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Venice, 15 October 2021 – Fast step, hands ready to sew, a tiny wooden seat with footboards, curtains open overlooking the city’s square, glasses and tools of the trade. This is how the lacemakers of Burano prepare themselves for another afternoon working with their needle, thread, and their personal little pillow, in order to create another work of art part of Italian history.

They chat together, one in front of the other, talk with anyone curious to know more about the secrets of their art. They make fun of each other saying “she’s the chatty one” and “she’s the best one”. They’ve known each other forever but still, at 80 years old, have the same light in their eyes when showing someone a little hand-made lace rose; that very same light that they used to have when they were kids, when their grandmas gave them, for the first time, a very thin needle, and a white cotton thread.

Love and passion that Burano’s masters of lace have for their art can be felt and seen from their movements, their silences, their concentration, and their red eyes. They never take their gaze off their work. Their hands know, by heart, how to intertwine to create, beginning from a drawing on paper, a precise and unbreakable work of art. We can feel it from the fact that they still sit, as volunteers, at their age, inside what once used to be the flourishing Scuola di Merletto di Burano (Burano Lace School), today a museum that carries on a tradition that runs the risk of being forgotten.

There are just six of them left in Burano, and among them Mary Costantini and Romana Memo who, on the occasion of Venice 1600 years, want to tell their story and their work as lacemakers. What keeps them together, as in the past, is the passion for a job that is shaped by sharing spaces, time, and love for what they do. Lacemakers work alone but together with others, sit in front of their house with neighbours, grandmas, mothers, nephews and, as it used to be in the past, with friends, chatting with one another and recalling memories.

«I have been doing this job since I was 6» - recalls Mary Costantini, master of the lacemaker in Burano – when you are a kid, you do laces as a game, although this is, as a job is very peculiar and if you want to do it, you must love it. My mother wanted me to learn how to embroider but she didn't like it. I didn’t want to be neither a seamstress nor an embroiderer, I am terrible at it. With lace is different, I can work from morning to evening without even realizing that time has passed. The lace was my path and now I can say that time proved me right »

Burano lace creation stages are seven. We begin from a drawing and later we proceed with the warping, which sees two layers of fabric overlapped with three sheets of straw paper, a sheet with a drawing and another sheet of wax paper, sewn following every angle of the drawing. Then, the first stage begins, which is the base, the so-called Ghipur and the punto Venezia (Venice stitch), characterized by little string bars that connect different parts of the drawings. There is also the punto Burano, a tiny string net, the relief and in the end, in the final stage: the punto cappa con picò, the scalloping.

In the past, every lacemaker of the Scuola di Merletto di Burano (Burano Lace School) specialized in one specific stage of the work. So, there were seven different specializations: the drawing experts, the warping experts, Ghipur experts, those who just did the Venice stitch and those who just did the Burano stitch, the master of relief and scalloping. Although everyone knew every step of the process, they used to focus just on one step, because by repeating the same gesture on and on they became faster and more precise, essential elements that turn this textile tool, produced in a tiny venetian island into one of the most important and appreciated handicrafts of the world.

«It appears to be all the same – says Mary while recalling the story of the Lace School where she studied – although any stitch has its own way to be. Once there used to be a lot of work to do, and every person studying at the school used to specialize on a specific stitch. I have always loved to do the first stitch, the base of the whole work, the so-called “Ghipur”; that was my job. Times have changed and so today I do the whole process, from beginning to end ».

The lace of Burano is traditionally made with white cotton string. Cotton is the best material with which we can do this job since it is very resistant and flexible. Moreover, choosing the white colour, apart from being an aesthetic choice, has a structural meaning since the colour maintains the structure of the string solid. So, once finished, the lace of Burano becomes an object that lasts through years and washes without being damaged.

« The latest news about lace – say the masters of laces Mary and Romana – is that it has been decided to use a colourful string, although this tends to break and fray. We work by doing a lot of tiny knots and passages, so the quality of the string is very important. Differences between the use of white and colourful strings are very clear and for this reason, we never use colourful strings although it has become a trend now »

Anyone who wants to see them working or wants to ask them for a lesson to learn how to do the Venice stitch can found them at the first floor of the Museo del Merletto di Burano (Lace Museum of Burano), sit on their wooden chairs, the same that they used when they were kids and were attending the first lesson at the most famous school of laces of the world. They come in pairs, in the afternoon, sit, work, and stay at disposal of anyone who wants to dedicate little time to this precious craft.

