Ca' d'Oro - During the period
of the Republic, the Palazzo Ducale or Doge's Palace was the only edifice
allowed to use the title of palace. The patricians called their residences
Casa or Ca', followed by their family name. So does the Ca' d'Oro owe its
name to the Oro family? No, it does not. Ca' d'Oro was built in the
flamboyant Gothic style between 1422 and 1440 for the public prosecutor
Marino Contarini who, in 1412, had bought a property upon which stood a
Venetian Byzantine building. The stones of the crenellations, the sculpted
lions on the corner capitals,and the decorations at the top of the curved
window arches - all were covered with gold.
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