Ca' Dario, a historic palace on Venice's Grand Canal, is back on the market after years of failed sales, haunted by a reputation for bringing untimely deaths to its owners. The 15th-century palazzo, with nine bedrooms and eight bathrooms, is priced at around €20m (£17.4m).
Local legends associate the building with at least seven deaths, including the 1970 murder of Count Filippo Giordano delle Lanze by his boyfriend, and the suicide of financier Raul Gardini in 1993. Rock manager Kit Lambert, who bought it in 1971, died in a fall in 1981, while Who bassist John Entwistle died a week after renting it in 2002.
Christie's International Real Estate and Engel & Völkers are now marketing the property, describing it as an 'architectural gem' with gothic arches and Murano chandeliers. However, the sales pitch avoids mentioning the curse that has deterred buyers, including rumoured interest from Woody Allen.
Historian Davide Busato says the curse stories began in the 1970s and intensified after Gardini's suicide, with Venetians enjoying the tales. He notes that many previous inhabitants lived long lives, including first owner Giovanni Dario, who died naturally at 80.