Patience, precision, and a very ancient technique handed down from hand to hand which is stil, today, untouched: these are the ingredients of the lace of Burano, a product that once finished is unbreakable. Clothes get ruined, as happens for fabrics, embroidery split apart, colourful strings get thinner, but a lace of Burano is forever. It is here that this precious art is running the risk of disappearing while leaving, through an apparently fragile but indeed unbreakable product, a sign in time and history.

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Visiting Venice through black and white pictures when it is immersed in the fog, or when captured by a high-altitude shot. Or, why not, even seen through the balaustrades in San Giorgio Isle, or in a postcard shot of one of the most photographed bridges in the world, Rialto.

Historic monuments telling Venice are shown in an uncommon exposition, prepared along the city walls: 50 posters provide a Qr Code allowing the spectator who is just passing in front of it to become a photographer, at the same time.

The open air exhibition is called “Beauty promotion. Venice 1.600”, which reminds everybody the international promotion of the Serenissima realised by Enit – Nation Agency of Tourism.

By capturing the Qr Code shown on the posters, a specific section of the exhibition will appear, on the web-app tuaitalia.it. In this virtual space, any spectator can visualise some of the posters and challenge their personal knowledge concerning what Venice and its surrounding territory may represent.

“Beauty promotion. Venice 1.600” was born thanks to the cooperation between the sponsor and three institutions of the territory – the Municipality of Venice, Ca’ Foscari University, and the Venice Pavilion – on the occasion of celebrating the 1.600 years of Venice.

“The open air exhibition of Venice belongs to the project started in 2019, with the objective of enhancing its centennial and cultural heritage ENIT. It is composed of archival documents, among which authentic works of art, such as reproductions, original lithographies, and historical relics showing the evolution of Italian customs and traditions” - the President Enit Giorgio Palmucci sais.

The exhibition is divided into six sections: Art and architecture, Genre paintings, Celebrations and festivals, Isle and craftsmanship, Cortina, Territory, and Palladian Villas.

The historic posters are framed by a Venetian red background in order to celebrate the birth of the Serenissima, city of art currently hosting the whole exhibition. The pictures chosen to be exhibited are selected from Enit, the digital histotrical archive. They refer to black and white photos and posters of the ‘30s and ‘60s, and also to published historical journal covers of the ‘20s and ‘60s belonging to the agency.

Beyond the open air tour, the exhibition moves on paper: for this reason, a catalogue is being realised by containing the images of the open air exhibition together with a large section constituing a real journey through the ancient Venice.

Venice, October 26, 2021- A celestial navigation between the illustration of St. Mark’s Basilica, and their astronomical references, such as the four “Moors”, this time designed in a unique new way, or the main doorway revealing the presence of Venetian merchants in Indonesia. In the “most beautiful drawing room of the world”, as we say, stars and constellations, are represented not just according to the Western usage, but in a new fascinating blend of elements and languages coming from different places, as a reminder of Venice special location in the Mediterranean, recalling the long trips from the North of Europe to Asia, India, and China.

On Thursday, October 28, the exhibition “Stelle e viaggi 2. Esplorazioni, iconografia, astronomia a San Marco nel 1200” (Stars and trips. Searches, iconography, astronomy at St. Mark in 1200), opens at “Magazzino del Sale 3”, organized by the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, on the occasion of the celebrations for the 1600 years of the city.

The exhibition, curated by the art historian and professor Gloria Valais, thanks to the high-definition close-up photographs, sculptures, 3D models, video reconstruction and holograms- created by students and professors specialized in the old and new techniques of the Academy- reveals amazing new discoveries that tells a tale of Venetians’ astronomical knowledge in the 13^th century. A language of celestial navigation, so common at the time not only among travelers, but among the entire population, essential in journeys, even if short, as well as in fishing, hunting and agriculture.

