Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti: Overall view, canal facade and garden

The palace was erected in 1565. In the 19th century it was internally modernised and externally enriched in Venetian Gothic style, with rich window framing, by a series of grand owners. The first neo-Gothic improvements were made after 1840, when the young Archduke Frederick Ferdinand of Austria (1821-1847) reassembled the property, the Palazzo Cavalli-Gussoni, which had become divided among heirs, and embarked on a complex project intended to give a more prominent Habsburg presence along the Grand Canal, as Austria-Hungary had been awarded the territories of Venice after the Napoleonic Wars. Since 1999 it has been the seat of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti and frequently houses cultural events.