Palazzo Mocenigo, Noble palace in San Marco, Venice, Italy

Palazzo Mocenigo detto "il Nero" is one of four Mocenigo palaces on the Grand Canal, between the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's Square. Alvise Mocenigo built it around 1579; in 1788 Alvise Giovanni Mocenigo joined the separate palazzi into a 40-room complex. Lord Byron later lodged in the right-hand part of the central palace.

The Palazzo Mocenigo detto "il Nero" was built around 1579 by Alvise Mocenigo, on a site that had held four separate buildings of the Mocenigo family, seven of whom became Doges of Venice. In 1788 Alvise Giovanni Mocenigo, procurator of Saint Mark and later Doge, linked the individual palazzi into a 40-room complex used for entertainment. The family sold it in the late 1800s; it changed hands again in 1929 and was offered for sale in 2005.

Seven members of the Mocenigo family became Doges of Venice, the elected head of the Republic, which is why the family could raise four separate buildings on this stretch of the Grand Canal. Alvise Giovanni Mocenigo, procurator of Saint Mark and later Doge, joined them in 1788 into a 40-room complex used for entertaining.

The palace stands on the Grand Canal between the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's Square, so it can be reached on foot from either landmark. Approaching along the canal, look for the three adjoining Mocenigo palaces: this one, nicknamed "il Nero", is the central block, with Casa Nuova and Casa Vecchia on either side.

The palazzo's name, "il Nero" (the Black), distinguishes it from its neighbours Palazzo Mocenigo Casa Nuova and Casa Vecchia, which stand on either side along the Grand Canal. The three palaces descend from four buildings erected for the Mocenigo family, seven of whom became Doges of Venice.