The Italian Cultural Institute of London presents an exhibition entitled ‘Canaletto’s Venice Revisited‘ at the National Maritime Museum, open until 25 September, where the complete series of 24 Venetian views painted by Canaletto in the 1730s is on display. The works, from the famous Woburn Abbey collection, constitute the largest single commission ever received by the Italian artist.
“Canaletto’s Venice Revisited” reassesses Canaletto at the height of his career, looking beyond the sweeping views for which he is famous to take a closer look at the features that bring his Venice to life.
While fascinating as ever, Venice today faces many challenges: the city is fragile and built on wooden pillars, flooding has become more frequent due to rising sea levels, and the city is facing a sharp decline in population and an increase in mass tourism.
The Italian Cultural Institute is pleased to support five events as part of this exhibition that will address all these issues and more:
A lecture on the ‘Rialto project’ to learn about the ambitious project to transform the Rialto market with urban historian Professor Donatella Calabi (University of Architecture IUAV of Venice); the screening of the film ‘Welcome Venice’, a family drama by Andrea Segre that explores how Venetian identity is changing in the 21st century; the lecture ‘The culture of water in Venice’ to learn about the technology, social history and cultural dimensions of water with Professor David Gentilcore (Ca’Foscari University of Venice); the lecture ‘A Guide to Anthropocene Venice’ with Luca Cosentino, editor of ‘The Guide to Anthropocene Venice’ to discover the impact of human activity on the Venice lagoon; and finally, the lecture ‘Campo Santa Maria Formosa’ with Professor Shaul Bassi (Ca’Foscari University of Venice) to explore the history and culture of one of the most fascinating squares in Venice.
More information at: iiclondra.esteri.it.
