In the meantime, we wish to remind you that if you are visiting Venice prior to our reopening and require accommodation, both Hotel Danieli, a Luxury Collection hotel and The Westin Europa & Regina would be pleased to welcome you. Should you require assistance with a reservation at either of these hotels, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Ivan Schultz at ivan.schultz@starwoodhotels.com. We would be delighted to assist you.

Even though The Gritti Palace is currently closed for our handcrafted restoration, we’d like to keep all our friends, guests and followers updated on the major events taking place over the next months in our beautiful city:

Americas Cup – 12 May to 20 May, 2012
Vogalonga, Venice’s most popular non competitive regatta – 27 May 2012
Festa del Redentore with the most beautiful fireworks on the lagoon – 14 July, 2012
Biennale of Architecture – 29 August to 25 November, 2012
Film Festival – 29 August to 8 September, 2012
Regatta Storica – 2 September, 2012

And some of the current exhibitions taking place in Venice:

Magazzini del Sale & Studio Vedova – Emilio Vedova…in continuum until 25 April, 2012 Peggy Guggenheim – European Art: 1949–1979 until 6 May, 2012
Palazzo Fortuny – Diana Vreeland until 25 June, 2012
Museo Correr – Klimt until 8 July, 2012
Palazzo Grassi – Urs Fischer until 15 July, 2012

Coming back to our restoration, we have started on some of the reconstruction works, including the building of new partitions, the laying of insulating concrete castings and floor heating, and recovery and structural reinforcement.

We hope you enjoy the slideshow  and all the best until next time.

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

Carrying out restorations in Venice is a challenging task with one of the primary difficulties being the transportation of equipment and materials to the building site. Materials and equipment must necessarily be transported by boat and manually both to-and-from the construction site, such as the concrete mixers and the large amounts of concrete required to complete the mats in the protective flood basins at The Gritti Palace. As you can imagine it was indeed a sight to see a total of nine concrete mixers operating from a barge moored off The Gritti Palace’s terrace on the Grand Canal.

Another difficulty lies in the fact that there are very few sites in Venice where cranes may be installed, and the use forklifts for the transport of raw materials is prohibited.  Yet another difficulty is not being able to use large industrial machinery due to the fact that many of the historic palaces are unable to sustain the vibration that some of these pieces transmit.

Given the presence of water, it should be remembered that construction in Venice was and is particularly complex and burdensome, due to the foundations on which the buildings and palaces rest. A composite, multi-layered system had to be invented in order to render the muddy lagoon terrain sufficiently consistent to support the structures: the lowest layer, which is wholly immersed, is composed of closely spaced wooden piles that are driven into the terrain; a wooden panel rests upon this, followed by a base of Istrian stone, on which the final structure is laid.  With the passing of time, the wooden piles undergo a process of mineralisation which consolidates the structure, leaving the piles still intact after centuries of submersion. The stone base also remains unaffected by the variable exposure caused by the tides.

The scarcity of construction materials in the lagoon, and the difficulty in recuperating them also means that the same elements are frequently re-utilised during restoration phases.

I hope you have enjoyed our video and this brief explanation of Venetian practices. Wishing you all a lovely weekend, please remember that this weekend Italy turns its clocks back an hour at 2am on Sunday morning when we switch to summer time.

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

Speaking of loyal guests, one of The Gritti Palace’s most illustrious and loyal guests was Ernest Hemingway.  The author stayed at The Gritti Palace at least four times between 1948 and 1954 where he wrote many pages of his last novel “Across the River and into the Trees”.  The heroine of the novel, Renata, was modeled after a real woman, Adriana Ivancich, daughter of a local aristocrat. Hemingway entertained Adriana on many long evenings at the Hotel Gritti Palace restaurant, where Hemingway would enjoy his favourite cure for most ailments: Scampi Risotto and a glass of Valpolicella wine.

As a tribute Hemingway, The Gritti Palace’s most famous suite overlooking the Grand Canal carries the name of the writer.  Below is a slideshow of press clippings from the past showing the author at The Gritti Palace, and an image of The Hemingway Suite.

