Casa dei Tre Oci Museum

An early 20th-century artist's house recognizable by its three large windows, now a center for photographic exhibitions.

Casa dei Tre Oci, an artist’s house that became a cultural venue

Built in 1912-1913 on the Giudecca, the Casa dei Tre Oci, also called Casa De Maria, was designed by the painter Mario De Maria as a residence and studio. Set on the Fondamenta delle Zitelle facing the Giudecca Canal, it is a singular example of early 20th-century Neo-Gothic architecture: De Maria does not seek to reproduce an ancient palace, but freely reinterprets the Venetian architectural vocabulary in a construction that was resolutely modern for its time.

A façade designed as a symbol

The house takes its name from its three immense ogival windows on the piano nobile, the three oci, “eyes” in the Venetian dialect, which open onto the canal and the St. Mark’s Basin. The facade combines exposed brick, light stone, Gothic openings and decorative elements inspired by medieval Venetian architecture. Some reliefs are even modern reinterpretations of the sculptures found on the old houses of Venice, including motifs of Veneto-Byzantine inspiration.

From an artist’s house to a cultural center

The artistic vocation of the Casa dei Tre Oci continued long after Mario De Maria. The Fondazione di Venezia acquired the building in 2000 and undertook its restoration before opening it to the public in 2012 as a space mainly dedicated to photography. For nearly a decade, its rooms hosted numerous international exhibitions, making the house one of the best-known cultural venues on the Giudecca.

A new chapter began in 2021 with its acquisition by the Berggruen Institute. After a new restoration campaign, the Casa dei Tre Oci reopened in 2024 as the institute’s European headquarters. It retains an important cultural function, but its activity is no longer limited to photography: the building hosts art exhibitions, conferences, meetings, symposia and residencies bringing together artists, scholars and intellectuals.

Clearly visible from the Zattere, on the opposite bank of the Giudecca Canal, the Casa dei Tre Oci has become one of the architectural landmarks of the island’s north front. Its highly recognizable facade appears on the promenade between the Redentore and the Zitelle church, in a part of the Giudecca where ancient monuments, industrial architecture and places dedicated to contemporary art coexist.

Visit: the Casa dei Tre Oci regularly hosts exhibitions accessible to the public, but it is not a museum permanently open with a fixed route. Opening periods and visiting conditions depend on the current cultural program; it is therefore advisable to check them before going.