Palazzo Mocenigo Museum

8 years ago

design map, locations, VDW2016, VDW2017, VDW2018, VDW2023

The former residence of a branch of the Mocenigo family, one of the most important dynasties of the Venetian nobility, who gave the Serenissima seven doges and numerous procurators, ambassadors, captains, clergymen and writers, Palazzo Mocenigo at San Stae was donated to the City of Venice by the last descendant of the family in 1945 to become part of the Venetian Civic Museums. Open to the public since 1985, in which year the Centro Studi di Storia del Tessuto e del Costume (Centre for Studies of the History of Textiles and Costume) was also established, the museum houses large textile and antique clothing collections from the Venetian civic holdings, as well as a specialised library featuring an important collection of figurines from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. After a radical restoration and expansion in 2013, the new layout involves twenty rooms on the first floor (the so-called piano nobile), faithfully reproducing the look of a Venetian aristocratic dwelling and the evolution of trends in fashion and textiles, the intention being to highlight various aspects of the eighteenth century. The highly appealing new layout is “lived in” by mannequins wearing vintage clothes and antique accessories, and starts in the pòrtego (a sort of hall and antechamber) among elegant and sumptuous eighteenth-century furnishings, fabrics and embroidery, paintings and frames, accessories and clothes, from the collections of the museum and of the Fondazione Muve. The spaces, complete with rococo or neoclassical frescos and furnishings, also offer an unprecedented and fascinating section devoted to the history of perfume, created in collaboration with Mavive Spa. In a thrilling sequence, this section alternates artefacts and old documents, multimedia tools and sensory experiences. The Venetian museum’s wide-ranging offerings include, on the ground floor, a perfume laboratory, a multimedia room and a white room for temporary events.