Destination: Venice

An exhibition event that every other year attracts visitors, and not only architecture professionals.

The customary appointment with the Biennale Architettura will kick off at the end of May and can be visited until 25 November.

Every other year, the exhibition is dedicated to art – to which it owes its birth in 1895 – and to architecture. This year the exhibit, under the title “Freespace”, will analyse spaces – a fundamental part of architecture – with a debate on their use. The exhibition has been set up by two women designers, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara.

With a stroll down the tree-lined avenues of the exhibit to the Gardens, where the sector’s ideas that each year develop around a specific theme can be seen in the historic pavilions of the different countries.

After “Common Ground” of the 2012 edition, in which the underlying theme was the question of how to organise common space, a probe into contemporary and future architecture entitled “Foundamentals” following in 2014.

In 2016, “Reporting from the Front” offered a viewpoint on the different challenges that architecture has to deal with.

The exhibition of new forms and the use of new materials often deliberately proposes projects in a provocative manner in order to arouse or awaken the visitor’s interest or new awareness.

I never miss the opportunity to visit this interesting exhibit even if, I must confess, often the proposals displayed appear to be funny or incomprehensible like for many “amateurs”.

But like its twin dedicated to art, this exhibit presents the possibility to take a stroll through Venice. After the pavilions at the Gardens, the visit continues just a few minutes away in the unique setting of the Arsenale.

Depending on the time, one of the many trattorias along the way can be taken advantage of or, if it is still not lunchtime, a few local “cicchettos” can be relished along with a glass of wine.

Special events and a line-up of meetings linked to the exhibition will offer the opportunity to visit other places around the city, and also expose us to new ideas and trends of architecture coming from every country around the world, an opportunity that goes beyond the customary tour of Venice.

A visit to a unique museum that will give us an overview of society in the 18th century as we follow the footsteps of the most famous Venetian figure.

No one born and raised in Venice has ever been quite like Giacomo Casanova, famous throughout the world with an everlasting reputation that still sparks interest.

The new Casanova museum in Palazzo Papafava illustrates his life. As you climb the staircase, you will be transported to the 18th-century Venice and your imagination will be flooded with images of aristocrats and rich merchants walking up that staircase, accompanied by their ladies dressed in sparkling dresses made of damask and precious silks.

We can learn more about the Venetian and European society in the 18th century as we walk through the different rooms in the museum, observing the reconstructions of where our character lived.

The story of his life is fascinating and turbulent, full of risks and love, powerful friendships and fervent animosity. It saw him confined to the prisons of the Doge’s Palace in Venice and then, after a thrilling escape, pass through all the courts and important cities at the time: Vienna, Paris, Moscow, Madrid and Barcelona.

A man of his time who was cultured and refined, an adventurer and a spy, seductive and a risk taker but also a learned scholar.

This man’s life and love also featured in a series of films from 1934 to the most recent in 2005, which are accurately portrayed in one of the museum’s rooms.

An exhibit of small everyday objects from the period, along with images and illustrations, reveals how he lived, and thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we can even become Casanova himself for a few minutes.

There is a virtual reality viewer in one of the rooms, which will transport us to the 18th-century Venice, surrounded by beautiful women and friends that come over to greet us as we relive moments from his life.

It is a fun and unforgettable experience for every visitor, and there are guides in ten different languages. Unfortunately, we will reluctantly have to leave the museum and return to the modern day, grateful to Casanova for the excitement, and possibly feeling a little envious of his fascinating life.

A visit to some of the coastal fortifications along a historic route, not far from Venice, on the centenary of the First World War.

For the last few years, the centenary of the First World War has been remembered. Celebrations will conclude in 2018, one hundred years after the signing of the armistice between the belligerent states, which marked the end of this tragic event.

A hundred years ago, Venice was directly affected by the war. It was often hit by air raids – these are remembered by gravestones that can often be found on the facades of churches and Venetian houses. The air raids caused civilian casualties and damage to the city’s artistic heritage.

We only need to look at the bombing of the civil hospital and the church known as the chiesa degli Scalzi. The ceiling was destroyed, along with Teipolo’s fresco representing the Transportation of the Holy House of Loreto. The remains of Tiepolo’s work can be found in the Gallerie dell’Accademia.