“Stelle e viaggi 2”, comes in the aftermath of the first exhibition, which took place five years ago, dedicated to the archway depicting the sky, adorning the main doorway of St. Mark’s Basilica, created by an unknown artist, in 1240. This second date offers the visitor surprising new discoveries, concerning the well-known illustration “Ciclo dei Mesi” (Cycle of Month), on the main portal of the Basilica, and the Cappella di Sant'Isidoro (Chapel of St. Isidore), within. Thanks to new technologies, the Cycle of Month turns out to be a surprising representation of the night sky, where stars and constellations follow each other, marking the hours and times of the year.

The art installations “polychromy and possible metallic applications” (Policromia e possibili applicazioni metalliche”, “Sunrise and sunset: light effects” (L’alba e il tramonto: effetti di luce), and “the seasons” (Il corso delle stagioni), highlight other details present on the main doorway, such as the precious polychrome, now-lost, and the metallic applications supports, that traced a celestial map, creating a lavish scenic effect. The public will be able to admire, thanks to specifically designed holograms, the constellations in the sky over seasons and, through animated films, the sculptures will turn into astronomic reproductions of the sky, while two natural size reproductions, created by students by 3D printings, depict the precious polychrome, erased by time.

St. Mark’s Basilica also speaks us of Indonesia, thanks to a low relief dating back to the first half of 1200: the “Arcosolio Sant’Alipio” within the Sant’Isidoro Chapel. In a fragment of it, a depiction of the Gemini constellation appears, not in separate figures, but in a pair of Siamese twins with a fish tail, together with two small unicorn-dragons. An extremely interesting illustration, considering the period to which it dates back, which places Venetian’s travelers on the edge of the Pacific, farther than we had ever imagined.

On display also a new version of the “Four Moors” (Quattro Mori), depicted in a different way, with original astronomical references.

The exhibition will be open until January 15, from Thursday to Saturday, 11AM to 5 PM.

Venice, October 21, 2021- Changing the course of a river to protect the beating heart of a city. Creating an archipelago made of eleven islands and fifteen bridges to prevent the enemy from attacking the castle and the fortress. This, and much more, is hidden behind the walls, the waterways, and the streets of Noale, the little medieval village that still today hands down an important piece of the 1600-years old history of Venice.

A work of expertise, all the uniqueness of a city specifically designed by men: Noale is the result of an engineering work of great technological value, carried out throughout an intense and meticulous study of the land on which the city was decided to raise. This is how, by putting a perimeter all around the village, and considering every slope of the ground, as to make water naturally flow out of its canals, it was created an impenetrable stronghold, which captured the Serenissima Republic’ attention, and contributed safeguarding Venice by enemies, during its phase of expansion in the mainland.

The importance of this land-based Venetian treasure, is confirmed by the fortress and towers still present in the town which, still today, tell the history of a place that lived its most flourishing period in the Middle Ages, when the “Tempesta” noble family decided to create a strategic stronghold along the banks of the Marzenego river, at the turn of Padua, Treviso and Venice, as strategic point from which to move soldiers and knights.

The path that goes from the Bell Tower, all along through the archipelago and up to the Clock Tower, allows visitors to retrace, although only through imagination, the history of Noale and of its ancient but cutting-edge water and land defensive systems.

While walking along the banks, you are suddenly plunged back into the past: craftsmen, scribes, blacksmiths, and carpenters, dressed up in period costumes, are scattered all the way along the path, together with characters in costume performing in medieval dances and shows.

History and natural beauty mix harmoniously along the banks of the canals that surround the heart of Noale: the Island of the Fortress. Rows of trees and a water moat surround the complex defensive structure dating back 1245. A fortress whose construction took decades and that still today stands above the town, enclosed within the archipelago canals, dug by the noble family that used to live there to defend the city. High crenellated walls, banks and ditches rise three meters above the ground floor, in all their majesty. A precious and tangible example of fortified town, which today is subject of a partial restoration, that has been, over centuries, residence of Venetian noblemen as well as prestigious administrative headquarter, after the handover to the Serenissima Republic, in the fourteenth century.

A typical Venetian treasure, a fortified medieval center, entirely based on water, where you can admire one of the best-preserved urban systems of the Veneto region. 

