In 1868, Giovanni Querini Stampalia established an institution in his will with the aim of ‘fostering the culture of good studies and useful disciplines’. The Foundation continues to embody this mission, serving as a place for research and education, for encounter and dialogue, for individual development and the dissemination of knowledge.
The Querini Stampalia is one of Italy’s oldest cultural foundations, esteemed by a broad network of public and private entities. Notably, the State, the Veneto Region, and the Municipality of Venice, alongside universities, national and international organizations, associations, and corporations, recognize its significance. As these partnerships continue to expand in number and diversity, the Foundation orchestrates various projects and activities.
About Querini's Story
Information provided by Querini Stampalia Foundation.
Legend tells of the descent of the Quirini family, later Querini, from the Gens Galbai, linked to the Roman Emperor Sulpicius. Beyond the story, it is certainly one of the oldest families in Venice, for centuries at the top of the political and social life of the city.
The conspiracy hatched by the Querini and the Tiepolos in 1310 against the Doge condemned them to banishment, the cancellation of their coat of arms and the demolition of two-thirds of their palace in Rialto. After the revolt, the house split into three branches, that of Santa Maria Formosa or Ca’ Mazor, counts of Stampalia, of San Silvestro and of Santa Giustina, to which Pietro Querini, lord of the fiefdoms of Castel Temene and Dafnes on the island, belongs of Candia.
The Querini possessions south of Candia, capital of the island of the same name, were renowned for Malvasia wine and sultanas, products certainly loaded onto the ship Querina, the protagonist of the daring shipwreck. Peter’s journey towards Flanders, however, begins from the fortress of Castelfranco, an important place of defense and storage point for goods from all over the Mediterranean, which still today preserves the patrician coats of arms of the Querini and Dolfin on the access portal. After the incredible landing in Lofoten the crew, reduced to sixteen men, returned to Venice in 1432.