Contarini

The palace Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo was built by the order of Pietro Contarini, a member of one of the wealthiest families in Venice. He desired to have a palace unlike any homes of his relatives and instructed his architect to build a magnificent staircase and tower. Since at the time private citizens were not allowed to have towers in their palazzos in the central part of the city, the architect designed an external spiral staircase which earned the palace the name Bovolo, meaning a “snail.”