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Palazzo Bembo is located on the Canal Grande, a few steps
away from the Rialto bridge. It was built by the noble family of Bembo in the
fifteenth century. Although it was remodeled several times over the centuries,
externally it still maintains the original structure. The Palazzo’s red façade
combines old Venetian elements with influences from the Byzantine and is
considered an example of the Venetian-Byzantine or -Gothic style, a style of
architecture originated in 14th century Venice with the confluence of Byzantine
styles from Constantinople, Arab influences from Moorish Spain and early Gothic
forms from mainland Italy. Palazzo Bembo’s 17th century restoration, taking
influences from that period with polychromy, three-partitioned façades and
loggias. The building is on the San Marco side of the Canal Grande, wedged in
between Rio di San Salvador and Calle Bembo.
Palazzo Bembo is the birthplace of Pietro Bembo (1470-1547),
a Venetian scholar, poet, literary theorist, and cardinal. He was an
influential figure in the development of the Italian language, specifically
Tuscan, as a literary medium. His writings assisted in the 16th-century revival
of interest in the works of Petrarch. Bembo's ideas were also decisive in the
formation of the most important secular musical form of the 16th century, the
madrigal.
Today, after years of
neglect, Palazzo Bembo is finding back to its original atmosphere. It is
becoming the home again of the arts, culture and education. Under a new
ownership, the decision has been made to restore Palazzo Bembo and to make room
for exhibitions in cooperation with la Biennale di Venezia
and with the hosting of two exhibitions in 2011 and several world class exhibitions in 2012. The exhibitions in Palazzo
Bembo are organized by the Dutch NonProfit Organization GlobalArtAffairs
Foundation.
In the file above there is extended information about Palazzo Bembo in Italian.
BRIEF BEMBO FAMILY INFORMATION
 The
noble Bembo family were among the ancient families of the
Venetian aristocracy and sought refuge in the lagoon at the time of the
barbarian invasions , fleeing from Bologna. They were later present when
the
first doge was created in the year 697. Celebrated throughout the
centuries,
the family boasts saints, theologians, and military heroes. Pietro
Bembo, elected cardinal in 1539, was from the branch of the family that
owned the palace Ca Bembo, on the Riva del Carbon at the Canal Grande in
Venice and appears to have
been born in the same house as Giovanni Bembo who defeated the Uskok
pirates
and was elected doge in 1615.
Bernardo
Bembo (*1433- 1519)
was a prominent statesman, ambassador, of
the republic Venezia and the father of the famous humanist Pietro Bembo.
Pietro Bembo (*1470 - 1547) poet, and cardinal. BIOGRAPHY
He was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language,
specifically Tuscan, as a literary medium, and his writings assisted in the
16th-century revival of interest in the works of Petrarch. Pietro Bembo's
ideas were also decisive in the formation of the most important secular musical
form of the 16th century, the madrigal.
 Pietro Bembo was born
in Venice to an aristocratic family. His father was an ambassador for the
Venetian state, and while still a boy Pietro was able to accompany him on many
of his travels; one of the places he visited was Florence, there acquiring a
love for the Tuscan form of Italian, a love which was to prove so important in
literary and musical history. He studied Greek for two years under the Greek
scholar Lascaris at Messina, and afterwards went to the University of Padua.
Further travels included two years (1497-1499) spent at the Este court in
Ferrara, under the reign of Ercole d'Este I then a significant literary and
musical center. While there he met Ariosto and commenced writing his first
work, Gli Asolani, a dialogue on the subject of courtly love. The poems in this
book were reminiscent of Boccaccio and Petrarch, and were widely set to music
in the 16th century. Bembo himself preferred his poetry to be performed by a
female singer accompanied by a lute, a wish which was granted to him when he
met Isabella d'Este in 1505 and sent her a copy of his book. (Painting by Giovanni Bellini 1505-1509)
In 1502 and 1503 he was again in Ferrara, and had a love
affair with the notorious Lucrezia Borgia, who was the wife of Alfonso d'Este.
He left around the time of Josquin des Prez's hire by Ercole I d'Este as
composer to the chapel, and in time to avoid the plague which decimated the
city in 1505, claiming the life of renowned composer Jacob Obrecht. Between
1506 and 1512 he lived in Urbino, and it was here that Bembo began to write his
most influential work, a prose treatise on writing poetry in Italian, Prose della
volgar lingua, although it was not to be published until much later. In 1513 Bembo
accompanied Giulio de' Medici to Rome, where he was soon after appointed
secretary to Leo X.