Venice, 19^th October 2021 – Narrow and dark streets, corners and ravines where thieves malicious hid. Today it seems impossible, but once Venice was a very dangerous city. And when the sun went down, it was easy to get lost, fall off bridges, end up in canal, or be pray to bad guys. The shops and houses were built entirely of wood and it was therefore forbidden to light lamps or fires because of the ever-frequent danger of fires. The story of how and when Venice was “illuminated”, from the first lanterns to modern LED lamps, is ancient and full of curiosity. In the year in which the city celebrates its foundation, in 421, the cultural centre Candiani (in collaboration with the Fondazione Neri spa Museo Italiano della Ghisa and Servizio Impianti Venezia del Comune di Venezia) has wanted to enclose it in an exhibition, on the fourth floor, which traces the evolution of public lighting. “Venezia città di luce” – through historical and contemporary panels, texts and images – is a historical excursus of a city illuminated due to the installation of public lamps first oil, in the XVIII century, then gas, during the XIX century, and finally electric in the early XX century. Venice, which in 2021 celebrates a 1600-year birthday, was therefore one of the first cities to equip itself with primitive public lighting, anticipating by almost half a century the other great Italian cities.

Dates back to 1128, a measure adopted by the city for the lighting of streets and channel the dark of Venice, which led to the construction of the first lumen able to shed light in the night: the doge Domenico Michiel ordered that in the night, in areas that are not safe, there were “cesendelli impizadi”, that is, the “small fireflies”, the small lights oil hanging on the walls of the houses. All expenses were borne by the Republic, while the maintenance was entrusted to the parish priest who were asked to have small votive capitals installed, which were supposed to burn all night to “instill” courage to the travellers. But this measure, while partly responding to the demands of the time? Failed to meet the need for greater enlightenment/ In 1450 the increase in the number of night attacks prompted the Serenissima to decree a law that made the use of light mandatory for those who went through the city at night. It was thus that the figure of the “còdega” was born, a humble, popular profession, a kind of “illuminating” nocturnal companion, who for compensation and equipped with a lantern, guided the nobles and the rich back home from a show at the theatre or from a party. A term still in use today because when you want to point out to a person to be “too much” and make the third uncomfortable you use the Venetian expression “far el còdega”, that is to be a third wheel.

This picturesque figure disappeared when in 1732 the Council of Ten decided that the whole of Venice should be illuminated, ordered the installation of the first 843 “ferài” (lanterns) in the Merceri and San Marco areas, lamps powered by electric oil, protected by a glass bulb and attached to the walls of palaces, which were to remain illuminated until dawn. Thus, Venice was one of the first cities equipped with primitive urban lighting, paid for by a special tax that burdened all citizens, including nobles, but excluding the poorest. A power-on, power-off and proper operation of the plant ensured, for the order of the magistrate, the “impissaferai” or “impizadori”, which used the various types of oil on the market: the whale oil, linseed,beet, but also the one obtained from the pressing of the olives, the better, and therefore also the most expensive of all. The “ferài” were built by the “feraleri”, gathered in the school of the same name that was based at the Church of San Zulian.

It had to wait a century before the oil in “ferài” was replaced with gas lamps: in 1839, the municipal congregation signed a contract for the supply of gas with the French company “De Frigière, Cottin et Montgolfier-Bodin” (more commonly referred to as “La Lionese”). The company took on the task of distributing the new fuel throughout the city within six years and adding another 1,500 lanterns to the 1,368 already existing ones: these were lanterns attached with iron to the facades of buildings, or suspended on complex vertical cast iron pillars called lampposts or candlesticks. In 1843, a gas called the “Night Sun” was used for the first time to consecrate San Marco Square: in the same year, all the city lights were transformed, and the oil was replaced with gas. This was immediately crowned with success. The flame was switched on and off manually using long rods capable of opening or closing the gas leak tap. Only since the beginning of the XX century, an automatic spring clock with a charge lasting one week has been placed in each lamp.

In 1886, electricity marked a real turning point: first, an experiment was undertaken to illuminate the Giudecca area and some private houses, then, in 1922, the municipality decided to completely replace gas and began work on rationalizing the network, until in 1927 all “ferài” were switched to electricity. Since2011, the lamps have been replaced by low-energy LED sources, and today the total number of lights sources in the Municipality of Venice is 61,214 (42,185 on the mainland; 10,426 in the historical centre and 8,603 on the islands). Switching on and off of public lighting systems is carried out by means of astronomical-controlled clock devices installed on special electrical panels, which are automatically programmed according to the seasonal reference period.

