Cradles in the Portego 
Nicholas Penny
- The New Palaces of Medieval Venice by Juergen Schulz Buy this book
- Private Lives in Renaissance Venice by Patricia Fortini Brown Buy this book
The inexhaustible appeal of the palaces that line the Grand Canal in Venice owes much to their variety, of materials, textures, colour and relief, as well as period and style. But we cannot miss the common denominators: the ornamental richness that is conditional on freedom from defensive needs, the quantity of windows (with locally made glass) and their concentration in the centre of the façade, expressing, externally, the long hall, or portego, which is the defining feature of the plan of these buildings. Many have speculated that Venetian palaces are descended from Byzantine or late antique building types that were forgotten, ignored or unknown elsewhere in Europe; there are similar myths about the origins of the Venetians themselves.
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Other articles by this contributor:
In Toledo, Ohio · Goltzius
At the Musée du Luxembourg · Botticelli
At the Royal Scottish Academy · The Age of Titian
Joining the Gang · Nicholas Penny defends Anthony Blunt
At the National Gallery · El Greco
Journey to Arezzo · The Apotheosis of Piero
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