Whether you’re visiting by boat or walking along the Grand Canal, among all these time-honored wonders there’s one more gem that says “Welcome to Venice.”
Ca d’Oro is a late Gothic castle built by the architect Giovanni Bon and his son Bartolomeo in 1442 for the Contarini family. Known for its delicate and ornate cornices, battlements and marble facade, the structure’s summit is gilded with gold leaf, giving it the name “golden house”. Over the years, the building – known today as the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro, a national museum – fell into disrepair, its splendor and masterpieces fading over time.
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Work is now underway to restore the building to its former glory. Its restoration was led by Venetian Heritage, an international organization dedicated to preserving the city’s artistic treasures, and its director Toto Bergamo Rossi, who said the full renovation of the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro museum is expected to be unveiled in late 2026.
Pomellato and the Venetian Heritage
Milan-based jeweler Pomellato has been one of the main backers of the restoration and last year designed a lighting system for the building’s facade in partnership with Venetian Heritage, creating a new gilded, golden glow that will stand out from the Grand Canal.
“This iconic building showcases the unique craftsmanship and visual culture that Italy has gifted to the world. For me, Ca’ d’Oro holds a special place in my heart because it reminds me of the beauty and resilience of Venice, which has fascinated me since childhood,” says Sabina Belli, CEO of Pomellato.
Masterpieces galore
On September 4, and in conjunction with the Venice Film Festival, Pomellato and Venetian Heritage will celebrate the preservation of some of the Ca’ d’Oro’s most important masterpieces by creating five state-of-the-art display cases to ensure their long-term preservation. Among the pieces to be exhibited in these new displays are Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s terracotta models, particularly the “Allegories of the Four Rivers,” the Rio de la Plata, and the Nile, part of the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona in Rome. Stefano Maderno’s models depicting the Labors of Hercules and works by Camillo Rusconi are also among the pieces preserved in the new state-of-the-art display cases.
Following the 2019 Venice floods, Pomellato teamed up with the Venice Heritage Foundation to restore a monument dedicated to Francesco Morosini, who was named duke of the city in 1688, a title given to heads of state in the Italian city during the medieval and Renaissance periods. The Kering-owned jeweler also previously funded the restoration of the Epistle Ambo pulpit in the landmark St. Mark’s Basilica.
Inside the building, the extensive renovation will touch on even the most technical details, such as the air-conditioning and heating system and the plaster green walls, says Rossi, a Venetian from Bergamo who grew up on the same canal and started out as a restorer specializing in marble and stone sculptures. He has restored the sculptures of Venetian basilicas such as San Marco and Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
Bergamo Rossi grew up seeing the Ca’ d’Oro as a cultural reference and shrine to global treasures like Mantegna’s San Sebastian and Tullio Lombardo’s Double Portrait. “It’s one of my favorite things…a place I visited thousands of times as a young student and art restorer.”
Bergamo Rossi reflects the life of Baron Giorgio Franchetti, who bought the palace in 1897. A Jewish Venetian and descendant of the Rothschild family, he amassed an impressive collection not for his own residential use but as a museum, which he later donated to the Italian state in 1916. “At that time, it was already very contemporary to do something like this,” he says.
Fashion Comes to the Rescue
Venetian Heritage has raised a total of €8.5 million for the building’s restoration, with supporters including Peter Marino, president and chairman of the board of directors of Venetian Heritage in New York, Luca Marzotto, Marchesa Giovanna Sacchetti and architect Roger Thomas.
Marchesa Valentina Marini Clarelli Nasi, president of Venetian Heritage Italy, has embraced the restoration of the beautiful chapel that houses a masterpiece by Mantegna, while Marino, a passionate collector of bronze Baroque sculptures, has embraced a room dedicated to the Renaissance bronze collections. Giorgio Armani has embraced the restoration of some of the masterpieces in the museum’s collection.
Over time, the generous contributions of big fashion brands and conglomerates have replaced those of wealthy American patrons and Golden Age heirs, such as Peggy Guggenheim, who immigrated from the US to live among the canals of Venice and supported the city and its wonders, says Bergamo Rossi.
“It’s easy for us to collaborate. They love beauty, they love the transmission of heritage,” he says, thinking of the charity gala dinner that Venetian Heritage hosted with Dior in 2019, which coincided with the opening of the Venice Biennale and was dedicated to the 18th-century Venetian artist Giambattista Tiepolo. The “Tiepolo Ball,” which celebrated the foundation’s 20th anniversary, was held in the 17th-century Baroque Palazzo Labia in Venice, the site of the legendary “Bal Oriental” organized by Charles de Beistegui on September 3, 1951. For the occasion in 2019, he says, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri invested her passion for the artisanal wonders surrounding the palace, opting for napkins made on the island of Burano, fabrics by Fortuny and glasses made in Murano.
Elsewhere in the city, Venetian Heritage funded and curated the reinstallation of the Grimani collection of classical sculpture, which was reassembled in its original setting after 400 years.
He says the interest in fashion continues to save Venice.
“It’s not just about throwing a nice party to raise money. This year we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Venetian Heritage and we managed to raise 1.6 million euros, always in collaboration with Dior, and for a small foundation like us, that’s a lot of money. In the US and the UK, raising money is part of their tradition, but not in Italy,” he reflects.
Bringing a New Venetian Jewel to Life
To celebrate the latest restoration project at Casa d’Oro, Pomellato created the Bernini Loupe high-jewelry necklace, featuring a rose gold pendant adorned with a rock crystal jewel that is lightly veiled “like the mist that often envelops Venice in autumn.” The design also features a dome-shaped cut resembling a magnifying glass, which the firm says symbolizes an appreciation for beauty in all its forms. The gem is surrounded by diamonds that create a play of light that echoes the luminous quality of Bernini’s models.
“The Bernini Loupe necklace is an invitation to pause to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us up close, just as Bernini’s models offer us a window into his creative genius,” says Vincenzo Castaldo, creative director of Pomellato.
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