesco della Vigna and the historical Venice Arsenale. The Arsenale was formerly a naval shipyard, the fervent activity of which was recorded in Dante's Inferno, and is now the home of the Biennale di Venezia - Venice's international biennial exhibition of visual arts and architecture.

The Sestiere di Castello is one of the six districts of Venice ("sestiere" means sixth). With its canal grid and warren of alleyways and narrow passages, between and under buildings, it stretches all the way to just behind St. Mark's Square. The district, although it is very much part of the fabric of Venice, offers tranquillity, a world away from the hustle and bustle of frenetic tourism that daily converges on the Rialto and St. Mark's. Of particularly noteworthiness close by is the ancient Church of San Pietro di Castello, which was the Cathedral of Venice from 1451 until 1807, until St. Mark's Basilica succeeded it.