Fondaco dei Tedeschi

The Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a historic building in Venice, Italy, is situated along the Grand Canal, close to the iconic Rialto Bridge.

[2] The word fondaco is derived from the Arabic funduk (or fundque) that was in essence a caravanserai (or caravansary)--a combination warehouse, shop, and inn, for traveling merchants.

[1] The Fondaco dei Tedeschi played a crucial role in the success of the Republic of Venice, as a hub for distributing and receiving goods to and from the North and the East.

[1] Following a practice typical of the eastern Mediterranean and beyond, the ground floor surrounding the courtyard of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi was designated for rental storerooms and accessible by water, while the upper levels were reserved for merchants' living quarters and communal dining areas.

Upon arriving at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Germans had to perform a ceremonial handover of their weapons to the Fontegher, the Venetian authority in charge of room assignments, highlighting the formality of the process.

[2][4] As one of the city's most influential merchant colonies, the Fondaco also became a key trading hub, facilitating the flow of goods from the East toward the Alps.

[1] One of these surviving accounts is by a German Friar who described the Fondaco as having two central courtyards which faced the Grand Canal.

[1] There is also a surviving map by Jacopo de’ Barbari that shows that the Fondaco was made up of many smaller buildings which were used for storage as well as housing.

[8] On the canal side, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi had a five-bay loggia where merchandise as well as arriving merchants would have disembarked from boats.

[2] Compared to Venetian ornamental arts, the interiors of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi were nevertheless far more subtle, yet were durable and simple to understand.

[3] The reconstructed Fondaco dei Tedeschi was built with many Islamic architectural elements that can be seen in other surviving buildings from far away places like Egypt and Syria.

[5] Only fragments of theses frescoes survive today, due to deterioration by the salty air and humid climate because of the lagoon with only small traces of color remaining visible.

[13]Making use of historical areas for business purposes and moving from public to private ownership are themes that are frequently found in Venice, in this case, with the Fondaco dei Tedeschi.