Among those which have lost most of their grandeur is the Ca' d'Oro on the Grand Canal. Once opulent, ostentatious and covered with gilt, the Ca' d'Oro is the best surviving example of Venetian Gothic domestic architecture. Yet it bears very little resemblance to the Gothic tradition outside Venice. The Ca' d'Oro has lacy open-work screens and ogee windows, so as to give an Oriental flavor. This is totally unlike the Gothic dimensions of Chartres. Some prefer to describe the style here as simply Venetian. For it combines all the elements which, taken together, set Venice apart - light, opulence, color and fantasy.
