Fondaco dei Turchi
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The Fondacho dei Turchi, or Fondega dei Turchi, is a 13th century palazzo on the Grand Canal of Venice. The building then was a combination home, warehouse, and market for traders. Its name derives from the its assignment in the fourteenth century to the Turks (Ottomans). Originally the site belonged to the Duke of Ferrara.
Because of the suspicions held for the muslim Turkish traders, despite the commercial allure, the windows of the fondaco were sealed; and rooms were lit only from an interior courtyard. There was an enclosing wall and gates; and the gates, like those in the ghetto were closed at night). The two corner turrets on the landside, which might serve for defence, were razed.
Now the building houses the Venetian Museum of Natural history with historical collections of flora and fauna, fossils, and an aquarium.
