Fondaco dei Turchi

The Fondaco dei Turchi (Venetian: Fontego dei Turchi, Turkish: Türk Hanı) is a Veneto-Byzantine style palazzo, later on named as the Turks' Inn, on the Grand Canal of Venice, northeast Italy.

The palace was constructed in the first half of the 13th century by Giacomo Palmier, an exile from Pesaro. The Venetian Republic purchased it in 1381 for Niccolò II d'Este, the Marquess of Ferrara. During its early history, the palazzo also served as a residence to many visiting dignitaries.

From the early 17th century through to 1838, the fondaco served as a one-building-ghetto for Venice's Ottoman Turkish population (thus "dei Turchi"). The fondaco (from Arab: ) then served as a combination home, warehouse, and market for the Turkish traders, as the Fondaco dei Tedeschi served as headquarters and restricted living quarters for German foreigners.

A number of restrictions were placed on the fondaco and its residents, including certain times one was able to enter and leave the ghetto, as well as on trading. Among other things, Venetian Turks imported wax, crude oil, and wool to the city.

After the Venetian Republic was conquered and abolished by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797, the Turkish traders continued to live in the palazzo until 1838.

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