# Ca' d'Oro, Venice > Ca' d'Oro, the "Golden House", is the most graceful Gothic palace on the Grand Canal, built in the 15th century when its façade gleamed with gilding. Inside is the Franchetti Gallery with Mantegna, Carpaccio and Van Dyck, a mosaic courtyard and a loggia over the canal. Museum entry is paid; allow about an hour. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/ca-d-oro - City: [Venice](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice), Italy - YesGo score: 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Paid - Opening hours: Usually Tuesday–Sunday, by day - Highlights: Façade, loggia, Mantegna, mosaic courtyard - Museum: Galleria Giorgio Franchetti - Time needed: About an hour - Vaporetto: Ca' d'Oro (line 1), at the door - Coordinates: 45.44056, 12.33389 - Facts checked: 11.11.2026 ## Key facts - **1428–1430** — built for Marino Contarini (source: English Wikipedia) - **Gold** — façade details were once gilded and painted (source: English Wikipedia) - **1894** — Baron Giorgio Franchetti bought and restored it (source: English Wikipedia) - **1916** — Franchetti gave palace and collection to the state (source: English Wikipedia) - **Mantegna** — his St Sebastian is the museum's star (source: English Wikipedia) ## A short history The palace was built in **1428–1430** for the wealthy merchant **Marino Contarini**, who wanted the finest house on the Grand Canal. Masters **Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon** carved its façade, and the capitals, crenellations and medallions were covered with **gold leaf** and costly blue paint — hence **Ca' d'Oro**, the "Golden House". The gilding faded and the palace passed through many hands into decline. In **1894** collector **Baron Giorgio Franchetti** bought it, restored its original look, laid the courtyard's mosaic floor himself, and in **1916** gave it with his collection to the state as the **Galleria Giorgio Franchetti**. ## The façade over the water The façade is the summit of **Venetian Gothic**: asymmetrical, with two tiers of **lacy white marble loggias**, pointed arches, quatrefoils and crenellations along the roof — stone that looks woven. It's best seen from the water on line 1, or from the opposite bank by the Rialto Market. From the **first-floor loggia** inside you get a classic Grand Canal view — boats, water buses and the Pescheria fish market across the water. ## The Franchetti Gallery The star is **Andrea Mantegna**'s **St Sebastian**, one of his last works, given its own chapel by Franchetti. Nearby are **Carpaccio**, Giovanni Bellini, Titian, **Van Dyck** and Dutch masters, Renaissance bronzes and medals, and sculpture by Tullio Lombardo. Don't miss the fragments of **frescoes** by Titian and Giorgione that once decorated the façade of the nearby Fondaco dei Tedeschi — a glimpse of how colourful 16th-century Venice was. On the ground floor lies the **mosaic courtyard** with its wellhead and marble staircase. The museum entrance is from a lane off the **Strada Nova**, the busy 19th-century street linking the station and the Rialto in Cannaregio, Venice's most lived-in district. ## What to see - **Gothic façade** — lacy loggias over the Grand Canal. - **The loggia** — views of the canal and Rialto Market. - **Mantegna's St Sebastian** — in its own chapel. - **Mosaic courtyard** — with wellhead and stair. - **Titian and Giorgione frescoes** — from the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. - **Carpaccio and Van Dyck** — in the galleries. > **See the façade from the water** The palace's glory is its façade, free to admire: ride past on vaporetto line 1, or take the traghetto from the Rialto Market to the opposite bank. From inside you can't see the façade, but the loggia frames the canal. ## How to get there 1. Vaporetto 1 to **Ca' d'Oro**, at the entrance. 2. From the [Rialto Bridge](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/rialto-bridge), 10 minutes along the Strada Nova. 3. From Santa Lucia station, 15 minutes on foot. 4. Along the [Grand Canal](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/grand-canal) — visible from the water. ## Is the Ca' d'Oro worth it? Yes, to step inside a real Venetian palace on the Grand Canal: the museum is small and quiet, and its loggia over the water and the Rialto Market is one of the city's very best. Short on time? Just admire the façade from the water bus — one of the loveliest sights on the whole Grand Canal. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Check hours — usually closed Mondays - [ ] View the façade from the water bus - [ ] Step out onto the loggia - [ ] Find Mantegna's St Sebastian - [ ] Walk to the Rialto along the Strada Nova ## Venice's palaces: compare and choose Palaces and museums in Venice rated by YesGo. - [Doge's Palace](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/doges-palace) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Paid - [Ca' d'Oro](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/ca-d-oro) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid ## Down the Grand Canal to San Marco The Ca' d'Oro, the Rialto Bridge, the Grand Canal by water bus and Piazza San Marco. 1. [Ca' d'Oro](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/ca-d-oro) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid 2. [Rialto Bridge](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/rialto-bridge) — YesGo score 56/100 (Yes, go) · 20 min · Free 3. [Grand Canal](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/grand-canal) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; water bus paid 4. [Piazza San Marco](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/piazza-san-marco) — YesGo score 55/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free ## Don't mix it up Ca' d'Oro isn't the Pala d'Oro: the Pala d'Oro is the gold altarpiece in St Mark's, the Ca' d'Oro the "Golden House" palace on the Grand Canal. ## Tips - See the façade from the water. - The loggia faces the Rialto Market. - Mantegna is the star. - Line 1 to the door. ## Questions ### What is the Ca' d'Oro? A 15th-century Gothic palace on the Grand Canal, the "Golden House", now the Franchetti Gallery. ### Why is it called the Golden House? Its carved façade details were once covered in gold leaf. ### What can you see inside? The loggia over the canal, Mantegna's St Sebastian, Carpaccio, Van Dyck and the mosaic courtyard. ### How do I get there? Vaporetto line 1 to the Ca' d'Oro stop. ### How long do you need? About an hour. ## How we checked History, architecture and collection from English Wikipedia. Prices and hours weren't confirmed — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia, Ca' d'Oro --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.