top of page

Ritual: Work

Site: Ca' d'Oro

Location: Venice

Architects: Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon

Year of Completion: c. 1430

Analysis: Mehak Saroha

The pioneering example of gothic architecture’s emergence in Italy and more specifically Venice, Ca D’Oro lights up the Grand Canal with its magnificent decorations and large openings, establishing this building as a part of the fondaco legacy that made its presence known in the trading world. This design of fontego warehouse in combination to a traditional Venetian villa allows for a clear distinction of the program that is derived from trading. Apart from the main entrance by the Grand Canal the Ca D’Oro also made its presence known by having another elaborate entrance mostly for guests and family that are immediately welcomed into a courtyard and a staircase that leads them to the private sectors of the structure. 

 

Both the elevation and the plan provided identify the separation between the trade between goods and material left and the more economic and social interactions are favoured on the right. This suggests the integration of the decorated thresholds that signify the ritual of trade to efficient and methodic. Whether or not this building was prominent in the trading world, it left its mark in the history of gothic architecture.

bottom of page