For general reference, it should be noted that the total electricity consumption for public lighting is 17,101,284 kWh (which is equal to about 120,000 TVs that are always on all year round), and the annual per capita consumption is 66 kWh. Urban lighting in the las century was also crucial for the “liberation” of Venice, as Andrea Comoretto tells in the book “Una vita di lavoro per Venezia" (edizioni El squero). In Venice, he is called a man of light, the historical memory of the city. Andrea Comoretto, 90 years old, phenomenal memory, was born in Friuli, but lived in Venice, worked for 40 years in the service of first Sede, and then at the factory in the historical centre of Venice and on the islands.

“The public lighting played a pivotal role in Venice, - he says, - As in the case of the Hoax of the Goldoni Theatre, when my predecessor Bepi Turcato organized a break-in at the Goldoni announcing the liberation front of the German command, and then turning off the lights to escape without getting caught, or the dreaded Decima Mas when the lights went out of zone in the area, where the fascists were passed”. Graduated as an electrical expert in 1951, arriving in Venice Comoretto thought of finding a city with specific standards and solutions, “instead the workers climbed on the highest facades of the buildings, almost vertically, a system that I had never seen in other cities”. In charge of the technical department from 1964 to 1991, Comoretto was responsible for the electrification of Pellestrina, Torcello, Cavallino, Lio Piccolo and Treporti, illuminating the most peripheral areas of the lagoon. With passion, curiosity and common sense, Comoretto fought against bureaucracy and homologation to help find a particular environment such as Venice and its islands. After the high water of 1966, it is his intuition to raise the power units so that they could not suffer the tidal excursions, and if in 2019 the electricity network has not collapsed it is also his merit. “Forty years of improvement, looking for solutions and improvements – he smiles – I am not looking for medals but I can say that I worked with commitment and that if they had listened to us certain things, we could have avoided them”. In fact, all Venetians who have lived in this time frame can recognize that quality of life has improved along with the improvements of electricity grid.

The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 16:00 to 20:00.

Bibliographic research, art, contamination, manual skills, teamwork. These are the keywords behind the project that led a group of people from Murano and Venice, lovers of traditions and history of Venice, to rediscover the “Bussolà Forte”. We are talking about a pastry whose origins date back in 1600, when traces can be found in the daily diary of a Murano glassmaker, Francesco Luna, who refers to it as a food present on a wedding banquet.

Today this typical pastry from Murano is experiencing a revival, thanks to its ancient recipe handed down in Murano from family to family, wrapped in a new modern and creative packaging specifically designed to celebrate the 1600 years from the foundation of Venice. The Bussolà Forte was born during an evening when some friend from Venice and Murano (Fabio Busetto, Gherardo Toso, Marco Toso Borella, Alberto Toso Fei, Roberto Mazzetto) met for a “creative chat”  in the old workshop of the Tintoretto, as usually happened in the old literary cafes of the Cannaregio district, in Campo dei Mori. A magic place, an atelier, but at the same time a typography, a graphic studio, a laboratory where ideas were born, inspired by who in that place lived and worked: Jacopo Robusti, also known as the Tintoretto.

“The Bussolà Forte is a typical pastry from the island of Murano, since there’s no other place where you can eat it- says Gherardo Toso from Murano, owner of a typical Venetians tavern, pastry chef and creator of the recipe- A really unique pastry, that dates back to the Middle age and deepens its roots in ancient times, its ingredients contain the history of Venice. We have flour, molasses and not sugar, candied and dried fruits, chocolate and spices which made Venice fortune, like nutmeg, cinnamon, and white pepper.

It is a pastry created by our ancestors, we simply reproduced it on the occasion of the 1600 years of Venice, since here in Murano it was eaten only on two particular days: on March 25, Day of the Annunciation which corresponds with the supposed birth date of Venice, and December 6, feast of San Nicolò, the island patron Saint. “

Once it is ready, in this special edition the “Bussolà Forte” is laid into a decorated paperbox, which is itself a masterpiece. An octagonal-shaped box, with a hole at the center, which recalls the real Venetian “vera da pozzo”.

