Venice - Ca D'oro

The best part of Ca D'oro are the views on to the Grand Canal.

As I may have mentioned, Venice has it's own dialect.  In Venice, "ca" is short for "casa" and signifies a grand residence, inevitably located on the Grand Canal.  We visited one of these grand residences, Ca D'oro, or House of Gold, before we headed off to Florence.  We lingered over breakfast while rain fell outside.  With no break in the rain in sight, we headed out with hood and umbrella.  We discovered that Venice is still charming in the rain and no one seems too bothered by a little precipitation.

View from your own personal dock on the Grand Canal.

We arrived at Ca D'oro, which is now a museum and the site of a vaporetto (ferry) stop, to discover that half the exhibit was under repair.  That suited us, as we had to catch a train to Florence soon enough.  The casa dates from the 15th century and still has strong Gothic lines, but has been restored and modernized over the years. It was donated to the city in 1916.  Though I had initially thought the building was sinking faster than the rest of Venice, the ground floor contains a private dock to the Grand Canal, which I suppose explains why it is underwater.  In the old days, once you docked your gondola, you were ushered into a beautiful patio inlaid with mosaics, and then upstairs to a fine collection of sculpture, paintings, tapestries, and pottery. 

One of the many religious paintings at Ca D'oro.
And yes, all that gold is real.