Author Archives: Living Venice

Two Notable Fall Photo Exhibits

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Off season visitors (who usually have more time for taking in the city) should consider two unusual photography exhibits, one featuring the vision of a bright young French photographer, the other an intimate portrait of a beloved Venetian poet, recently deceased.

DAVID FARGE presents a series of astounding photographs capturing the icey motion of dancers frozen in time. The images were short during a performance of BUB — Bouncing Universe in Bulk —  choreographed by Eric Arnal Burtschy. See them at the studio of glass designer Noberto Moretti until November 26:

In contrast, the exhibition that opens Friday, Nov. 18 at Palazzo Loredan is a intimate portrait of beloved Venetian poet ANDREA ZANZOTTO at 90, by Graziano Arici. It’s not a retrospective, but a “visit” with the poet, photographs taken at home and around town only a few months before his death.

 

Both exhibitions are free.

Reflux | David Farge
Laboratorio Moretti
Cannaregio 2612, fondamenta de la Misericordia

til Nov. 26
10.30-13, 15.30-19.30
Closed Sundays, and Monday mornings.

Best by appointment, call +39 041 524 1548

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Per Andrea Zanotto | Graziano Arici
Istituto Veneto di Scienza Lettere ed Arti
Palazzo Lorendan
San Marco 2945, campo Santo Stefano
+39 041 2407711

Nov 18 – Dec 17
11 – 6 p.m.; closed Sundays.

Before the Salute, SANITÀ: Protest Targets Hospital Cuts

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Join Venessia.com and 40xVenezia together with Venice citizens to protest reductions in local hospitals and their funding.

It’s a curious situation of this tiny town, visited by millions upon millions per year, inhabited daily by thousands of mainland workers, relocated to for longer periods by students, academics, and other longer-term visitors. With the gradual reduction in hospitals, services, and funding, it’s all their healthcare that’s at risk, and what Venessia.com (those fabulous folks who brought you uber-theatrical Funerale di Venezia and Veniceland) in collaboration with 40xVenezia and many other local associations will be highlighting with their demonstration on Nov. 12. Visit the Facebook page for the event.

Granted, residents are always here, and anyone who is here temporarily hopes they’ll have no need of hospital or emergency services during their time in the city. If this were to turns out not to be the case, it may be in your interest to support these citizens’ efforts to have their voices heard. The demonstration is scheduled to take place in San Giovanni e Paolo on November 12th from 11am til 3pm.

Adapted from the official press release:

Why Sanità!

Venice emergency and healthcare services are at severe risk. This is not only a “Venetian” problem, but one for our guests from all over the world, whose numbers now reach 50.000 per day. We feel compelled to alert world public opinion that in the very near future Venetians — and visitors — in need of medical attention may be at risk due to severe decline in healthcare service resources.

• A number of hospitals in the lagoon area have been closed and dismantled, leaving even the most basic levels of service at risk.

• Lagoon hospitals (S.Clemente, Sacca Sessola, Le Grazie, l’Ospedale al Mare) have been sold, but profits have not been reinvested in the “Ospedale Civile”, where instead beds are being cut and wards are being closed down. For example:

• Why doesn’t the management of the medical care take into consideration Venice’s particular situation in order to provide services adequate to its space and its timings?

• Why is the only remaining hospital being closed instead of upgraded?

• In case of an emergency, one hour could make a difference between life and death…how long would it take to reach an hospital on the mainland?

The trend is now obvious, Public Health Services are suffering severely. We are in possession of complete documentation that support our claims.

We are always grateful, and would like to recognize all those healthcare workers dedicated to doing their utmost to provide a good service to Venetians and tourists alike. We are holding this demonstration to recognize:

1. the distinct, specific character and situation of Venice and its islands
2. the need — the right — to adequate standards of service. The hospital in the historic center is lacking in basic and specialized health services and physicians. We demand the restitution of the “amphibian city” that is able to serve the needs of 90,000 citizens and 30 million visitors, students and tourists, and temporary residents, by restoring standards comparable with the standards of the services offered on the mainland.
3. better ambulance and emergency services as it relates to water ambulances, helicopters, and transportation for discharged patients who cannot transport themselves.
4. the need for funding subsidies for unsustainable projects, including the Proton Therapy project, which will inevitably divert funds from patient diagnosis and treatment.