 Years later, ill and
bored, Bembo left Rome for Padua. Pietro Bembo was active in education in
Padua; and his great achievement was to have helped create a common language
for Italy through the revival of medieval Tuscany in his poetry and prose. On
the pontiff's death in 1521 he retired, with impaired health, to Padua with
Morosina, the young sister of a Vatican courtesan. To guarantee a living he took vows of
chastity, poverty and obedience in the aristocratic order of St John of
Jerusalem, and then started a family. He lived there for a number of years,
during which he continued to write, and in 1525 finally published his famous Prose
della volgar lingua.
In 1529 he accepted the office of historiographer to Venice,
his native city, and shortly afterwards was appointed librarian of St Mark's. After
Morosina's death, Pope Paul III in 1539 made him a cardinal, and Bembo went
back to Rome. An open mind, coupled with staunch support of the established
church during the troubled years of the reformation, made him an asset to the
papal curia. While in Rome he continued to write and revise his earlier work,
in addition to studying theology and classical history; he received as reward
the bishoprics of Gubbio and Bergamo. At the time of his accidental death in
Rome in 1547 he was considered a likely successor to Paul III. (Painting by Tiziano 1539-1540)
 Pietro Bembo, as a writer, attempted to restore some of the
legendary "affect" that ancient Greek had on its hearers, but in
Tuscan Italian instead. He held as his model, and as the highest example of poetic
expression ever achieved in Italian, the work of Petrarch and Boccaccio, two
14th century writers he assisted in bringing back into fashion. In the Prose della
volgar lingua he set Petrarch up as the perfect model, and discussed verse
composition in detail, including rhyme, stress, the sounds of words, balance,
and variety. In Bembo's theory, the specific placement of words in a poem, with
strict attention to their consonants and vowels, their rhythm, their position
within lines long and short, could produce emotions ranging from sweetness and
grace to gravity and grief in a listener. This work was of decisive importance
in the development of the Italian madrigal, the most famous secular musical
form of the 16th century, as it was these poems, carefully constructed (or, in
the case of Petrarch, analyzed) according to Bembo's ideas, which were to be
the primary texts for the music. Other works by Bembo include a History of
Venice from 1487 to 1513 (published in 1551), as well as dialogues, poems, and
essays. His early Gli Asolani explains and recommends Platonic affection,
somewhat ironically considering his affair with Lucrezia Borgia, married at the
time to his employer. His edition of Petrarch's Italian Poems, published by
Aldus in 1501, and the Terzerime, which Aldus published in 1502, were also
influential. The typeface Bembo is named after him. (Painting by Tiziano 1545-1546)
Giovanni Bembo (*1543-1618)
He was the 92nd Doge of
Venice, reigning from his election on December 2, 1615 until his
death. His reign is notable for Venetian victories during the War of Gradisca (1617) and for the Bedmar Plot (1618),
in which the Spanish ambassador to Venice, attempted unsuccessfully to
destabilize the Most Serene Republic.
Giovanni was the son of Augustine Bembo and Chiara Del Basso. Giovanni
Bembo's mother provided Bembo with a large inheritance, which he
divided with one brother. Bembo was enrolled in the crew of a galley at age 12, and he
remained aboard ship for sixteen years. He fought in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), showing great
courage in spite of repeated wounds. Following his good showing in the Battle
of Lepanto, Giovanni Bembo was appointed provveditore.
He served with distinction and went on to become savio,
consigliere,
and Procurator of
San Marco in turn. On December 2, 1615, Giovanni Bembo, a moderate
member of the vecchie faction
was elected as Doge. 1617-18 saw the Spanish Ambassador to
Venice, attempt to destabilize Venice by sowing discord, which would allow
Spanish troops to march into Venice and seize control of the city. Giovanni Bembo participated in the councils
called to stop the Spanish, he died while the threat was still current, on
March 16, 1618.
BEMBO FONT
The origins of Bembo Font Family date back to the late
fifteenth century, when artisans like Aldus Manutius and Francesco Griffo were
creating work critical to the evolution of contemporary roman typography. One
of the first Old Style typefaces, the original Bembo font was cut by Griffo,
and used by Manutius in 1495 to print Cardinal Bembo's tract, 'De Aetna'.
The twentieth-century Old
Style font, produced in 1929, was closely based on Francesco Griffo's designs,
which had no italics. Companion italics for the Bembo font were created from
the work of Renaissance writing master Giovanni Tagliente. Bembo Font Family is
a beautiful text face with classic style, and is very suitable for books,
magazines, invitations, and other text applications. |
