Double staircases and the vertical distribution of housing in Venice 1450-1600

摘要

A combination of urban and social pressures in the early fourteenth century created more vertically complex dwelling patterns in the city of Venice. This reorganisation created the doubling of the casa fondaco into the first domus magnae with two stacked palatial apartments. The vertical intensification of the merchant palace introduced new pressures on resident households, causing them to live in closer proximity with their neighbours. The double staircase offered an important solution to this challenge by improving social autonomy from one's neighbour through independent circulation.