Finally Through the Looking Glass - 20 Rooms of Venice's Royal Palace in the Correr Museum Are Open

Palazzo Reale, percorso delle Sale Reali:
Enfilade dallo Studio dell'Imperatore d'Austria Francesco Giuseppe
Foto: Massimo Listri ©

(Venice, Italy) For years, the doorway to Emperor Franz Joseph's rooms in the Royal Apartments inside the Correr Museum in Venice had been barricaded by a discreet golden cord. Long after his wife Empress Sissi's rooms were beautifully restored with a French accent back in 2012, when you arrived at the antechamber that connected the two sections of the palace, you were greeted by the elegant gold barrier. The door was open, but all you got was a tempting peek down a long corridor of different doorways that promised a wonderland if you could just get through the looking glass.

Finally, on July 15, 2022 -- after restoration work that had begun back in 2000, more two decades before -- 20 rooms of Venice's Royal Palace have been opened to the public. Now you can wander through the rooms and dream about times long ago when Venice had been under Austrian rule and the young sovereigns arrived for a 38-day visit between November 1856 and January 1857. Empress Sissi (1837-1898) would go on to live in Venice without Emperor Franz Joseph for another seven months between October 1861 and May 1862.

Arrival of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth of Austria by Ippolito Caffi (c.1856)

The Royal Palace was originally created by Napoleon (1769-1821) after the French conquered Venice in 1797. The palace would become the residence of the three successive dynasties that ruled Venice after the fall of the Serenissma Republic from the early 19th century to the 1920s: 

• The House of Bonaparte 
• The House of Hapsburg 
• The House of Savoy 

When a visiting emperor or empress or king or queen came to town, the Royal Palace is where they lived. Each monarch had their own taste and style. The restorations cover a potpourri of furnishings throughout the time periods. 

I thought it was going to be Empress Sissi on one side and Emperor Franz Joseph on the other, but that is not how the new rooms are arranged.

Studio of Emperor Franz Joseph - Photo: Massimo Listri©

Instead we hop from Emperor Franz Joseph (1830-1916) to his younger brother Maximilian (1832-1867), Archduke and Emperor of Mexico, and his wife Carlotta of Hapsburg with elements of the Napoleonic period mixed in. We jump back and forth through time as Europe fought deadly battles to decide who was boss while royalty sojourned in Venice… only to ultimately arrive at the conclusion that no one was stronger — everyone had power in their own way — and the best solution is peace. 

When King Umberto (1844-1900) and Queen Margherita stayed in Venice to inaugurate the very first Biennale in 1895 -- the first International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice -- they stayed in the Royal Apartments. There is one room called "The Living Room of King Umberto" dominated by one of Margherita's impressive dresses. 

The final rooms are the chamber where King Vittorio Emanuele II (1820-1878) slept on November 7, 1866 to celebrate the union of Venice and the Veneto with the Kingdom of Italy and the adjoining living room and studio. 

Once the royal days of kings and emperors were over, the rooms became offices and archives used by the State and its officials, as often happens in Venice. And, as one would expect, most of the existing decorations and furnishings were removed.

Happily, now the renovated rooms are all decorated and adorned with tapestries reproduced in the original designs. From the upholstery to the cabinets to to the door knobs, the meticulous work was performed by contemporary Venetian craftspeople at the top of their game, and illustrates the rich heritage and tradition that still exists in Venice and the Veneto to this day. 

Also, some of the original furniture from the Royal Palace has been tracked down and returned to the palace, which may account for the colorful nature of the itinerary -- I would imagine that it was not easy gathering the beautiful furnishings from whomever had gained possession.

Royal Gardens & St. Mark's Basin seen from Royal Apartments - Photo: Cat Bauer

The Royal Apartments occupy the north side of the piano nobile of the Procuratie Nuove, overlooking the Royal Gardens, which were also recently restored, and Saint Mark's Basin. The rooms run parallel to the Museo Correr exhibition rooms, which look over Piazza San Marco.

Moorish Room - Photo: Cat Bauer

 
My favorite room was the exotic Moorish Room, commissioned by Archduke Maximilian after two journeys to the Islamic world, first to Turkey in 1850 and the second to Egypt five years later. The recreations of the sofas and the complex patterns on the ceiling and the walls illustrate the care and attention to detail that went into the restoration (and probably why it took so long).

The restoration was directed by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and the Venice City Council, supported by the Superintendency, with the invaluable contribution of the French Committee for the Preservation of Venice (Le Comité français pour la sauvegarde de Venise), and patrons from around the entire world. There are discreet brass plaques in each room detailing who sponsored which restoration. 

You can only visit the new itinerary of the Royal Rooms with a reservation and a special guide, limited to groups of ten people. You can book at the Correr ticket counter when you arrive. The tours are in Italian, English and French. Go to the Correr Museum for the time schedule and more information.

Also, you can see the photo exhibition of Massimo Listri, known for capturing the souls of places, in the Correr's magnificent ballroom through October 22.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog