House of Carlo Goldoni Museum

House of Carlo Goldoni, Venice's theater side

The House of Carlo Goldoni occupies Ca' Centani, or Palazzo Centanni, in San Polo, not far from Campo San Tomà. Built in the 15th century, this Gothic residence retains an inner courtyard and above all a beautiful external staircase supported by pointed arches, characteristic of Venetian civil architecture.

Goldoni's birthplace

The palace belonged to the Rizzi family before being leased to the Centani, who gave it their name. At the end of the 17th century, Carlo Goldoni's paternal grandfather settled there. The playwright was born there on February 25, 1707, and lived there until 1719.

Goldoni became one of the great reformers of Italian comedy. He gave more space to the written text, to characters, and to the observation of social environments, moving away from the plots and stock characters of the commedia dell'arte. His plays also offer a precious portrait of 18th-century Venetian society.

A small theater museum

Given to the City of Venice in 1931, the house opened as a museum in 1953. The itinerary, attached to the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, occupies several rooms of the piano nobile. Paintings, furniture, engravings, and scenes inspired by the comedies replace Goldoni in the Venice of theaters and salons.

One of the most singular elements is the small puppet theater of the Grimani family, with its original 18th-century puppets.

A different visit in San Polo

The visit is as much about the palace as the collections. The courtyard, the external staircase, and the volumes of the residence reveal a domestic Venice different from the grand palaces of the Grand Canal.

In an itinerary through San Polo, the House of Goldoni complements well the churches, the scuole, and the marketplaces. It introduces another facet of Venice, made of language, satire, stage, and everyday life.

Sources and further information

Casa di Carlo Goldoni - MUVE ; Casa di Carlo Goldoni - la sede ; Italia.it - Casa di Carlo Goldoni.