They are also demanding that the General Director of Ulss 12 step down and that he be replaced with a director who recognizes the severity of the situation, and who will address it appropriately.

When and Where:

  • 12 November, 2011
  • 11 a.m. – 15 p.m.
  • main entrance of the Ospedale Civile in Campo San Giovanni e Paolo

• Venetian actor Cesare Colonnese with perform a theatrical piece, followed by brief speeches by the representatives of a number of Venetian associations and groups.

• We will ask for explanations from the competent authorities and we’ll demonstrate the public opinion the dire state of the “Ospedale al Mare” on Lido, and the general situation of the other Venetian hospitals.

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This is an a-political forum promoting the right to health for all, open to all citizens of any political affiliation. We hope to see you there — your help is very important, the health of Venetians and your compatriots is no laughing matter!

Introducing Grapehops Gastro-tours

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When Shannon Essa and Kim Riemann “met” online ten years ago, it was love at first write. Love for travel, for the enjoyment of the cuisines of the world, and of the wines — and beers — that accompany them. Now, they have transformed that passion into a tour company with a twist: Grapehops takes small groups around Europe — including Venice — always keeping local food, wine, and beer at the forefront.

Kim & Shannon invite you come with them to visit parts of Venice the casual traveler would never see, as you eat and drink your way through the city like a local (Shannon lived in Venice for a year and is the co-author of Chow, Venice!) — while leaving all the headache-y parts of your travel organization to Grapehops.

Welcome Shannon & Kim, and thank you for your support.

Biennale Time — still.

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With 89 participating nations, 37 collateral venues, the Venice 54th Biennale International Art Exhibition is diverse, expansive…
and still around til November 27.

The frenzied, fervent opening of ILLUMInations, the 54th Biennale seems far away now. During that week in late June, more than 51,000 visitors were estimated to have strolled among, perused, scrutinized, and analyzed the artistic offerings in the Giardini, Arsenale and the numerous collateral exhibitions strewn across the city. It’s unthinkable that anyone who doesn’t have months here could ever view all the works on display in the main and para-pavillions and city-wide venues, not to mention all the concurrent exhibits not officially associated with the Biennale itself. What’s a time-limited traveller to do?

TO THE GARDENS

You could choose to start in the still slightly leafy Giardini and immerse yourself in MIKE NELSON’s mesmerizing, alternate time-and-space sculptural installation, whose creation involved a complete restructuring of the Great Britain pavilion (the advice you receive as you enter is “Watch your head, and your step”). Afterward, head down the hill to compare it with the intriguing Francia (France) installation by , and with Czech Republic, where you’ll meander through DOMINIK LANG’s captivating intro-retrospective featuring his own contemporary installation of his father’s “sleeping witnesses” from the 1950s.

Don’t miss the Central Pavilion that, unlike dedicated national pavilions, hosts works by a wide assortment of artists. As startling today as it likely was in its own time, TINTORETTO’s “The Last Supper” traveled across the lagoon from its home for the last 420 years at San Giorgio Maggiore to form the centerpiece there along with two other monumental works; MAURIZIO CATTELAN’s Others, stuffed pigeons pervasively perched outside the pavilion and in, perhaps recalling their prevalence in Piazza San Marco, keep watch overhead. They contrast markedly with the “invisible painting” of Swiss/New York artist BRUNO JACOB, created with, among other things, water and steam.

Cross the canal bridge to reach the Austrian pavilion. It’s not necessary to understand the precise intention of MARKUS SCHINWALD’s intriguing yet subtly disturbing juxtapositions of time, subject matter, and artistic medium to be drawn in by them; the labyrinth of corridors that presents each work contributes significantly to their effect.

The Greek pavilion offers DOHANDI’s profound, minimalist respite at the opposite end of the park, Poland’s YAEL BARTANA has expertly crafted the tongue-in-cheek  …and Europe will be Stunned, a three-video presentation; 30 days of Running in the Space is EGYPT’s tribute to beloved artist and activist AHMED BASIONY, who was downed by snipers in Tahrir Square on the Friday of Wrath.

ARSENALE

If you instead choose to tour the Arsenale which features a number of emerging countries this year, you may choose to turn the corner at the end of the Corderie and take in a bit of “The Clock,” Swiss-American CHRISTIAN MARCLAY’s 24-hour film in which every clip refers to the actual time of day. It’s a masterfully edited piece relating past to present that will engross you for as long as you choose to stay and watch.

