[1][2][3] It was built from 1582, under design by Alessandro Vittoria as the residence of the Venetian patrician family of the Balbi.

The palace has two floors, over a double-height rusticated basement with a mezzanine and entresol, in a symmetrical façade on the Grand Canal.

The ground floor has a large portal in the center featuring a mascaron and tympanum; there are two minor entrances at the sides.

The two ashlar upper floors are divided into three sectors by Ionic and Corinthian pilasters and separated horizontally by a wide entablature.

[4] In a frieze under the dentilled cornice are small oval windows in elaborate stone frames.