The historic Palazzo Nani, a 16th century noble building overlooking the Cannaregio Canal in Venice, has become a Radisson Collection 5-star hotel signed by Studio Marco Piva. The new Radisson Collection Hotel, Palazzo Nani Venice evolves the concept of luxury, giving it a cultural and refined value, combining the artistic heritage with a profound aesthetic research in which the best design integrates with the emotional and social value of the work, increasing its prestige even more.A change of intended use that keep intact the historical and artistic value of the Palace, preserving and emphasizing the original structures and floors, as well as all the frescoes, magnified with the use of light.Preserving the past by designing the future: The emotional element of the project is the lifeblood of the place: everything has been studied and designed with the intention of finding a reference to the city of Venice. The work of Studio Marco Piva was therefore based on the dialogue between the existing on the one hand, and with the history of the place on the other, in a combination of past and future.

Radisson Collection Hotel, Palazzo Nani Venice is situated close to the Venetian Ghetto in the northern part of the city. The hotel’s 52 beautifully designed rooms, offering views of the Cannaregio Canal, city streets or the quiet courtyard, create a sense of serenity through a refined color palette and soft fabrics. The interior decoration preserves the stuccos and frescoes attributed to the Italian sculptor Alessandro Vittoria, who also remodeled the palazzo in the 1680s.

Built in the 16th century, the hotel was the residence of the Nani family, an ancient Venetian family engaged in the political, social and cultural life of the city’s rich past. A 22-month extensive renovation project led by architects Studio Marco Piva and approved by the Fine Arts Heritage Committee, has transformed Palazzo Nani into a five-star Radisson Collection Hotel, renowned for offering exceptional service and guest experiences. The restoration work aimed to preserve the original decorative and architectural elements of the building’s façade and interiors. Special attention was paid to the restoration of historical ornaments, stuccos and paintings on the walls and ceilings. During the excavation works, some Roman flooring was found and registered by the Fine Arts and Heritage Protection Authorities. 

“We’re thrilled to establish our presence in this iconic city with our premium lifestyle brand Radisson Collection, which includes emblematic properties in unique locations with exceptional style and service. Following the successful opening of Radisson Collection Hotel, Palazzo Touring Club Milan in August, we now have four Radisson Collection hotels in operation in Italy and continue to expand in the country." states Chema Basterrechea, President EMEA at Radisson Hotel Group.

The hotel’s facilities include a private meeting room and space which can host up to 80 people, and the Zoja Wine Bar & Terrace, named after the noble family that also once resided in the Palazzo, which offers traditional Venetian food, wine and cocktails in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. The serene garden on the north side of the hotel overlooks the Cannaregio Canal, creating a visual garden-water connection. 

Radisson Collection Hotel, Palazzo Nani Venice lies in the Cannaregio district, known for the historic Jewish Ghetto and the many local bars and restaurants offering a truly Venetian experience. The Vaporetto stop just outside the hotel provides easy access to the rest of the city with its sights, and connects the hotel to the train station, airport and the popular islands of Murano and Burano. Venice is the second-most visited Italian city after Rome with the highest number of international tourists thanks to its world-famous artistic heritage, unique urban architecture and its UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Venice also hosts art and architecture biennales, the internationally renowned film festival and other cultural exhibitions throughout the year.

Team:

Interior Design: Studio Marco Piva

Architecture & Work Superviser: Venice Plan Ingegneria srl

Restoration Project: Sirecon s.r.l.

Electrical and Air Condition System: FIEL S.p.A.

Fire-fighting: Sicurtecno S.r.l. 

General Contractors: Arredo Design (Rooms), BRB Engineering  (Fit Out)
Concreta (Common Spaces)

The radisson collection hotel palazzo nani in venice, Project signed by studio marco piva, realized by concreta

The Radisson Collection Hotel Palazzo Nani in Venice is one of the most recent and prestigious realizations by Concreta, the Postalesio-based company specialized in high-profile contract for hotels, commercial spaces and residential areas, all sectors in which the Italian contractor from Valtellina has developed an experience that has led the company to a leading position in the national and international field.

The particular nature of this ancient Venetian palace and the complex logisticsrequired by the execution of works in the lagoon, represented a challenge faced and won thanks to the combination of 'attention to detail' and 'global approach' that has always characterized the philosophy of Concreta.

THE STRUCTURE
The Radisson Collection Hotel Palazzo Nani is located in the heart of the Cannaregio district, a particularly suggestive and 'authentic' area of ​​Venice, a fundamental route for the urban layout of the city since the Middle Age, when the Cannaregio Canal wasthe entrance to the city ​​for those who camefrom Padua or Treviso through the lagoon routes. Rich in restaurants and 'bacari' (wine bar), shops and artisan boutiques, it is located not far from the Jewish Ghetto, with the quiet of its tiny streets and its unmistakable architectural imprint. From here you can easily reach the rest of the city on foot or by ‘vaporetto’; the Le Guglieship stop is located right in front of the hotel. The Santa Lucia train station is less than 10 minutes away by feet.

The building that houses the hotel is a sixteenth-century historic building that belonged to the ancient Nani family, active in the political, social and cultural life of the Serenissima. Over the years, various properties have taken over and the building has changed its intended use several times.

It was a private residence, an Austrian barracks and, finally, a school. During the work on the site, objects and documents were found that testify to the previous lives of the building. Some of the finds, recovered and appropriately treated, have enriched the furnishings of the rooms and the garden. The façade is punctuated by a game of arches and elegant coats of arms in Istrian stone that seem to be due to the intervention of Alessandro Vittoria, who helped emphasize and enhance the preciousness of the building.

