Ca’ Rezzonico: Carnival, Masks and Excess in 18th-century Venice

With its imposing Baroque facade designed by architect Baldassare Longhena, Ca’ Rezzonico is one of the most magnificent palaces on the Grand Canal.

On your guided tour of the palazzo, you will climb the ceremonial stairway to the famous ballroom, which hosted innumerable festivities in Venice’s decadent eighteenth-century. The walls and ceiling of the ballroom are covered with spectacular illusionistic frescoes, and throughout the palazzo you will admire period features and sumptuous furnishings including Murano glass chandeliers and mirrors, porcelain, gilded furniture, and paintings.

Works of art include Giambattista Tiepolo’s illusionistic ceiling frescoes, Rosalba Carriera’s portraits, view paintings by Canaletto, scenes of revelry painted by Giandomenico Tiepolo for his own country residence, Guardi’s depiction of Venice’s casino, and numerous scenes of everyday life in Venice painted by Pietro Longhi; together these images evoke Venice’s most opulent era, when mask-wearing and Carnival became a part of every-day life in the city.