In the mind of today’s traveler there’s hardly a destination that’s more classically Italian than Venice. But there was a time when this seafaring city was the gateway to the East, and it’s from precisely this exotic aspect — and, more broadly, from Venice’s history as a maritime power and a cultural crossroads — that Domina Home Cà Zusto draws its inspiration.

The fourteenth-century building has seen some renovation, but nothing you’d call a profound stylistic alteration. Each of the twenty-two rooms is named for a different Turkish princess, and while there’s a bit of modern furniture about, the rooms’ contemporary character is due mostly to the vividness of the color scheme — not for Domina Home the faded pastel patina of so many Venetian hotels.

They do tend to the cozy side, as Venice isn’t exactly known for having a surplus of buildable real estate. For a little more space the junior suites are the obvious choice. But then again, this has never been a town where keeping to one’s room is the optimal strategy. There’s a small lounge, but for the most part you’ll be spending your time out of doors, helped along by the hotel’s location, right in the thick of the lagoon city.