ABSTRACT
The Fondaco dei Tedeschi, located on the Canal Grande at the foot of the Rialto Bridge, was first constructed in 1228 as a trading post for German merchants. The building was owned by the city of Venice, and the incomes from rent and taxes of goods that passed through the Fondaco was essential for the Venetian economy. In the eighteenth century, under Napoleon, the building lost its function as a trading centre and was used as a customs house and in the early twentieth century as a post office. In 2008, the building was bought by the Benetton family, who wanted to revitalize it into a commercial and cultural centre. As the building serves as a landmark for its prominent position at the Canal Grande near the Rialto Bridge, its façade has been preserved in its existing condition without distinctive interventions.
