Hotel Bauer Palazzo Site Features

Two buildings, two centuries

The property joins an 18th-century palazzo facing the Grand Canal to a mid-20th-century wing behind it, and the seam between them is the most interesting thing about the place. Venice's other grand hotels grew by absorbing further historic buildings; this one grew by building something deliberately modern next door.

The 1950s wing

That wing, by Marino Meo, is Rationalist rather than revivalist -- flat planes, regular fenestration, and no attempt at Gothic or Baroque pastiche. It drew objections at the time and still does, and it is one of very few modern insertions of any scale into the historic centre.

The San Moisè frontage

The land entrance opens onto Campo San Moisè, directly opposite the heavily sculpted Baroque facade of the church of San Moisè -- so the approach sets a restrained hotel front against one of the most ornamented church facades in the city.