“We found ourselves under the roof of the Tintoretto, and we like to work on projects related to the history of Venice- explains Roberto Mazzetto, of the Bottega del Tintorello-. We work with paper; we fold it and this octagon inspired us to bet on this shape: we don’t produce boxes but masterpieces. We worked on the height, forced by the size of the pastry, which is itself another masterpiece. It wasn’t designed until we were asked to create it. It is the result of manual skills and transformation. The sealing wax secures the box and protects the package for the customer who will receive it. All the boxes are handmade, and the sealing wax certifies the authenticity of the product. The stamp with the cockerel recalls the island of Murano from which the Bussolà Forte came from”.

On the sides of the box, which contains the pastry made in Murano and dedicated to the 1600 years of Venice, are engraved some phrases inspired by the daily diary of Francesco Luna, glassmaker from Murano who “described itself according to what happened around him”, says Marco Toso Borella, glassmaker and historian that, together with Alberto Toso Fei, dug through books and collections to learn perfectly the genesis of the pastry Bussolà Forte.

One of the inscriptions on the box says, “…today at the wedding there was Bussolà Forte”. “With this phrase Luna wanted to focus the attention on the Bussolà as a symbol of celebration. Murano was a keeper of many glass secrets, an island within an island. He minded his own coin, the “osella” which was given to the master glassmakers to make them feel noble. The Bussolà thus became a symbol of the peculiarity of Murano, which meant to be privileged. The search for the original recipe and its presentation, make the box part of the project, because it tells everything that stands behind it. Venice has always represented the reaction of what was happening around it: Venice and Murano were pragmatic. The Bussolà was the pastry made in Murano by us, for us, and for those who wish to eat it. In this case for those who want to know not simply its taste but also its history”.

Fabio Busetto was the glue that held all this group of Venetians and Murano friends together. Each one with his own peculiarity. Putting them together, during one of the Thursday evenings spent in the Tintoretto workshop, gave birth to this idea, this project.

“The packaging was born to enhance the 1600 years of Venice, we wanted to find a different kind of celebration, to involve and connect those who will taste the Bussolà Forte, discovering it- says Fabio Busetto-. This is a team value, as it is the city itself: different talents have created a product that wants to represent the 1600 years of the city. Production for now is limited but we are arranging with Venetian’s bakers and confectioners to produce Bussolà Forte in larger quantities, so that it can be not just a niche product. Soon we will have a website and dedicated social accounts and we will not stop on March 25, 2022. Because our aim is to make this, and other Venetian traditions, known even beyond the celebrations of the 1600 years of Venice.”

Sometimes discoveries are made at random, or perhaps assisted by luck. Or maybe just by lifting a hem of a parchment that reveals one of the most evoked Venetian names in the world. Marco Polo with his Million, a historical and geographical treatise, A Travel Book, is still considered a masterpiece of Italian literature for its relevance. Marco Polo’s million has come a long way, and still will, because there are so many curiosities that scholars have not finished investigating. A recent discovery by Ca’Foscari University scholars opens new scenarios on the clos relationship between the Venetian Marco Polo and the Friars Dominicans of the Basilica of San Giovanni and Paolo. In the initiatives that the friars have organized on the occasion of the 1600 years of Venice, Marco Polo therefore will be a real protagonist. From Friday 11 June, at 15:00, weekly guided tours will be organized to know the most famous people whose remains are kept inside the Basilica. It will be an opportunity to talk about the Dominicans, who translated from the vulgar to Latin “The Million” to facilitate its spread and make it a kind of guide for the evangelization of the East. It all starts from the discovery, by Marcello Bolognari, in the first year of Ca’Foscari doctorate in Italian studies, of a document hitherto unpublished and unknown that shows the presence, and the role, of Marco in the Dominican Convent of Venice after his return from captivity in Genoa. 

“The discovery of the parchment with the quote poliana dated 31 march 1323 basically has two triggers: a direct and indirect – explains Bolognari – the indirect one was the communication of the testament of Marco Polo, by Attilio Bartoli of Angels in 2019, that returned to the historical truth in the name of one of the two Dominican friars, mentioned by Marco in his last will. The direct fuse was instead the happy intuition of Antonio Montefusco of the Ca’Foscari University, who suggested the importance that would have had the research in the State Archive of Venice, and the Fund of the Santi Giovanni e Paolo, of other documents that attest to the presence of these two friars, called Benevenuto e Cetorio o Centurio”.

