Along the Grand Canal Of Venice one of the most iconic (and feared) homes is undoubtedly the Ca’ Dario palacelocated in the Dorsoduro district at number 352 of Campiello Barbaro. Dating back to 1479 and characterized by a asymmetric facade, has become famous in the lagoon for being a residence”damn“: many of the past owners (Palazzo Dario currently has no owner) have in fact suddenly ended up in bankruptcy or, worse yet, have lost his life shortly after staying in the property… or at least that’s what the legend says. As we will see, in many cases these are rumors that have no basis in reality – so much so that the value of the house not only has not dropped but, on the contrary, it is currently on sale for the modest sum of 18 million euros.
The (alleged) curse of Ca’ Dario and the legend about the dead owners
As anticipated, the name of Ca’ Dario is often associated with that of haunted house or damn. Over the centuries there have been reports of several buyers who, shortly after taking possession of the property, ended up bankrupt or worse. Among the latest in chronological order we can point out:
- Christopher “Kit” Lambertmanager of the rock group The Who, who bought the building in 1973 and soon abandoned it due to alleged “ghosts”, ending up bankrupt shortly afterwards.;
- The financier Raul Gardini who bought it in the 80s and after a short time was not only involved ininvestigation Clean Hands but he took his own life in ’93;
- The last known tenant to date is the former bassist of The Who John EntwistleThat died of a heart attack In the 2002 just a week after renting Ca’ Dario for a short holiday.
Those who want to believe in the paranormal claim that it was the house that dictated the adverse fate of these and many other characters, but obviously there is no proof and the most likely explanation is that it was a matter of sad coincidences:
- Kit Lambert in that same period he used to hire large quantities of narcotic substancesso much so that he was removed from the group in 1974 and subsequently arrested for possession of narcotic substances. It was this that caused its economic collapse;
- Raul Gardinias anticipated, had ended up in a huge investigation, so his fate has nothing to do with the palace;
- John Entwistleon the other hand, had had heart problems for years and was a habitual cocaine user.
This allows us to place these – as well as all other misfortunes – in the right framework.
But it doesn’t end here! Why to “confirm” this paranormal hypothesis, there would be an engraving on the facade of the building that reads VRBIS GENIUS IOANNES DARIVStranslatable as “Giovanni Dario, in honor of the genius of the city“. This writing, if an anagram is made, can however be transformed into “Sub ruina insidiosa son-in-law“, Meaning what “whoever lives in this house will end up in ruins“. Even in this case it is a stretch, since by starting with preconceptions it is possible to obtain anagrams and symbols that play in favor of our theory.
The characteristics of the Ca’ Dario palace, the “cursed house” of Venice
Ca’ Dario was commissioned to the architect Pietro Lomabrdo around the year 1487 by the patron Giovanni Dario, being erected on a pre-existing Gothic building. The appearance of the building is extremely recognizable given the asymmetric facade, with the three four-light windows move to one side, and beyond 80 decorative medallions arranged on each of the 4 floors. From a construction point of view, the palace was built in Istrian stone and has a width of just 10 meters.
Looking at it from the front, you can also notice a slight slope on the right side linked to a settlement of the foundations which – like most Venetian buildings – is made up of wooden poles driven into the ground.
