Biennale Venice Tour

VENICE

Biennale

There are 2 events that make Venice art scene relevant: the Venice Film Festival and the Venice Biennale: an art exhibition that has evolved throughout its history into the “Olympic Games” of the art world where countries send the best they have to offer in different art disciplines — so get the art critic inside of you to travel back to Carlo Scarpa Times.

Time period: 1895-now

Movie/book: Taking Venice (2023)/Venice Bienniale catalogs

Soundtrack: Andrea Bocelli/Giorgio Moroder’s music

Fashion: colorful outfit, tailored suit plus a tote bag

Budget: 100€ - 85€ (25 for museums and 60 - 75€ for food)

This walking tour would take you through the streets of Castello, the neighborhood where you can find two iconic sites of the Serenissima: the Arsenale and the Giardini Napoleonici where the Biennale is being held every year. The area is characterized by quiet small streets, green spaces, and the rivas (promenades next to the Venice lagoon). After the fall of the Venetian Republic under Napoleon in 1797 he commissioned a palace (the current Museo Correr) and the first public park of Venice (the current Giardini della Biennale) inaugurated in 1807. The political instability the following decades brought a significant economic decline to the city: Venice went to the hands of the Habsburgs in 1798, to the Sardinian King in 1866 and latter to Benito Mussolini in 1922. Efforts were made to turn Venice into a touristic destination and exploit its cultural heritage; so the mayor of Venice, Riccardo Selvatico, launched the first “International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice” in a pavilion called Pro Arte inside the Giardini in 1895. It was a success and after 1907 countries started building their own national pavilions until the garden got full. Some of these pavilions have been designed by well known architects. Then in 1932 the first film festival got created with the launch of the Esposizione internazionale d'arte cinematografica also known as the “mostra”, which catapulted the glamour of the city with movie stars from around the world visiting it every year. This is the beginning of the golden age of Italian Cinema which glamorized the inequality and industrialization of post war Italy. Latter on music, theater, architecture and dance festivals got added to the calendar with around 85 participating countries. The garden wasn’t enough anymore so since the 80s the exhibition expanded to the arsenale where the architecture and art exhibitions are held among other national pavilions. The exhibition changed its name to Biennale (bi annual in Italian) because it is organized every 2 years alternating art and architecture every other year — but the other art disciplines are annual. In every edition an award known as the Leone d’Oro is given to the best participant according to an international jury, and it has become the most acclaimed and prestigious award in the art world. The exhibition itself has evolved: before there was a commercial aspect to it and some art included prices; then in became a platform for innovative/experimental Art that pushed the boundaries; and now its a political/propaganda with questionable funding. Regardless is the most prestigious exhibition to be a part of as an artist and dictates the future trends of the art market. The tour suggest having breakfast around the Riva degli Schiavoni and the main exhibition inside the Arsenale during the morning; a coffee break and the national pavilions at the Giardini in the afternoon; and a sunset walk, dinner plus the Espace Louis Vuitton exhibition at night.