The parchment is in Latin, written by a Paduan notary and essentially certifies the acceptance by the Dominican friers, gathered in the chapter, of a huge bequest by a rich and probably Venetian merchant of the Santa Trinità called Giovanni Dalle Boccole, who had died in 1321. This legacy, as the attestator himself specifies, was intended “all’amplificazione” of the Church of Santi Giovanni and Paolo. The discovery of the parchment is important because it leaves no doubt on the actual existence of a close exchange between the merchant and the preachers, that he did as a translation of “Z” of the book, i.e., Latin, venetian, and among the signatories gathered a chapter in the convent, appears the name of “Marco Paulo de confinio Sancti Iohannis Grisostomi”. 

“The parchment in question attests to the presense of Marco Polo, in the chapter of the friars preachers of Santi Giovanni e Paolo di Venezia – continuous Bolognari – This term is particulary important for two reasons: the first is that we have an assessment of the life of Marco Polo once he has returned from travel in China, in 1295, and thus servers to illuminate a new stage in the journey of Marco. The theory that is almost confirmed by these documents is that Marco Polo, once returned to Venice from the Genoese captivity ended in 1299, had revised a new version of his work together with the preachers of the Santi Giovanni e Paolo, then the Venetian Friars”.

One of the curiosities of this story concerns its random discovery. “It is large – says the scholar – and the most curious thing is that Marco’s name was under a fold. We didn’t notice until we just lifted that flap”. 

The relationship between the venetian traveller and the friars should be also considered in the scenario, between 1200 and 1300, sees a missionary impulse in the East: Marco Polo, was evidently a person of full confidence of the Order, within the chapter of the venetian convent, and his book was a fundamental tool for the evangelization due to the information and knowledge anthropological Oriental customs. 

“The curious aspect of the Million of is that there is a version of the original Franco-Italian written to Genoa with Rustichello da Pisa during the captivity, but the success of this work was so immediate and overwhelming that substantially of the original version, we have only one manuscript, while it has been translated many times in Catalan, in the vernacular Venetian, Emilian, in Latin several times – ends Bolognari – So let’s say that the Million is known because it is multilingual and non-original language: primarily latinizzazioni (Latinization) are very much tied to the Dominican Order. This particular version nicknamed “Z” by scholars has additions compared to the Franco-Italian version that are said to be original. So, it was not clear how it was possible that this Latin version had more details than the Franco-Italian version. The idea we got is that Marco Polo, once back in Venice, has dedicated himself to add other pieces to his work, maybe after a few talks. So, this “Z” version has additional details, which we believe were made by Marco with the Friars”.

For the information and registration https://www.santigiovanniepaolo.it/eventi/.

Venice, July 17, 2021- This year, on the occasion of the Feast of the Redeemer (Festa del Redentore), the traditional Venetian rowing competition (regatta) is back, and pits 18 Venetians contestants compete to win the title of the race linked to the festival most felt by Venetians. 

There will be three challenges with nine crews that will compete on gondola and pupparini, both using two oars and each of a different color, from purple to “canarin” (yellow), from blue to brown, from white to pink, red, green, and orange, according to a tradition that dates back to 1843, born to allow spectators to easily follow the race along the waterfronts. Nine colors to differentiate between nine challengers struggling with a Venetian rowing sprint that will take place on Sunday, July 18, starting at 4PM with a path from the Church of the Redeemer and then crossing the Giudecca Canal, the Fusina Canal, the so-called “paleto” (half-race) in S. Giorgio in Alga, and then back again to the Church of the Redeemer where the winners are announced.  

The Redeemer Regata 2021 will see young Venetians compete on pupparini using two oars, men on pupparini using two oars and men on gondolas using two oars, during three competitions on water starting from the youngster at 4PM, before moving to men on pupparini at 4.45PM and, finally, the most awaited challenge: men on gondolas, at 5.30PM. Venice Municipality kept repeating this competition for a hundred years and the only long stop occurred during the years from 1925 to 1957, in the historical period close to the Second World War and in the post war period. 

