12/06/2025
“Success consists in being successful, not in having potential for success. Any wide piece of ground is the potential site of a palace, but there's no palace till it's built.” Fernando Pessoa
The palace like Hotel Danieli, Venice, Italy
The Hotel Danieli is a palatial five-star hotel in Venice, Italy. The central wing of the hotel was built as the Palazzo Dandolo at the end of the 14th century, by one of the Dandolo families. CNN cites it as one of the top five "lavish hotels" in the city.
The structure was built at the end of the 14th century by the Dandolos, a noble Venetian family. In the 16th century the building was divided into three sections for different members of the family. The richly embellished building, which gives the appearance of a single unit from the exterior, was then the venue of social gatherings and lavish parties.
In the 17th century, ownership was with the Mocenigo and the Bernardo families who continued to hold grand social events. At the wedding celebration of Giustiniana Mocenigo with Lorenzo Giustinian in 1629, Giulio Strozzi's Proserpina Rapita was performed with music by Monteverdi. The two families were still the owners of the building at the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797. After the building had suffered the effects of the city's decline, the Venetian Giuseppe Dal Niel of Friuli, known as Danieli, rented the first floor of the building from 24 October 1822 for his own use and to house his guests. In 1824, appreciating its potential as a centrally located meeting place, he bought the entire building, lavishly restored it and converted it into a hotel which he appropriately renamed "Danieli".
Many notable artists, writers and musicians stayed here, among them Goethe, Wagner, Charles Dickens, Byron, Peggy Guggenheim, Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Harrison Ford, and Steven Spielberg. John Ruskin stayed here when he was working on The Stones of Venice. One of the most popular rooms in the hotel is Number 10. It was here that Aurore Dudevant, better known as George Sand, stayed with her lover Alfred de Musset. The biography of George Sand, under the section "Love and Genius", brings out the romantic details of their stay in this room. During this period, the famous restaurant, first known as the Caffè Brigiacco, came into being among the shops which developed on the ground floor. As it was run by two Greek brothers who had a liking for oriental dress, it later became known as the "Caffè Orientale".
In the 19th century, private beach access was a feature of the hotel, while guests could use the services of interpreters who were versed in different European languages. In 1895, when the building's ownership changed hands, it was modernized with extensive electrical fittings, lifts and central heating, transforming it into the luxurious "Hotel Royal Danieli".
By end of the 19th century, a bridge link was established, annexing the hotel to a 19th-century adjoining palace now known as the Casa Nuova which became part of the hotel in 1906. That year, together with four other luxurious hotels in Venice, the Danieli came under the control of Compagnia Italiana Grandi Alberghi (CIGA), owned by Count Giuseppe Volpi. Further changes to the façade were undertaken by the architect Francesco Marsich. Finally, from 1946 to 1948 after the buildings between the Palazzo Dandolo and the Palazzo delle Prigioni had been demolished, the hotel was substantially extended. The "Danielino" (Little Daniele), a new building with a marble façade designed by Virgilio Vallot, became the last addition to the hotel.
In 1994, ITT Sheraton purchased a controlling interest in CIGA. The chain had over-expanded across Europe just as a recession hit, and had been seized from its previous owner, the Aga Khan, by its creditors. The hotel Danieli was placed in the ITT Sheraton Luxury Collection. After Sheraton's sale to Starwood in 1998, the chain was renamed The Luxury Collection. Starwood sold the hotel to The Statuto Group in 2005 for 177 million EUR, but retained management of the property. The hotel left The Luxury Collection on 5 January 2023, and will undergo an extensive renovation. When work is completed in 2025, it will be rebranded Hotel Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel, managed by Four Seasons Hotels.
