The “cursed and haunted” palace in Venice. Nine bedrooms and seven suspicious deaths. What does the historic building put up for sale for 20 million euros look like

A palace with a dark history in Venice dating back to the 15th century, said to be “cursed and haunted” after a series of murders, suicides and mysterious accidents, has been put up for sale for €20 million, The Guardian reports.

With nine bedrooms, eight colonnaded bathrooms, grand reception rooms, a garden, a boat ramp and a rooftop terrace with panoramic views of Venice's canals and domes, the Dario palace is described as an architectural gem.

But it also has a dark past that has fueled centuries of disturbing stories. A series of bizarre deaths has led some to believe that this building is haunted and brings bad luck.

Architectural gem Ca' Dario, located in a prime position on the banks of Venice's Grand Canal, just steps from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, has been empty for years, despite its elegant early Venetian Renaissance facade being one of the most distinctive in the city.

The Dario Palace, put up for sale again

Named after its first owner, Giovanni Dario, a diplomat hailed as a hero after concluding a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, over the centuries the palace has been home to nobles, merchants and even some British rock music personalities.

It is not the first time that the sale of the building has been attempted. And potential buyers are not necessarily scared by its price, which, according to some sources, amounts to 20 million euros.

Real estate agents struggled to overcome the reputation as the “cursed palace of Venice”. Now newly renovated, the sale of Ca' Dario has received a new impetus, with the challenge entrusted to the Venice branch of Christie's International Real Estate and Engel & Völkers.

What the legends say about Dario's palace

Christie's describes the building as an “architectural gem” with Gothic arches, antique Murano chandeliers and a terrace, while noting that it is located in a “quiet” Venetian neighborhood away from the crowds.

What is not mentioned in the presentation are the tragic stories that have led to the formation of local legends about the curse that hangs over the building.

According to legend, the palace is associated with at least seven deaths, the most gruesome being in 1970, when the then owner, Count Filippo Giordano delle Lanze, was murdered within its walls by his lover, a sailor who fled to London and was himself later murdered.

Christopher “Kit” Lambert, then manager of The Who, bought the property the following year. Although he claimed not to be bothered by the alleged curse, he is said to have confessed to friends that he was sleeping elsewhere to escape the ghosts.

However, locals blamed the curse for his drug addiction, the ensuing financial crisis and his death in London in 1981 after falling down the stairs.

In the 1980s, the palace was bought by the Italian financier Raul Gardini, who was involved in a large-scale corruption scandal and committed suicide in Milan in 1993.

Potential buyers, put off by the dark past

Legends also allude to the fact that the palace would bring bad luck to those who approach it or spend their holidays there. Mario Del Monaco, an opera tenor, intended to buy the property in 1964, but changed his mind after he was involved in a serious car accident on his way to it.

John Entwistle, bassist for The Who, died in the US in 2002, a week after renting it.

Ca' Dario was largely abandoned after that, and while it attracted the interest of potential buyers enamored of its architecture, including Woody Allen, they are said to have been put off by the ghosts that “haunt” the building.

In 2006, the palace was bought by an American company on behalf of the current owner, whose identity has not been made public. The fact that the property has remained empty since then only fueled the rumours.

Arnaldo Fusello, managing director of Christie's in Venice, insisted they were stories of the lodgers and mentioned the “hundreds” of people who over the centuries lived to old age in the palace, including Dario, who died of natural causes aged 80.

Davide Busato, a historian in Venice, said the rumors began in the 1970s but gained momentum after Gardini's suicide.

The expert says that Venice is full of historical buildings where murders and suicides took place and where luxury hotels operate today.

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