Palazzo Santa Sofia

The Ca’ d’Oro or Palazzo Santa Sofia is a palace on the Grand Canal in Venice. One of the older palaces in the city, its name means “golden house” due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls. Since 1927, it has been used as a museum. It has long been regarded as the best surviving palazzo in Venetian Gothic architecture, retaining all the most characteristic features, despite some losses. On the facade, the loggia-like window group of closely-spaced small columns, with heavy tracery with quatrefoil openings above, uses the formula from the Doge’s Palace that had become iconic.