Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo: External staircase

The mainly Gothic Palazzo Contarini Minelli dal Bovolo is well known for the winding-stairs, the Scala del Bovolo. This cylindrical staircase, added at the rear of a Gothic palace, twists upwards with a sweeping motion, an effect which is caused by the rising shape of the arched column arcades dissected by a balustrade, which imitate the movement of the spiral staircase. The Venetian principle of transparency and openness in its arcades is applied here to both the staircase and the five-storey loggia, in order to defy the notorious shortage of light and air at the rear of buildings.