IT’S EVERYWHERE YOU ARE

The Biennale extends far beyond the confines of the garden pavilions and Arsenale, installed in some of the most evocative and rarely accessible venues in the city. Take vaporetto Line 62 from the Giardini Biennale stop to Spirito Santo on the Zattere; you’ll be deposited directly in front of the Emporio die Sali, the old salt warehouses (themselves worthy of a visit even without the art). There you’ll find “The Future of a Promise,” a pan-Arab collateral exhibition featuring 22 artists and presenting an extraordinary range of refined works that soar through the expansive warehouse space. Across town at the Scuola della Misericordia is Jan FABRE’s striking Pietas, an installation consisting of marble sculpture reflected in golden flooring — an impressive building in its own right that could not have been put to much more impressive use.

BEYOND the BIENNALE

Finally, TRA: The Edge of Becoming is not a part of the 54th Biennale — but could easily be (they even have the same closing dates). The impeccable renovation of the Palazzo Fortuny  makes it an extraordinary exhibition structure, and one of the few that could display TRA’s over 300 works in any coherent way. Artists represented include notables Rodin, Duchamp, Fontana, Kapoor, and Lèger to name a few, with many contemporary artists’ works commissioned specifically for the exhibition.

There are few visitors who wouldn’t enjoy adding this edition of the Biennale to their itinerary anytime before November 27th. For the frequent visitor, it adds a present day dimension to an already beloved destination.

54th Biennale Venice International Art Exhibition

thru Nov 27th, 2011
10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays (except  August 15th, October 31st and November 21st, 2011)

€20 (full), discounts for students and seniors.

Entrance fees for collateral exhibitions vary (many are free)

Giardini

Giardini Biennale (Lines 41/42, Lines 51/52, Lines 61/62)
Giardini (Line 1)

Arsenale

Entrance, Calle della Tana
Arsenale (Line 1, 41/42)

There is a Biennale Navetta transfer from the Giardini to the Arsenale; and also a shortcut between the back of the Giardini and and top of the Arsenale.

Take a Number: Venice Vaporetti regroup

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Lines Stay the Same, Only the Numbers Change (but not all of them).

As of November 2, 2011, ACTV Spa and the City of Venice will implement a new numbering system for vaporetto public transport lines. The changes also include a new landing system that uses numbers, colors and letters which could, should help newcomers find the landing they’re looking for more quickly. Speriamo bene.

The new system does not affect routes and frequencies, just the numbering and organization.

Line changes include:

• Line DM direct to Murano becomes Line 3
• Lines 41/42 51/52 become 4.1/4.2 and 5.1/5.2 (n.1 runs counterclockwise, n.2 clockwise)
• Lines 61/62 become Line 6
• Line 5 from San Zaccaria to Murano becomes Line 7
• Line T serving Burano-Torcello becomes Line 9
• CLODIA Raphael which travels between Chioggia and Venice will be the new LINE 19

Other significant changes relate to the LN (Laguna Nord) which, while keeping the route and frequencies, will be split into 4 sections:

• Line 10 is the direct Lido – S.Marco Giardinetti shuttle (navetta)
• Line 12 serves F.Nove – Burano – Treporti – Punta Sabbioni
• Line 14 connects S.Zaccaria Pietà – Lido – Punta Sabbioni, while
• 14L (limited) serves Punta Sabbioni-Lido

Finally, there is a new Line 22 which serves Punta Sabbioni – F.te Nove – Tre Archi which has been a special line will now become a regualar one.

Easy as A-B-C

At larger piers like Piazzale Roma, the railway station, Rialto area, Fondamente Nove, San Zaccaria, and more, you’ll notice that the landings will also be identified with a capital letter placed on the entrance of the pier. This letter will also appear on the maps along the ACTV quais, and will associate the vaporetto lines with the landings that  serve them. The letters will also appear on the LED signage indicating departures and times.

 

With any luck and a little patience, this new system should benefit both locals and travelers, who normally have little time to get up to speed on vaporetto usage.

For more information, see the ACTV site (in Italian).

(By the way: the Vap Map has already been updated with the new lines and routes. Be sure to get yours before your arrival in Venice!)