The Bar

Before it was a bar, this room was called the Salone Galleria, used to display paintings inside a palazzo that has hosted society since the 16th century.

Its ceiling still carries a fresco of Olympus by Cesare Rotta, and the stuccowork around it moves through both the arts and the sciences — literature and music on one side, astronomy and navigation on the other. The Bar takes its inspiration from Lord Byron, the English poet who lived in Venice and was known for his own eccentric spirit.

The drinks list draws on the room's own history for its shape. Riflessioni pairs 6 of its cocktails with 6 halls of the palazzo, translating stucco into flavour and etching ice into the pattern of the palazzo's own Rubelli silk. Bar Manager Antonio Ferrara curates the card, which changes with the seasons and adds new pours for events such as Venice Cocktail Week and the Architecture Biennale.

A separate masterclass pairs a Venetian perfumer with a resident mixologist over 2 hours: a guest builds a personal fragrance, then watches a bartender turn it into a cocktail of its own.

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