Palazzo Corner Gheltof

Palazzo Corner Gheltof is a palace in Venice, Italy, standing in the San Marco district beside the Grand Canal next to the Mocenigo palaces. Its two façades show different ages: the rear faces a large courtyard and mixes Byzantine touches with a 10th- or 11th-century stone well-head, pointed balcony balustrades and a plain staircase. The front façade, rebuilt late in the 16th century, is arranged around a central axis of water-gate, Venetian windows and quadruple-light windows, surrounded by single-light windows. Two coats of arms appear on the second main floor of the front façade. Experts cannot be certain whether these are original shields or 19th-century copies. The façade rises to a mansard roof, completing the late Renaissance composition. The rear courtyard façade keeps older details, including the well-head and balcony railings, giving a clear contrast between the two building periods. Inside the courtyard the Byzantine well-head stands at the centre, framed by the pointed balcony balustrades and the simple staircase. The front water-gate opens onto the Grand Canal, while the grouped windows above let in light to the rooms behind. From the canal the palace presents a late 16th-century face, yet from the courtyard it reveals earlier, Byzantine-inspired forms.