Venice received a dazzling addition to its property portfolio in 1945 when Count Alvise Nicolò Mocenigo bequeathed his family's 17th-century palazzo to the city. While the ground floor hosts temporary exhibitions, the piano nobile (main floor) is where you'll find a dashing collection of historic fashion, including exquisitely embroidered men's silk waistcoats. Adding to the glamour and intrigue is an exhibition dedicated to the art of fragrance – an ode to Venice's 16th-century status as Europe's capital of perfume.
Palazzo Mocenigo's opulent, chandelier-graced rooms look pretty much as they did at 18th-century A-list parties. Yet even when flirting shamelessly under Jacopo Guarana’s Nuptial Allegory ceiling (1787) in the Green Living Room, wise guests minded their tongues. The Mocenigos reported philosopher and sometime house guest Giordano Bruno to the Inquisition for heresy; the betrayed philosopher was subsequently tortured and burned at the stake in Rome.
