This is a unique and significant area of the city, home since the Middle Ages to a large Armenian community.
Despite the ancient Venetian laws of the Middle Ages, which prohibited the sale of real estate to foreigners, the Armenians, as Christians, could reside in any area of the city, and sometimes even buy houses.
Ca’ dei Armeni (Hay Dun) is part of a larger complex, originally including an oratory and a cemetery, built between 1172 and 1178 by Doge Ziani.
In the seventeenth century, the original oratory was replaced with the Baroque Church of Santa Croce degli Armeni. The church consists of a small vestibule, followed by a square-shaped space, surmounted by a blue dome illuminated by a roof lantern.
The church, hidden from the outside, is adjacent to the Ca ‘dei Armeni’s apartments. You can almost reach the dome from the Ca’ dei Armeni’s windows.
The church is open every last Sunday of the month and during the Biennale of Art and Architecture, when it hosts Armenian contemporary Arts and Architecture exhibitions.
Where to find us
Ca’ dei Armeni is two minutes’ walk from Piazza San Marco, and it is also very close to the Rialto bridge. It is located in a quiet, but very central area of Venice.