Fondaco dei Tedeschi, chosen by DFS - Duty Free Shopper as its first store in Europe, is a historic Venetian building at the foot of the Rialto bridge built in the thirteenth century and used as a trading post for German merchants.

Destroyed by fire in 1505, rebuilt and reopened, has assumed various uses - such as customhouse commissioned by Napoleon in the early nineteenth century, and as a post office from 1870 until 2008 - becoming today, thanks to the renovation by Rem Koolhaas , a temple of luxury and design.

Besides Rem Koolhaas also Jamie Fobert, Philippe Starck, Massimiliano Alajmo and Fabrizio Plessi contributed to the rebirth of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi.

The structure, consisting of four floors with a central courtyard and a red escalator, offers in equal measure, as pointed out by Sibylle Scherer chairman of the DFS Group merchandisig, Italian, Venetians, and international brands of fashion , accessories, jewelery, watches, perfumes, cosmetics, wines and spirits. The second floor is devoted specifically to the men’s fashion and at the top floor there is an exhibition space that hosts, until 15th January 2017, the project Under Water conceived by Fabrizio Plessi. Another fascinating feature is the terrace that can be accessed by 80 people at a time.


T Fondaco dei Tedeschi
Calle del Fontego dei Tedeschi
Rialto Bridge
Venice