“What is it?”, “Ah is it a work of art? 'Mbè, what do you want to say? " The astonishment and bewilderment of Alberto Sordi and Anna Longhi in the role of the Roman "fruit-makers" visiting the Venice Biennale, are proverbial and emblematic.
In the third episode of the film Dove going in vacanza? (from 1978), the couple, forced by their children on intelligent vacations, find themselves trying to make sense of concrete walls, blue-sprayed sheep, stones arranged in spirals on the ground and hyper-realistic sculptures of naked women.
Places full of charm in an interesting itinerary to discover the lagoon
In fact, the nowadays it is often not immediately understandable. Whether the incomprehensibility of contemporary art is a prejudice or not is still not a good reason to stay away from exhibitions. During the period of the Biennale, they animate the lagoon.
A holiday in Venice can allow you to integrate the classic itinerary among the many wonderful places of the city with stops dedicated to contemporary creativity to be faced with a light spirit and without the need for special skills.
The rafts
Behind Santa Maria della Salute, the Rafts in the past they were the place of unloading of goods. Here, in the fifteenth century, the Magazzini del Sale were built, a sumptuous palace with nine portals, now home to an exhibition dedicated to the 25 years of Illy Art Collection, the cups created by international artists for the Trieste coffee brand.
An imaginary world, with a dreamlike atmosphere, divided into seven environments and populated by fantastic creatures. Robert Wilson's installation frames the exhibition of collectible cups.
La Dogana: the place to take the classic photo-postcard of Venice
In front of San Marco, Punta della Dogana it is the place where the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute stands, built in the seventeenth century to thank the Madonna at the end of the plague. Next to it, the building of the Dogana da Mar, with a triangular plan, was the place of control of goods at the time of the Serenissima.
Today it is an exhibition venue linked to Grassi Palace. It hosts an exhibition of English Damien Hirst . The treasures recovered from an ancient Roman ship sunk in the XNUMXnd century AD are the subject of his colossal project. A museum dedicated to the recovery of the wreck, with ancient statues, objects of worship, coins, gold, weapons and other admirable treasures, many of which are still covered by marine concretions.
The Grand Canal
If the curiosity to enter a building on the Grand Canal it is irresistible, an exhibition on glass art in the contemporary world is the perfect opportunity. Near the Ponte dell'Accademia, the only wooden one, Palazzo Franchetti hosts glasstress .
In the sumptuous halls lit by magnificent chandeliers, it is possible to see how contemporary artists interpret the most classic of Venetian craftsmanship materials. Hot water boule with feet, blue and blue horses, tanks of eels, an absurd chandelier. The exhibition continues in Murano, known throughout the world for its blown glass, its suspended atmosphere and colorful houses.
The Gardens and the Arsenal
The area hosting the Biennale is outside the congested tourist center. However, it can be reached on foot from Piazza San Marco with a nice walk along the Venice lagoon, up to the Giardini, a pleasant green area also suitable for a picnic.
The Gardens host the main exhibition of the Biennale, Viva Arte Viva. It is worth going through it to get an idea of what contemporary art really is. The oldest Biennale in the world, in fact, includes the best of production from all over the planet.
The second venue of the event, l'Arsenal, it is worth a visit only for the uniqueness of the exhibition spaces. The ancient shipyards, originally from the XNUMXth century and expanded over the course of history, tell the power of the Serenissima, linked precisely to its fleet without equal in the Mediterranean.