Now for an update on the restoration:  Works are continuing on the guestrooms, back of house areas and the ground floor. Here in particular the first layers of the reinforced concrete slab are being laid down for the construction of the concrete basins which will protect The ground floor areas from the aqua alta.

Scheme for the construction of the high water basin

Water Basin in the Main Lobby towards the Grand Canal – First Layer of Cement

Cement High Water Basin in the Main Lobby – First Layer of Cement

Cement High Water Basin in Sala Specchi – First Layer of Cement

Cement High Water Basin in Salone Gritti – First Layer of Cement

Until next time and wishing you all a great start to March,

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

Chandeliers – All the antique chandeliers have been sent to the Galliano Ferro Glass Factory on the island of Murano where they will be rewired, the broken arms repaired, and revamped so that they will be bright and sparkling when we reopen.

Mirrors – The antique and renowned mirrors that decorated Bar Longhi, and all the other mirrors that hung in the guestroom bedrooms have been sent to the master artisan for mirrors – Barbini – on the island of Murano, where they will be majestically restored.

Terrazzo Veneziano – just one of the peculiarities of the palace. The terrazzo veneziano (marble floors composed of different coloured pieces of marble using a characteristic technique that has been carried down from historic times) has been protected during the works and where there are missing pieces, the floors will be redone by one of the few remaining specialised artisans in Venice, and with the same antique traditional methods.

Fine Fabrics – One of the characteristics of The Luxury Collection of which The Gritti Palace is part, is the importance given to all that is indigenous, and a lot of attention has been focused on adopting the typical Venetian silk fabrics taken from the weaving house archives of Lorenzo Rubelli, who will be the supplier for the curtains and damasks.

All the pieces of precious antique furniture from The Gritti Palace – such as the tables, lamps, desks, chairs, bed heads, wardrobes, and the boiserie – have been taken to expert Venetian artisans who will be bring them back to their original beauty.

The 3 bar counters of the Bar Longhi, the Concierge and the Reception have been dismantled and each piece meticulously numbered. These will be repolished and reassembled in their orginal positions.

Below is a slideshow of some pieces of precious decor from The Gritti Palace guestrooms and public areas prior to the restoration with a few examples of similar pieces that have been restored.

Wishing you all a magnificent weekend.

Paolo Lorenzoni

Over the last 14 days we have continued with the excavations, demolishing of marble tiling, stripping of guestrooms, removing of electrical wiring, and finally we have also started laying down the reinforcing structures for the concrete foundations in the floating basins against the aqua alta.  Below is a photo gallery of our progress.

We also hope you will enjoy this short video:

As we have been digging deep into the foundations of The Gritti Palace stucture, we thought we would also share with you a little history about the palace itself – Palazzo Pisani Gritti:

The origins of the palazzo can be established towards the end of the XIV century. Analyzing the structure and ornaments of the building’s façade, it can easily be said that the Palace was built following the Gothic style in a very austere and solid way. It was initially residence of the noble Venetian family Pisani, and the appartenance to the Pisani family is confirmed by the presence of a coat of arms which bears a rearing lion and a lamb, once featured on the Palace’s façade and which today lies inside the building. The façade itself reveals that it was altered and restored many times, and according to some sources, the façade was once decorated with frescos attributed to Giorgione.

The ownership of the Palace passed successively to the Gritti family, also one of the most noble and important families in Venetian history.  The Gritti family’s history dates back to the year 1104 and during the 700 years which followed, many of the family members would become important leaders in diplomacy and commerce. Among these, the most important and famous member was Andrea Gritti who was elected Doge in 1523 and ruled until 1538.  Andrea Gritti is considered one of the most courageous warriors and illuminated governors of the Venetian Republic.

Until next time,

Paolo Lorenzoni,
General Manager

After the terrible plague that decimated Venice’s population between 1575 and 1577, the city was once again assaulted by the devastating pestilence in 1630. Over the two years that followed, a third of the city inhabitants were killed. With the city’s population again at risk, Doge Nicolò Contarini sought divine intercession by appealing to the Virgin Mary - thought to be the protector of the Serenissima Republic – and publicly pledged that the city would erect and dedicate a church to the Madonna della Salute (Our Lady of Deliverance) if the city was saved. The plague ended some months later. The church was designed by architect Baldassarre Longhena, its Baroque style exalting both the Holy Virgin and the Serenissima Republic at the same time.