With its military Arsenal, an important naval base and a group of workshops and factories for the defence industry with the nearby port for seaplanes on the island of Sant’Andrea, the city was an important military objective, especially after the retreat of the Italian lines following their defeat in the battle of Caporetto, with the front arriving on the Piave river, only around 30km from the city.

To defend Venice and the sea surrounding the city, great coastal battery complexes were built. These were impressive defences along the coast of Punta Sabbioni and Cavallino Treporti, not far from the city centre. Some of these can still be admired today, even though they have been incorporated into some of the numerous tourist complexes and campsites which have popped up along the coastline.

Batteria Amalfi, Batteria Pisani, Batteria San Marco, and Batteria Radaelli are the names of these defence fortifications. Batteria Pisani, named after the Venetian commander who defeated the Genoese in the Chioggia war, has recently recovered from its state of neglect and abandonment, and has been transformed into a place of remembrance of these tragic events.

You can enjoy a visit inside along the interesting route that runs from March to November. The tour covers the battery rooms and follows both the history of the construction and its recent renovations. It is a rich exhibition of relics of all kinds (both military and from the soldiers’ daily lives), many found during restoration work, which tell us about life during those years and what it was like inside the batteries for garrison soldiers.

There is still a road today which bears the name “Via delle Batterie” (Battery Road) by the coast overlooking the sea, near to where these fortified complexes stood. On the side facing the lagoon, you can still see the tall buildings that are now abandoned or used for other purposes, including the telemetry towers, required to detect enemies and for cannon shooting.

For recent history fans, a bike ride through these areas can be an interesting alternative to a typical visit to Venice, and the prefect opportunity to discover nature trails that are easily accessible by bike in the northern areas of the lagoon.

Along the route, there are plenty of restaurants in the area where you can stop for a spot of lunch and enjoy typical local produce. During the summer months, at the end of a long day cycling, there’s also the chance for a refreshing swim in the sea off one of the many beaches.

The area surrounding Venice, just a few kilometres from the city centre, is full of interesting places to visit whose urbanisation dates back to the dawn of time.

This vast area of Veneto has been inhabited since the Neolithic period, first by Venetic settled populations, before it was colonised by the Romans and became part of “Regio X Venetia et Histria”. Its capital city was Aquileia, and it is today one of the most important archaeological sites in northern Italy. Important towns sprang up here, such as Iulia Concordia, today known as Concordia Sagitteria and Altino, which was an important city along the Empire’s roads. It connected Via Annia and Via Postumia, linking Aquileia, a port on the Adriatic Sea, to Genoa, a port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, and Via Claudia Augusta that led to the ancient Norico region, which today corresponds to Austria and Bavaria.

Altino was therefore an important intersection of large arteries, as well as an important port for commerce and trading, since it was erected along the edge of the lagoon. There are only a few visible remains from this important settlement, which include some parts of the Via Annia road. However, the new archaeological museum that has been open only a few years displays artefacts found in the area, which illustrate its history from the Neolithic period right up to Roman times in a comprehensive way.

A reconstruction of what the city was like, visible inside the museum, gives you an idea of the size of the inhabited centre, which, like all cities of the Roman era, had a forum and an amphitheatre for shows.

You can climb the tower in the museum and admire the surrounding countryside, and if you close your eyes, you can imagine what this thriving city and important commercial maritime centre on the Adriatic Sea was like.

According to recent research and theories, it was the inhabitants of Altino who began settling on the lagoon islands by moving to Torcello. It was probably after waterways began silting up, preventing access to the lagoon and therefore to the sea and to ships with their cargo and merchandise.

To reach the new Altino Museum in Venice, you can catch an ATVO 25a bus heading to Piazzale Roma, and in about 20 minutes, you’ll reach the museum.

That moment you are seized with doubt as to what to pack for a short break in another city.

Here you are, ready for a long-awaited getaway for a few days: tickets printed out or downloaded onto your smartphone, hotel booked online and suitcase open, ready to be packed with what you might need.

But what is going to be useful or what must absolutely not be left out of your case?

Your choices, obviously, depend on the season of the year; you don’t need the same things in winter that you need in the summer.

However sometimes you are going to ask yourself, “Is it cold there or is it hot? Will it rain?”

