Ca' da Mosto

The Ca’ da Mosto is the oldest palace on the Grand Canal in Venice, located in the Cannaregio sestiere near the Rialto Bridge. An early example of a casa fondaco, the 13th-century building combined a merchant's living quarters and storage rooms. Its facade displays authentic Venetian-Byzantine construction, including Byzantine-style relief panels above the windows of the piano nobile. Later building phases added further stories in the 16th and 19th centuries. The palace is historically known as the supposed birthplace of the navigator Alvise Da Mosto and as the site of the famous Hotel Al Lion Bianco, where guests included Joseph II and Tsar Paul I. After a long period of decay, the building was restored starting in 2010 and now houses a luxury hotel.