Every year, on November 21st, Venetians celebrate the “Festa della Madonna della Salute”. A temporary bridge supported by boats is set up across the Grand Canal, connecting the basilica with Santa Maria del Giglio, right next door to The Gritti Palace. City officials parade from San Marco to the Salute for a service in gratitude of the city’s deliverance from the plague. The festivity is much loved by the city’s inhabitants -  thousands of people cross the votive bridge, light candles, and queue to visit the main altar of the imposing Salute Church to give thanks and say a prayer to the Virgin Mary to intercede for their health and that of their loved ones.

Though The Gritti Palace had already closed for restoration at the beginning of November, it was agreed with city officials to delay the installation of the building site which would have occupied a part of Santa Maria del Giglo Square, until after the procession day, thus permitting the pontoon bridge to be set up and the traditional procession to take place without inconveniencing the local inhabitants.

Getting back to our restoration, we have been busy.  Below is a gallery showing the continuing excavations, and the stripping of the upper floors. Many of the areas are now difficult to recognise so we’ve added in some images of the areas concerned prior to the restoration.
Click to view slideshow.

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

We are now two months into our meticulous restoration – two months which have seen the careful dismantling, preparation, and transferral of each and every precious antique, mirror, and piece of artwork for storage, as well as the initial demolition works on the public areas of ground floor.

During the first week of this new year, activities have again concentrated on the excavation of the ground floor areas to allow for the installation of the floating concrete basin, on the ground floor back areas, and on the systems dismantling which is now almost complete. A particularity of the ground floor once The Gritti Palace reopens is that there will be no steps separating the public salons on the ground floor. This will make the entire area completely accessible to guests with mobility impairments.

Demolition of the ceilings, partitions, plaster and flooring on the guestroom floors also commenced in this first week of the year. We hope you will enjoy the slideshow from this past week’s activities – you may even recognise your favourite room!

We trust you are enjoying following our blog.  Please do keep abreast of our progress by signing up to receive notifications of our posts which will take place on a bi-monthy basis.

Paolo Lorenzoni
General Manager

The quote over ZMPS – the Oceanographic zero of “Punta della Salute”, the hydrographic station of Venice – of The Gritti Palace is only 94 cm. This means that in case of a high tide above 105 cm almost all the ground floor of The Gritti Palace is under water.

The frequency of the city’s flooding, caused by the high tides, has increased since the 1960’s, a phenomenon which is related to the “sinking” of the Venetian ground level. The phenomenon of “acqua alta” causes the change of land levels and erosion and it is a serious threat to the balance of the lagoon’s ecosystem.

The project for The Gritti Palace aims at the realisation of a concrete protective basin against high tide throughout the ground floor, composed of a foundation plinth of reinforced concrete of the appropriate thickness and completed with concrete side walls immediately adjacent to the existing walls of the building. This study has been coordinated and developed by the Venice Plan Ingegneria Company.

Exceptional tides (when the water-line is equal to or more than 140 centimetres on the mareographic zero of Punta della Salute) statistically occur once every 4 years. They are caused by a combination of various factors, such as the astronomical tide, low pressure on the Tyrrhenian Sea, strong south wind (scirocco) and the Adriatic seiche. Over the past 3 years, Venice has experienced as many as 4 episodes of marea eccezionale. In the featured images it is possible to see the flooding occurred on 01 December 2008, when the high tide reached a peak of 156cm.

As The Gritti Palace is a protected historical asset, the restoration project will leverage on Venetian culture and history using authentic local products and design elements such as the original Rubelli silk damask, Venetian tapestries and velvets, unique pieces of furniture such as long Rococo couches and pozzetti, handcrafted Girandole mirrors and the Murano glass chandeliers.
Click to view slideshow.