CASA DUSE 

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If you walk along via Canova, when you get to the Santa Caterina gate which closes off the long view of the road you find Casa Duse. This mansion, in the sixteenth century already residence of Francesco Nursio Timideo da Verona, personal secretary of Queen Cornaro, is situated on the medieval walled perimeter. It was rented and restored by the star with the intention of retiring there. The availability of the house was the subject of an event that testifies to the romantic and passionate soul of Eleanora Duse. In dispute with a Venetian family, the actress initially gave up the residence when she discovered why her “adversary” wanted it: wife of a soldier who fell at Grappa, she wanted to keep alive his dear memory by looking out of the windows of that building with its enchanting view of that tragic spot. The famous words of the actress are significant: “When in the morning I open the shutters of my room, Mount Grappa is framed in the window. Then I put two vases of flowers on the window sill. And I have an altar”. It was only after the “adversary” pulled out of the negotiations that Eleanora Duse regained possession of the building that was later acquired by the daughter of the famous actress.