Andrea Tirali (Venice 1660 - Monselice 1737) was a particularly active architect in Venice and on the mainland, most of his work being completed around the turn of the century.

Inspired by Andrea Palladio and classic architecture, Tirali was, in various ways, the forerunner of Neoclassicism.

He is held to be one of the very first architects to react to the excessive decoration in Venetian Baroque architecture and built some of the most typical palaces in the early 1700s, such as Palazzo Priuli Venier Manfrin (1724-31) at the feet of Ponte delle Guglie over the Rio di Cannareggio, in the sestiere of Cannareggio.

This building (now owned by the Region of Veneto) has been suggested as an alternative seat for the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation. Other important works by Tirali are the three-flight staircase in Palazzo Sagredo (1718-38), portrayed in Pietro Longhi’s fresco, the Caduta dei Giganti, and the new paving in St. Mark’s Square.

Tirali also made a good contribution to religious architecture in Venice: the chapel of San Domenico in the Chiesa dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo (1690), the facade of San Nicola dei Tolentini (1706-14) and the facade of San Vitale (1734-37).

1600 - 1700 - - rev. 0.1.7