Both these views are of fifteenth century Gothic palazzi on the Grand Canal formerly owned by the Contarini family.

The Palazzo Contarini-Fasan, opposite the church of Santa Maria della Salute, is unique among Venetian palazzi in being only one room wide. Known locally as the House of Desdemona, the house’s name with the suffix ‘Fasan’ is equally obscure in origin and is thought to derive from a previous owner’s passion for pheasant shooting. The façade is bordered by alternating Istrian stone quoins and fine cable moulding colonnettes, and is augmented by the most elaborately carved of Venetian Gothic balconies, the only examples with wheel tracery.

The Palazzo Contarini-Corfù is on the other side of the Grand Canal and shortly beyond the Accademia Bridge. It is often supposed that it takes its name from previous owners called di Corfù. Here it is seen from the back, adjacent to the Villa Maravege, now the Pensione Accademia.