The event occurs every third Sunday of July during the celebrations of the famous event, and represents an essential step for the rowing season as well as a deeply felt sporting event which is experienced with passion by citizens, competitors, people interested in Venetian rowing and tourists. 

Winners of the Redeemer Regatta since 1920 

The Redeemer competition is an event that adds color and folklore to a world-famous event, the Feast of the Redeemer, whose celebrations are also enriched with a rowing contest that announce, each year, different winners of this specific type of rowing competition. 

The first edition of the Redeemer Regatta dates back to 1920 and has seen as “gondola champions of the oar”, according to the roll of honor of the Redeemer, the teams composed by Giovanni Vianello, Cucchiero Crea and Arturo Scuciare, winners of three consecutive editions, later replaced by the couple that won 9 straight editions of this race, out of a total of 12, from 2002 to 2011, and then in 2014 and 2015: the legendary rowing competitors Ivo Tezzat Redolfi and Giampaolo D’Este. Among the others that marked the history of this Venetians competition we want also to remember Giuseppe Bepi Fontegher and Sergio Ciaci Tagliapietra, winners and team’ mates throughout 8 editions of the race, from 1965 to 1977 and, the latter, winner since 1961 together with Albino Stringheta Dei Rossi. 

During the last two editions, the Redeemer Regatta, was won by Andrea Bertoldini and Mattia Colombi, in the gondola with two oars competition. While in the category pupparini with two oars, Simone Costantini and Federico Busetto won last year and, for what concern the youngest, Luca Rigo and Giorgio Sabadin were awarded with the title of champions of the Redeemer Regatta 2020. 

Venice, October 8, 2021- Five hundred children turn the spotlight on the question of peace and build a bridge that strengthens friendship and solidarity between two cities connected by the Mediterranean. From Venice to Beirut, passing through the Covid era: the pupils of seven different primary schools mark the beginning of the international educational project “Disegni a 1000 mani, Venezia-Beirut” (A hundred hands drawings, Venice-Beirut), which takes part into the celebrations for the 1600 years from the foundation of Venice. Art becomes the universal language, a symbol of peace that connects Italy and Lebanon. 

Born by the idea of Nadia De Lazzari, chairwoman of the association “Venezia: pesce di pace” (Venice: the fish of peace), the event will take place on Tuesday, October 12 at 10AM, at the Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens) of Venice, when kids will cross the drawbridge, which connects the Giardini to the Marciana area, as a symbolic gesture of closeness to all the children of the world. The drawings, containing messages of joy, friendship, and solidarity, will be hung on the historic pergola that crosses the Royal Gardens, surrounded by the magic and thick greenery. 

The project was launched around schools last year, in the midst of the pandemic, and it gains an even more deeper meaning since it was born in Venice, a city that has always been a crossroads of culture and intercultural dialogue between peoples, and that this year celebrate its 1600 anniversary from the foundation of the city. The proposed topics were two: “Venice and Beirut, our cities” and “Us at school: the Covid-19 pandemic”. Kids from the cities of Venice and Cavallino-Treporti drew on one side, while the overleaf was completed by kids from Beirut.

“30 years have passed since the first long-distance drawing we made together. It was by a kid from Venice and one from Sarajevo, a city that I visited 40 times during the war- says De Lazzari- last year, in the midst of the pandemic, with my mask on and respecting all the safety measures, I went around schools. It has been a challenging cultural project during a difficult time, but the support and collaboration of teachers and families have been crucial. The pupils have portrayed Venice, Cavallino-Treporti, Beirut and the Covid-19 pandemic. On the overleaf they wrote messages advising caution and inviting people to get vaccinated, so that they could still play and attend school in the future. Two little pupils summarized: you and I made a masterpiece. This is not a simple drawing; this is a lifelong commitment”.

The project was attended by 14 artists, seven from Italy and seven from Lebanon who, just as done by the children (one begins and the other complete), tried to connect East and West, each with their own style, and donate their works to the seven participating schools. The paintings, characterized by the harmony of lines and colors, underline the huge cultural, historical and artistic heritage of the two countries, strengthening cooperation and solidarity between the two.