Orient Express – Venezia

Orient Express Venezia

Palazzo Donà Giovannelli was built in 1436, where two canals meet along the Rio di Noale in Cannaregio, the one district where the soul of La Serenissima remains untouched. In the mid-19th century Count Andrea Giovannelli commissioned Giovanni Battista Meduna, the architect who restored the neighboring Ca' d'Oro, to reimagine its interiors — neogothic and Baroque flourishes, and an octagonal staircase crowned by a celestial vault. In 1847 the palazzo reopened for the Ninth Congress of Italian Scientists and became a stage for salons and debate. In March 2026 it opened as Orient Express Venezia, following Orient Express La Minerva in Rome and the inauguration of La Dolce Vita Orient Express the year before. Venice, once a crossroad on the route from Paris to Istanbul, resumes its place in the Orient Express story.

Architect and interior designer Aline Asmar d'Amman spent eight years on the restoration. The "Colori Persi", the lost colors of Venice, return in the textures and finishes of the Piano Nobile's salons; embossed leathers and moiré silks answer the light moving across the canals. The lobby, il Corte del Conte, was once an open mineral cortile and is now a grand living room under bespoke Murano chandeliers, while a secret garden lies concealed behind centuries-old walls, reached through Calle Meraviglia and its rotating selection of contemporary work. The hotel holds 47 rooms, suites and residences, among them six Signature Suites — Orient Express, Colori Persi, Del Conte, Teatro, Cherubini and La Minerva — reaching 145 sqm, with 19th-century frescoes, gilded salons and windows over the canals. As day turns to night, The Grand Transformation softens the light and a handpicked Cast of Characters guides guests through the palazzo. Arrival can be made by boat, directly through the Gothic water gate.

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