Remains of the Casino of Tron Palace in San Stae

One of the premises of the University of Architecture of Venice (IUAV) is housed in the famous Tron building, near the Church of San Stae.

The building, which overlooks the Grand Canal, was built in the second half of the 1500s by a student of the famous architect Jacopo Sansovino and still retains traces of the glories of the Tron family, one of the richest of the Venice Republic.

In the lush garden there was once a casino, a hall for receptions built during the 1700s, when Tron was at the height of glory and Andrea Tron, procurator of St Mark's, was called 'el Paron' (the master), to emphasize that everything in Venice passed into his hands.

The casino was placed in the bottom of the garden and was destroyed in the early 1800s with the death of the last Tron, Cecilia. It was the headquarters of the triumphs of another Cecilia, wife of Francis, (the brother of 'Paron' in Venice Andrea Tron) that went down in history for her libertine life... She was the lover of the famous Count of Cagliostro and many others! In 1782, when she rented her seat at the San Benetto Theatre to the Grand Duke of Russia at a very high price. A satire in the form of an epigram began to circulate saying ‘E brava la Trona / la vende el palco più caro della mona'; the noblewoman was absolutely not offended by the allusion to her lust for she answered: 'I do not sell that, I give it away!'.

The 1700s went down in history as being the most transgressive and lascivious century in the history of the Venice Republic. If you are interested in the subject, venetoinside.com offers a different and unique private walking tour Seductive Venice: discover ancient Venetian vices and secrets! In the company of an expert local guide, you will retrace vices and secrets of the past of the Venice Republic visiting areas and buildings suspended between history and legends.