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After substantial restoration works, the beautiful Fortuny Palace, a pearl of the Gothic style in the heart of Venice, reopens its house-museum doors. Artist, genius of fashion and design, Spanish Mariano Fortuny Y Madrazo (1871-1949) bought the building in 1898, starting to live in it in 1907 with his wife and muse Henriette Nigrin, quickly transforming it into an extraordinary atelier.
This is where the creation and printing of the legendary Fortuny’s silk and velvet dresses and fabrics took place, renowned for being the first to invent the pleating technique. Founder of the homonymous (and still active) company Tessuti Artistici Fortuny srl, multifaceted Mariano perfected his studies and inventions in the atelier, while his wife Henriette directed the laboratory.
It was Henriette, after Mariano's death, who donated the building to the City of Venice in 1956, to be "used perpetually as a center of culture in relation to art". Officially opened to the public in 1975, now the house-museum returns to welcome visitors with its grand trompe l’oeil garden painted by Fortuny on the first floor, followed by his precious fabrics and clothes on display, such as the iconic Delphos, the pleated silk dress which was highly sought-after by divas of the time.
Also on display are Fortuny’s originals fabric floor lamps with tripod base, as well as a selection of Murano glass, paintings, furniture and various objects collected by the couple over the course of a lifetime.
In addition to the first floor, from June, upon reservation, it is also possible to access the atelier located on the second floor of the palazzo, divided into a textile laboratory, a photographic studio, a typography for engravings, a theater in which Fortuny experimented his sets effects and a study-library. Enjoy the visit!
