Staircase Contarini del Bovolo

ENG

title	Staircase Contarini del Bovolo
category	eye-catchers
description
The spiral staircase 'Scala Contarini del Bovolo' is an extraordinary example of Venetian architecture in transition: leaving the realms of the gothic to embrace renaissance style. Hidden inside a small courtyard, at the end of a narrow calle, next to Campo Manin, appears, unique in all its extraordinary elegance La Scala of the Bovolo. It is one of the most striking examples of transition from the Venetian Gothic style, well-rooted in local culture, to that of the renaissance. A series of overlapping arches link the different levels as the staircase winds upwards to form a cylindrical tower. Its Venetian name of “Bovolo” refers to the spiral shell of a small local edible snail. The structure adopted is inspired by the Renaissance, but it fits into a structure which recalls the shape of the Byzantine scalar towers. The ascent of 'La Scala' concludes with a lookout dome from which one can admire a splendid and unusual landscape: the roofs, towers, domes of St. Mark, with a view over the city.
link	Venice Tourist Board