That’s when you go onto your computer and you try to work out what the weather is going to be like at your chosen location at the time of year you have opted to escape, getting away from the daily routine of work, home and everyday commitments – to do something different somewhere different, seeing new people and faces.

Speaking personally, my suitcase is never missing a camera with a couple of lenses for all my requirements, given my love of photography.

However, for non-photographers a compact camera or a smartphone may be sufficient.

So, in terms of specifics, what do you need to pack for a trip to Venice at the most romantic, cultural and relaxing times?

If you come in February, you are going to have a mask to wear, so you can blend into the carnival crowd and walk around the city without being recognised, just like Casanova, even if he – and he was not the only one – took the opportunity for the odd gentleman’s rendezvous.

If you don’t have a mask, that is not a problem; there are countless shops and stalls which can offer you an ample choice of models – from the simplest, such as the classic and simple ‘bauta’ mask, to more elaborate masks to cater for every taste and budget.

If, however, the time you have chosen for your visit is the summer, you mustn’t fail to pack a swimming costume in your little suitcase.

After a long walk along Venice’s streets and squares, admiring the treasures of the city, a visit to the Venice Lido, the free-access beach at the end of the Venetian Gran Viale canal, can provide the visitor, weary from the summer heat and humidity, with a refreshing dip.

The autumn is another time to discover Venice: caught in the mists, which are spectacular and almost surreal at this time of year, often in November, you may easily encounter a phenomenon known as the ‘high water’, or when the tide reaches higher levels than usual and floods a large part of the city.

You would do well to have a pair of rubber boots in your suitcase so that, regardless, you can get around without a problem, but beware: some tides are so high that the water can even get into your boots if they are not high enough.

In the past, both in the city and, above all, on the many islands dotted around the lagoon, there were vegetable gardens and orchards with fruit trees, as well as animals raised to provide eggs, milk and meat.

These would all be found in the large spaces within the numerous monasteries and convents that were scattered all over the islands, many now having disappeared and others abandoned.

The few that remain include a monastery on the island of Giudecca, with large vegetable gardens at the Chiesa del Redentore and others on the wonderful and popular island of San Francesco del Deserto, as well as the island of San Michele, but the decline in the call to monastic life has resulted in these places falling into disrepair.

The monastery of San Michele is a case in point, where the monks once produced wine, as well as fabrics for their habits on ancient looms.

The island that still farms much of its land is San Erasmo, where the wonderful purple artichoke of Sant’Erasmo is grown and where other produce from the land has led to the growth of agritourism activities, alongside these small farms.

In centuries past, the crops would be taken from the islands to the city, for sale at the market, on a special kind of boat, which can still be seen on the lagoon today, rowed with oars and also by women.

Nowadays, with the technology available, fruit, vegetables and other products can be ordered online from the grower, who on certain days of the week delivers to particular places on a large motor boat.

A few years ago, an association decided to restore the many abandoned vineyards in the lagoon, with volunteers working hard and painstakingly to return them to their original splendour and purpose.

The name of this association is “La laguna nel bicchiere – le vigne ritrovate“ (the lagoon in the glass – the vineyards rediscovered) and it was founded by a teacher from a local junior school who was running a school project aimed at restoring abandoned vineyards, involving the children.

This project has included the restoration of several vineyards in many parts of the city and on the islands, after careful research of the art of vine growing and winemaking and with the involvement of certain experts in the field and some small organic wine producers.

Also this year, following the various harvests around the city and the islands, the grapes have been transported to the old monastery of the Camaldolese monks on the island of San Michele, where the association leases the monks’ vines and equipment, including the old vats, for crushing and processing this ancient product.

The production is small but of the finest quality. The process is completely organic and performed by hand, using the lagoon’s classic grape varieties, such as Dorona and Malvasia. Some of the Venetian calli, or streets, are in fact named after the latter. Once bottled, the wine labels are also associated with the places from which the grapes have been harvested, ranging from the red “Rosso Gneca – Le Zitelle fertili” (Gneca is a Venetian nickname for the island of Giudecca, where the ‘Zitelle’ convent can be found), to the white “Turgide Vignole al vento”, made from the grapes of the island of Le Vignole, and finally the “Arcangeli scalzi”, made from the grapes harvested at the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites, which stands beside Venice railway station.