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Casino degli Spiriti
One of Venice's enduring ghost stories
Extending to the east of Campo Madonna dell’Orto, Fondamenta Gasparo Contarini is the address of the 16th-century Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo, a massive, gloomy enough place, that shows that in its day this corner of Canneregio attracted the elite.
The ghost legends are attached to the pleasure pavilion in its once famous gardens: the Casino degli Spiriti (the small ochre palazzo with a new roof). A traditional rendezvous for the odd tryst or noisy orgy, the Casino degli Spiriti is supposedly haunted by the screams and rattling chains of the damned souls of its old sinners.
The most celebrated spirits belong to a pair of lovers worthy of Boccaccio. The wife of a rich nobleman was having an affair with his best friend. The husband found out and raised the roof, and in grief and chagrin the best friend died.
Images by Andrzej Otrębski, Didier Descouens, Creative Commons License