Drax's Venice Laboratory - Ca' Rezzonico

In Moonraker, Drax has set up a laboratory in Venice where the gas globes are being manufactured. Bond breaks in during the night and steals a sample of the gas. The morning after, Bond has alerted the local police and called in both M and the minister of defence but as they walk into the laboratory, Drax has had everything removed.

The laboratory has been removed during the night and Drax has instead fitted an office in the grand hall, leaving Bond and his company quite stunned.

Drax office was filmed in a palazzo in Venice called Ca' Rezzonico. Ca' Rezzonico opened as a public museum in 1936 and today it is one of the finest museums in Venice dedicated to 18th century Venice. Drax's office was created on the second floor in the museum in the grand ballroom. The palazzo is located on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro district.

"Frederick Grey! And in distinguished company all wearing gas masks. You must excuse me gentlemen not being English I sometimes find your sense of humor rather difficult to follow..."
                                            - Drax - 

Bond, M and the minister are walking into Drax's office from the little door down in corner (seen to the upper left as you enter the ballroom from the stairs). The chairs visible behind M can still be found on location, as well as some of the black statues and vases seen around the ballroom.

The Minister apologises to Drax before the company leave and in the next scene they are seen walking down a street in Venice next by the Teatro Fenice, covered earlier. Bond and M are yelled at by the Minister who orders M to take Bond off the assignment.

Bond looks around the room amazed

"On behalf of the British government, I apologise."
                    - The minister to Drax - 

The two grandiose chandeliers in gilded wood and metal with floral motifs were part of the original furnishings of the palazzo.

The Minister tells Bond that he has been playing bridge with Drax in the past and therefore does not want to embarrass himself. This is a reference to the literary Bond. In the Moonraker novel, Bond meets with Drax at the Blades club in London, where Drax regularly plays bridge and cheats during the game.

In 1935, after being in private ownership for several hundred years, Ca' Rezzonico was acquired by the City Council of Venice, after lengthy negotiations, to display the vast collections of 18th-century Venetian art. Ca' Rezzonico opened as a public museum on 25 April 1936. Today, it is one of the finest museums in Venice.