List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Glossary of terms; Sources and methodology; General introduction; Part I. Venice in the Early Quattrocento: 1. The economic and political background; 2. The city in 1400; 3. The medieval Venetian palace; Part II. The Contarini Casada: 4. The Contarini: a great patrician clan; 5. Marin and his marriage; 6. Antonio Contarini, an ambitious father; 7. Contarini's business activities; 8. A domestic interlude: family and servants 1426-1430; 9. The new palace at Santa Sofia: motives and methods; 10. First impressions: the plan, structure and appearance of the palace; Part III. Building in Medieval Venice: 11. The building trade guilds; 12. The men who built the palace: an introduction; 13. Building contracts and procedures; 14. The stonemasons' yards; 15. Technology on site; 16. Daily life on site; 17. The building industry: money, wages and standards of living; Part IV. Building the Palace: The First Stage: 18. Building the palace: first records 1421; 19. The appointment of Zane Bon; two master masons; 20. Carpenters on site 1425-1426; 21. The work of Matteo Raverti and his bottega 1425-1428; Part V. The Front Façade: 23. The main façade: its design and appearance; 24. Zane Bon and the main façade: the arcade to the quay; 25. The work of Bon on the façade up to 1429; 26. Matteo Raverti and the façade: the lower loggia; 27. The upper logia; 28. Building the quay and assembling the façade I; 29. Assembling the façade II: a locum master builder and a master blacksmith; Part VI. Completing the Fabric: 30. Building the upper walls 1429-1430: maestro Cristofolo; 31. The carpenters: the Rosso bottega 1428-1431; 32. The ancillary trades 1428-1430: terazer, fregador, pentor, intaiador; 33. The final stages of building the palace: the last works of Bon; 34. Antonio di Martini; Part VII. Finishing touches: 35. The House of Gold: decorating the façade 1431-1433; 36. The last work of the stone masons: Rosso and Romanello after 1430; 37. the last works of builders, carpenter and glaziers; 38. The completed palace: the image and the cost; 39. Marin Conatarini: the final chapter; 40. Postscript: Contarini's succession; Part VIII. Conclusion: 41. Contarini's role; 42. The legacy of the palace: its historical importance; 43. The legacy of the Cà d'Oro in the later work of Bartolomeo Bon; 44. The after-life on the palace; Appendices; Select bibliography; Index.