Surrounded on three sides by large imposing buildings - the Procuratie by Scamozzi, the Zecca (mint) by Sansovino and the Fontego della farina (flour storehouse) - and on the fourth side by the Bacino of Saint Mark’s, across the Grand Canal from the Chiesa della Salute (Saint Mary of Health Church), the Punta della Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore, the Royal Gardens have a very special relationship with architecture. Lorenzo Santi was aware of this when he designed the two small buildings - the Kaffeehaus and the Greenhouse-belvedere - that have enclosed Gardens since their inception and announced their presence to those arriving either from the Piazzetta or from the water. The architects entrusted with the task of redeveloping this green space close to the Marciana area were aware of this, too. An architectural intervention, within a space where nature and history dominate, always requires great attention to the volumes, shapes and materials involved, but in the particular case of the Royal Gardens, special care and attention was needed in interacting with the pre-existing structures, whose history is intertwined with that of the garden - its Kaffeehaus, drawbridge, pergola and cast-iron furnishings - and with those objects that have become part of it for a wide range of reasons: storage areas, public toilets, an electric cabin and a bunker.

Before being carried out in 2019 by Venice Gardens Foundation, the restoration of the monumental complex of the Royal Gardens was preceded by studies and projects that, for various reasons, failed to materialise in their entirety. 

The Foundation chose the project drawn up by Studio di Venezia for the renovation of the Gardens’ architectural elements, and entrusted the work of developing the project and harmonising it with the site to Torsello Architettura, the firm of architects which was responsible for overall supervision on site and carried out the reno-vation. 

The Kaffeehaus

The Kaffeehaus is a type of building that became popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century in the large parks being constructed in those years. 
The small Pavilion in Istrian stone, a masterpiece of Venetian neo-classical art, built by Lorenzo Santi between 1816 and 1817 as the perspective conclusion of the tree-lined avenue along the Bacino of Saint Mark’s, has a rectangular plan with a central portion surmounted by a small circular dome flanked by two vaulted rooms with niches in their walls. Its restoration focused on eliminating processes of degradation and diffused humidity, particularly those affecting the dome, and, wherever it was deemed necessary, on strengthening the static activity of the structure by inserting metal chains to bind those parts of the building that had lost cohesion. 

The Greenhouse
 
The Greenhouse, consisting of three adjoining sections, was built at the request of Venice Gardens Foundation to be lower than the one designed by Aymonino-Barbini, so it would not block the view of the Kaffeehaus situated on the Fondamenta del Molo, and would not interrupt the compact continuous green front of the garden or damage the root system and foliage of a nearby hackberry tree. 
Its two perpendicular arms have a double-pitched roof on their long sides and a pavilion roof on their short ones, while the connecting element, which is taller and circular in shape, has a conical roof. The east arm has been configured as a space for the Foundation’s cultural, artistic and research activities, while the west arm, aligned with the Rio della Luna, houses public toilets, as requested by the municipality. 
The structure is made of steel portals, arranged at regular intervals in the building’s two arms and with a radial progression in its cylinder, consisting of laser-cut pillars and trusses, whose internal profile has a curvilinear progression and a design that recalls that of nineteenth-century greenhouses, while its roof was built using zinc-titanium sheet metal covering, thus creating a dialogue with both the lead roof of the Santi Pavilion and with the Venetian urban landscape.

The pergola

The 90-metre long pergola, with its 46 columns and pediment deco- rated with figures, crosses the garden longitudinally and imposes itself as the site’s ordering element, an axis that establishes the symmetries, paths and perspectives that contribute to defining the Royal Gardens. 
The columns, joined together by beautiful cast-iron decorations, terminate at the top with a “disc” closure element, surmounted by a circular “pinecone” which functions as an interlocking screw. Renovation involved disassembling all of the structure’s components. Once their stability and consistency had been verified, they were cleaned. and any missing components were reproduced in castings faithful to the originals. 

The drawbridge
Also of particular importance was the recovery of the small drawbridge, the only example of this type present in Venice, that nevertheless plays an important role in the significance of the entire project. 
The restoration made the bridge functional and safe again by restoring the structural deck made of steel profiles and cast-iron brackets embedded in wall abutments on the bank of the canal towards the Palace; the walking surface, consisting of larch wood planking; and the lifting mechanism, consisting of a winch placed under the planking of the fixed part towards the Palace, which can be manoeuvred with a special lever connected to a bronze worm screw. 

The main gate

Made in 1816, and composed of two fixed exterior leaves and two central leaves that can be opened, the gate is a true work of cast-iron art and outstanding technical ability. It is composed of iron elements and ones obtained from fusion held together by pins and joints.

The small greenhouse

The electrical energy cabin that stood on the garden’s east side, in correspondence with the Marciana Library, was rebuilt and enclosed within a small greenhouse that is used for storing garden equipment and a collection of rare potted plants. Its frames are similar to the ones in the main greenhouse, but were cold cut and are smaller.