Royal Palace of Venice (Correr Museum)

A Physical Reminder of Venice's History

The museum is located in the Piazza San Marco, housed within the Procuratie Nuove. The adjacent Ala Napoleonica, or Napoleonic Wing, a neoclassical structure built on the orders of Napleon I, houses the museum’s entrance. The building contains what was once the royal palace of Venice, whose interiors display the work of some of the period’s most renowned designers, including Giuseppe Soli, Lorenzo Santi, and Giuseppe Borsato. Construction of the palace began in 1808, and the building was used by ruling powers throughout the nineteenth century. The museum’s collection, established in 1830 and supplemented by gifts and acquisitions in later years, documents both the civic and artistic history of the city.
 

Restoration Leads to Broader Access

WMF’s efforts at the Royal Palace recognize an underrepresented period in Venetian history and celebrate the high-quality artistic expression that accompanied it. Through its work at the palace, the organization preserved a significant body of decorative work that would likely have otherwise degraded further and almost certainly remain closed to the public. By restoring the suite’s interiors, WMF encouraged broader access to work by some of the most important nineteenth-century Venetian designers and artisans. The project has resulted in the Venetian authorities providing greater public access to these rooms, allowing visitors a rich opportunity to experience Venetian’s continuing artistic excellence after the well-known Venetian Renaissance. More recently, in 2021, the Comité Français pour la Sauvegarde de Venise implemented a new project, and the restored and refurnished small imperial apartments within the Correr Museum were inaugurated in July 2022.