The restoration of Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maris Formosa in Venice

This article describes the lengthy restoration of a major palace in the city of Venice. This included not only the delicate repair of the structure and interior appearance of the palace, which had previously been greatly neglected, protecting it principally from the rising waters of Venice, but also the provision of a complex museumization programme. The compromise achieved between material conservation and updating to contemporary standards and museumization are an excellent example of the benefit of adopting clear criteria for the careful restoration of monumental buildings, even ones which are severely damaged and technically highly challenging. The restoration process makes it possible to increase knowledge of traditional construction techniques in Venice and of habitual solutions for the most frequent pathologies.