The Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a historic Venetian building situated on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge, originally the headquarters of the city's German merchants, was purchased in 2008 by the Benetton
Group for 53 million euros. The company's €100 million renovation plan to convert the 500-year-old palazzo in the heart of Venice into a Benetton 'megastore' has come under fire from Italian heritage campaigners.
The building, in Venetian Fontego dei Tedeschi, dates back to 1228, but was destroyed in a fire in 1505 and rebuilt by the Venetian Republic. The Renaissance style reconstruction produced a very functional 4-floor building which surrounds a grand inner courtyard and became the headquarter for German merchants – 'tedeschi' means Germans in Italian – who used Venice as a base to trade spices, silk and other goods between the East and northern Europe. It was turned into a customs house under the Napoleonic occupation of Venice and in the 20th century served as the Venice headquarters of the Poste Italiane.
Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas, chosen by the Benetton group to undertake the project, has included the installation of two escalators in the central courtyard, two new street entrances and the
removal of two sides of the roof to create a terrace in the plan.
The project has been attacked by Italia Nostra (Our Italy), a prominent heritage group which brought forward a legal challenge claiming that the plans would damage the building's physical and historical integrity.
Last April, the Comitato per i Beni Architettonici del Ministero dei Beni Culturali (The technical and scientific committee of the Ministry of Italian Culture) rejected elements of architect Rem Koolhaas' design due to both the major proposed structural changes to the building and the lack of an appropriate historical analysis of the building. The project has been sent back to Benetton for revisions, which are under way.
But Koolhaas continues to defend his project and has explained his plans at a conference organised by IUAV (Venice's School of Architecture) last June entitled “Antico e Nuovo. Relazioni pericolose” (Ancient and New. Dangerous Liaisons.).
Benetton has already given the city €6 million euros to ensure that all building permits come through in time for construction to begin in December 2012, but the four-year construction project will likely be
delayed—and the extra funds returned—in light of this setback.
Since the Italian government has cut a special grant to the city of Venice for the preservation of its historic buildings, the city has sought private sponsorship for many sites, including The Bridge of Sighs, the Doge's Palace, the Rialto Bridge and San Marco's Belltower.
