Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo Palace

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, the spiral staircase

The Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo hides near Campo Manin, tucked away in the San Marco sestiere between Rialto and San Marco. Behind an unassuming courtyard stands the Scala Contarini del Bovolo, a spectacular external spiral staircase that is today the palace's most famous feature.

The core of the building dates back to the 14th century and was chosen as a residence by the Contarini of the San Paternian branch. In 1499, Pietro Contarini had the staircase added to further embellish the house, some of whose façades were at the time decorated with painted motifs.

The architect of the Scala is not known with certainty: it is often attributed to the Venetian master Giovanni Candi, though the name of the architect Giorgio Spavento has also been suggested. This late-15th-century addition thus combines a palace still marked by Venetian Gothic with forms that fully anticipate the Renaissance.

The word bovolo means "snail" in Venetian dialect, a direct reference to the staircase's shape. The cylindrical tower, about 26 metres tall, combines Istrian stone with exposed brick. Its 80 monolithic steps spiral counter-clockwise, while stacked loggias link the tower to the palace's various floors.

The climb leads to a belvedere overlooking the rooftops, bell towers and domes of Venice. The view is lower than that from the St Mark's campanile, but it offers a closer reading of the urban fabric and lets visitors pick out the great monuments rising above the rooftops.

The visit focuses mainly on the Scala, its loggias, the belvedere and a few exhibition spaces within the palace. The site thus reveals a monumental yet almost hidden Venice: the Scala was not a public monument but also a display of family prestige, added to an existing house and turned inward towards its own courtyard.

Sources and further information

Scala Contarini del Bovolo - official site; Italia.it - Scala Contarini del Bovolo; Venezia Unica - Scala Contarini del Bovolo.