Two Palaces, a Chapel, and an Art Collection on the Grand Canal: The World of Domenico di Piero in Jacopo de’ Barbari's View of Venice

Domenico di Piero (1406–97) was a jeweler, an antiquarian, and a collector active in Venice during most of the fifteenth century. By the end of his life, he had amassed a huge fortune consisting of a collection of precious objects, cash, and real estate holdings. Chapter 19 establishes that archival documents attest to Domenico di Piero’s prominence in the city and shed light into his business dealings in Venice and throughout Europe with the most important collectors of the time. Jacopo de’ Barbari’s View of Venice, completed just a few years after Domenico di Piero’s death, clearly depicts the world in which the jeweler lived and worked. By following clues provided by archival documents, it is possible to accurately identify on the View the spaces in which Domenico’s life took place: his home, the private chapel he had built, and other architectural buildings he had commissioned during his lifetime.