Hotel Danieli Historical Timeline

Origins

The building began as the Palazzo Dandolo, built around 1400 in the Venetian Gothic style for the Dandolo family, one of Venice's most prominent noble houses -- among them the doge Enrico Dandolo, who led the conquest of Constantinople in 1204 and brought back the bronze horses now associated with St. Mark's Basilica.

Turning points

Over the following centuries the palace passed between noble families who each left their name on it in turn -- the Gritti from 1536, then the Michiel, the Mocenigo (whose 1630 wedding celebrations included the premiere of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Proserpina rapita), the Bernardo, and the Nani.

Influential people

In 1822, after the fall of the Republic, Giuseppe Da Niel -- known as Danieli -- purchased the palace's first floor and opened it as a hotel, the Albergo Reale. His daughter and later granddaughter expanded the property, and it grew into the Royal Danieli before settling on the name Hotel Danieli.

Cultural evolution

The hotel quickly attracted a stream of well-known guests and writers, including Goethe, Wagner, George Sand, Alfred de Musset, Honoré de Balzac, Charles Dickens, and Émile Zola, and later served as a filming location for productions including Joseph Losey's Eva. Two additional connected buildings were added in the 19th and 20th centuries to accommodate its growing reputation.

Present-day significance

Hotel Danieli now operates as part of the Marriott group's Luxury Collection, continuing to trade on the same Gothic palace setting and lagoon views that first drew visitors two centuries ago.