Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni

History

Constructed on the foundations of the 14th-century gothic Palazzo Morosini, belonging to the Morosini family, the property was acquired by Zenobio family on April 14, 1664. Verità Zenobio and her younger brother Pietro, commissioned Antonio Gaspari, a pupil of Baldassare Longhena, to redesign the palace. In 1690, the construction of the new palace was completed. In 1777, neoclassical architect Tommaso Temanza designed the archive and library, located at the southern end of the palace’s gardens. The Zenobio family retained possession of the palace til the mid 19th century.

In 1844, the palace was sold to Count Salvi from Vincenza, who undertook a renovation of the palace. Among the renovations was in 1848-49, landscape architect, Antonio Caregaro Negrin created a new garden in the romantic style, with two hills and a small bridge, which still exists today.

In 1850 it became the home of the College of the Armenian monks of the Mekhitarist order. The Mekhitarists had already established a monastery on the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in 1717, but there was no school for Armenian children, except for those preparing for the priesthood.

Initially, two separate colleges were founded in Padua (in 1834) and Venice (in 1836, in Ca' Pesaro) with the contributions of two wealthy Armenian businessmen from Madras, India, Samuel Mkrtich Moorat and Edward Raphael. These colleges merged in 1871 to form the Moorat-Raphael College (Armenian: Մուրադ-Ռափայելյան վարժարան; Italian: Collegio Armeno Moorat-Raphael). The College served as a boarding school for Armenian students from 1851 to 1997.

The two benefactors established a gold bullion interest-bearing account at a London bank to meet the financial needs of the school. In its early years, the trust fund generated enough interest to sustain the school and provide scholarships for students in need. The palace was renovated for the College's needs, with the addition of classrooms, dormitories, kitchen and refectory. …

Architecture

Originally positioned on the third floor arched gable of the façade, the stone coat of arms of the Zenobio family has since been relocated to the internal garden of the palace.

The portego of the palace features three veduta and two etchings by Luca Carlevarijis.

The Hall of Mirrors, or Sala degli Specchi, is a grand ballroom extending over two floors and facing onto the first-floor balcony. The ballroom and adjacent rooms feature frescoes decorated by Ludovico Dorigny, Gregorio Lazzarini, and a young Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, complemented by the stucco work of Abbondio Stazio. The panels depict mythologic scenes and the life of Queen Zenobia of the 3rd-century Palmyrene Empire, a putative ancestor of the Zenobio family.

Dorigny’s ceiling composition, Allegory of the Dawn (Aurora), features a quadratura framed by pilaster enriched with foliage and animated with male and female figures incarnating the Sciences and the Arts. In the center is a winged female figure representing Aurora, welcoming Apollo driving his four-horse sun chariot. Above, two putti in flight hold a torch and a bowl of dew, symbolising the dawn.