Prestigious brand of hospitality in the world, Radisson Group wanted to transform this historic residence into an enchanting hotel with 52 rooms and suites and 3 private apartments, which has become part of the Radisson Collection chain, where hospitality finds its highest expression in the offer of iconic structures, which reflect the character of the territory and the place, combining the atmosphere of an 'authentic' stay with the comfort of a high-profile design.

HISTORY AND CONTEMPORANEITY
For this hotel, Concreta created all the common areas on a project by Studio Marco Piva, according to a 'box-in-the-box' furnishing concept aimed at keeping intact the strong historical identity of the building, enriching it with a language of elegant contemporaneity.

Spaces are large and bright, some overlooking the Cannaregio Canal and offer chromatic shades recalling the nuances of the frescoed ceilings, in combination with seats with intense colors that refer to the expressions and values ​​of the Territory, the colors of the water, the reflections of the glass, the interiors of the ‘gondolas’.

The realization of the common areas in this project takes on a very particular meaning, as the hotel was conceived as a place of hospitality that is not closed and exclusive but, on the contrary, open to the city and usable by those who wish to enjoy the Restaurant, the enchanting 'secret' garden - as are many of the Venetian gardens - and the relaxation of the lounge bar and lobbies.

The non-stop dialogue and full harmony that has characterized the collaboration between the designers of Studio Marco Piva and the Concreta team - from the choice of colors and materials to the sharing of prototypes - made it possible to translate the inspiring concept into a high-profile creation, fully respondent to the contents and needs of the project and the Client.

THE REALIZATION OF COMMON SPACES
In all common areas of the Radisson Collection Hotel Palazzo Nani you can read the sign of a formal balance of decorative effects, to leave the view free to enjoy these spaces and to collect the infinite suggestions coming from the lagoon city.

The main entrance of the hotel located on the ground floor houses the console-reception and gives access to the two restaurants and the lounge bar / breakfast room.

For the Private Restaurant, a milky white ribbed glass wall paneling was chosen to give rhythm to the space between the seats, a covering embellished with an integrated backlight. In the main restaurant, the focus point is made up of a sculptural monolith-filter, a large marble bench withupholstered seats in a soft teal velvet. A curvilinear bar counter dominates the scene and follows the floor islands. The covering is a textured carpet of white Venezia marble and Paradigma marble which contrasts it in a darker shade. The chromatic dominant of the spaces is the lagoon-greendeclined in its various shades.

In the lounge bar - which serves also as breakfast room - very dark colors have been selected running from wall to ceiling to create an immersive, enveloping atmosphere and to emphasize precious custom metal elements - such as the wall bottle holder - with a ribbed dark wood that gives rhythm to the wall, the motif of which is taken up by the striped ruby-colored upholstery that recalls the interior of a ‘gondola’.

The two lobbies in the 'noble halls' on floors B and C are characterized by being elegantly frescoed spaces, with ‘marmorini’, muses painted in the ovals above the doors of the second floor hall, fresco ceilings with Apollo, Venus and Cupid and Orpheus in Olympus.

These spaces have required particular efforts to harmonize the current intervention with the needs of a historic home that expresses its beauty and fragility. Thus, the recovered and cleaned historic ‘seminato’ floor was joined by a custom-made mobile furniture designed by Studio Marco Piva, of the same kind but in different colors in dialogue with the colors of the frescoes, with lounge chairs created in collaboration with Natuzzi, alongside tables, work tables and meeting tables always designed by Studio Marco Piva.

The gym, located on floor C, is housed in a frescoed room cleaned with the interventionof a company specializing in the restoration of works of art which has followed the restoration of all decorative elements of the building. The peculiarity of this space consists in the presence of large self-standing cylinders, almost high to the ceiling, handcrafted in metal bent by Concreta and fully equipped, with a high part with decorative and separation function and a base with cabinet function to contain towels, products, small tools and accessories and with an original metal mesh designed to separate while maintaining the lightness of a perforated surface crossed by light. Looking ahead, the area will also host a sauna.

The lighting project includes both custom and branded luminaires. The technical lights were created ad hoc in collaboration with Artemide and completed with large circular chandeliers and LED light sculptures from leading brands such as Italamp, Flos and Vibia. The decorative lighting was handled by Concreta. The large chandelier made up of opal glass spheres especially designed for this project stands out. The opalescence effect crosses the rooms and common areas like a fil-rouge and lights always refer to the transparency and reflections of the glass, to emphasize once again the strong relation with the Territory.

It is not surprising that in a project with a high content of historical and territorial identity like this one for Palazzo Nani, fabrics play a quite relevant role. Here, the declination of the textile elements and the chromatic choices are directly related with the comfort of the seat and the scenographic rendering of the context. Most of the fabrics that dress the hotel spaces are produced by Rubelli, a historic and prestigious Venetian brand. The bright velvets are by Rada Tessuti and the colorful rugs by Besana Carpet Lab play with the textures of the floors and give contrast and movement.

In perspective, even the large 350 square meters garden of the hotel will become a space to be enjoyed with a bar outside and open to the city. In the green, there are sculptures, statues, benches and sofas and two large stone bathtubs recovered during the works - coming from a quarry that is no longer active - and today returned to new life to tell the story of a distant past.

After the soft opening that took place in October 2021, the official inauguration of the Radisson Collection Hotel Palazzo Nani is scheduled for February 2022, during the celebrations for the Carnival of Venice.