Count Francesco da Mosto (born Venice) is an Italian architect, film maker and TV presenter.
He lives in the family home in Venice, with his South African botn wife Jane, his three children - and his parents. The da Mostos have been a prominent Venetian family for 1,000 years, although Francesco’s grandfather, Andrea, acquired the palazzo where the family live in 1919. When he moved in, the empty picture frames on the walls of the portego were filled with copies of family pictures, including a 15th-century map of the voyages of Alvise da Mosto, who discovered the Cape Verde islands off the west of Africa.
He left Venice in the 1980's for a short time to work in the film business in Rome as an assistant director. It was a contact he made at that time who remembered him when BBC2 decided to make a four-part series about the history of Venice. Count da Mosta has presented two series for BBC 2: "Venice" and "Francesco's Italy - from tip to toe"