Scala Contarini del Bovolo
Scala Contarini del Bovolo forms a distinctive spiral staircase beside the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo in Venice. Its Venetian name means “snail”, matching the staircase’s shell-like spiral. Istrian stone and exposed brick carry the staircase through a cylindrical tower. The stone steps wind counterclockwise through the tower.
Pietro Contarini added the staircase to the palace as a decorative feature during the Renaissance. The palace originally served as a fontego house. Late Gothic and early Renaissance elements shape the palace, whose facades face Calle del Bovolo and Rio de San Luca Rossini. Rialto and San Marco once framed its setting. At the top, arches and small loggias connect the staircase with the palace, while the belvedere overlooks Venice’s rooftops. The belvedere opens across Venice and the lagoon.
Ernst Wilhelm Tempel observed the sky from the tower and discovered a comet and the Merope Nebula. Orson Welles used the staircase for his film Othello.
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