Along the Grand Canal in Venice there is this gothic palace called Palazzo Ca’Dario. For centuries the owners have met an unfortunate end and today it is most known as the most cursed palace in Venice.
Taking a walk in Venice’s narrow streets or from a boat on the shallow canals, there are many spectacular buildings towering over the shallow canals. Each with its long and sometimes dark history.
One of these wonderful buildings is the small, but exquizit Palace in Venetian gothic style named Ca’Dario on the Canal Grande. It has a marvelous facade of Istrian stone and is decorated with marbles and medallions.
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Palazzo Ca’Dario is often for sale, it is said though, as the owners don’t seem to linger for too long in this place, something that doesn’t happen very often in Venice. But for this particular palace, there is a very particular reason for its vacancy. According to local venetians, the place is cursed and has been for centuries.
The Palazzo Ca’Dario is often called the house that kills and is today, perhaps one of the most famous cursed houses to this day. The owner that takes up residence in the palace will soon after meet a violent death or at least live to be ruined.
The Dario Family
For evidence for this legend, or perhaps more accurately, the reason for this legend behind Palazzo Ca’Dario, is the track record of owners that died in horrific ways or lost all of their fortune, tracing back to the 16th century to modern day.
According to legend, it all started with the daughter of Giovanni Dario. Giovanni Dario was the Secretary of the Senate of the Republic of Venice and built Palazzo Ca’Dario in the 15th century. On the facade of the palace there is an inscription that reads Urbis Genio Joannes Darius, meaning Giovanni Dario to the Genius of the City.
His daughter Marietta Dario was the first person to have died in a horrible way. After her husband Vincenzo went bankrupt and in some variation of the story, stabbed to death, she fell into a darkness she didn’t manage to climb out from. She committed suicide it that very palace her father built. Not long after their son followed after being murdered in Crete by assassins.
The Curse Continues to this Day
Since then there have been over 10 dramatic deaths connected to the owners of Palazzo Ca’Dario, and even people like Woody Allen, who considered buying the house, refused after he heard about the curse of the house. The owners don’t necessarily have to live in the palace to be struck by the curse, they simply have to buy it.
The Barbaro family was one of the families that lost all of their fortune shortly after they bought the place.
In 1842, an Englishman named Radon Brown lost all of his money as well and committed suicide together with his male lover after their romantic relationship were revealed. A very similar fate fell upon the American Charles Briggs who were accused of being gay living their. Together with his lover, they fled to Mexico, but his lover died by suicide.
The French poet Henri de Régnier lived there until he was so seriously ill he had to return back to France. The manager of The Who, Christopher Lambert was also one of the owners that seemed to get ill after purchasing the house in the early 1970s.
In 1979, Fillippo Giordano delle Lanze, a count from Turin was killed by his lover inside the palace. His lover, a Croatian sailor fled to London were he in turn was murdered.
In the 1980’s a financier named Raul Gardini bought the place. He was later found guiltu of being implicated in the Tangentopoli government corruption scandal and committed suicide in 1993.
The Reason Behind the Curse of Palazzo Ca’Dario
Why is Palazzo Ca’Dario so cursed you asked? There are several legends to it. Some claim it is from the original death of the daughter of Dario that is still echoing as a curse in the building, some say it is a building built on top of an old Templar cemetery or built on a crossroad.
Perhaps, there is more to say about who can afford to live in a palace in the first place, and how far they fall when they lose everything.
There is noted however by people that the inscription on the facade praising the builder of Palazzo Ca’Dario to mean something completely different as an anagram. Sub ruina insidiosa genero, meaning I bring treacherous ruins to those who live under this roof.
The Palazzo Ca’Dario on the Canal
As the sun sets over the shimmering waters of the Grand Canal, a sense of foreboding surrounds Palazzo Ca’Dario. The legacy of tragedy and misfortune that has plagued its owners for centuries continues to cast its dark shadow upon the palace. The curse, intertwined with the very fabric of the building, has become an indelible part of Venice’s history.
Despite the tales of doom and the cautionary whispers of locals, there are always those who are drawn to the enigmatic allure of Palazzo Ca’Dario. Through the years, the curse has claimed its victims with ruthless precision. Lives lost, fortunes squandered, and dreams shattered. The hallways echo with the silent cries of the past, a testament to the insidious nature of the curse that has plagued this cursed palace.
Legends and theories abound, attempting to unravel the origins of the curse. Is it the tortured spirit of Marietta Dario, unable to find peace after her tragic demise? Or does the curse stem from a darker force, buried deep within the ancient foundations, waiting to consume those who dare to call it home?
Perhaps one day, the curse will be broken, the darkness lifted from this ill-fated palace. But until then, Palazzo Ca’Dario remains a testament to the fragility of human existence, a haunting reminder that some places are best left to the whispers of legends and the pages of history.
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References
Venice Legends and Ghosts
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/palazzo-dario
