A World Without Venice and Rhinos? Magnificence vs. Luxury

Pietro Longhi, Clara the Rhinoceros, 1751 - National Gallery, London

(Venice, Italy) Both Venice and the Rhinoceros are endangered species, ravenously desired and unthinkingly consumed by a proliferating consumer class. That was the gist of the symposium on November 24th at Palazzo Contarini Polignac entitled Beauty and the Beast: Venice and the Rhino.

The rhinoceros has walked the earth for more than 50 million years, and is the world's oldest living mammal. Its horn has become one of the most costly luxury items on the planet -- a rhino is killed every eight hours to satisfy demand. The rhino horn has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia, but increasingly it is being used as a status symbol to display success and wealth.

Humans have projected all sorts of miraculous attributes onto the rhino horn, just as humans have projected all sorts of fantasies onto the city of Venice. According to legend, Venice was founded on March 25, 421 A.D., nearly 1,600 years ago. Its monumental churches and impressive palaces still stand after centuries, nestled inside the lagoon. Nowadays, each day an average of 60,000 tourists descend upon a city composed of 54,000 residents. Both the rhino and Venice are in danger of becoming extinct.

Palazzo Contarini Polignac

Catherine Kovesi of Emporium is a historian of early modern Italian history at the University of Melbourne and was the organiser and curator of Venice and the Rhino, which kicked off with Bikem de Montebello, the Managing Director of Palazzo Contarini Polignac, giving us a fascinating history of the palace.

In 1900, American-born Winnaretta Singer (1865-1943), heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune, bought the 15th-century palace on the Grand Canal as a birthday gift for her husband, Prince Edmond de Polignac, a composer of music, who died shortly thereafter. Winnaretta was a great patron of the arts, and Palazzo Polignac was the center of her extraordinary contributions to the cultural life of Venice, a city both she and Edmond cherished. Today, thanks to the efforts of the de Montebello family, Palazzo Contarini Polignac remains a vibrant center of Venice's cultural life.

Catherine Kovesi & Gigi Bon - Venice & the Rhino - Photo: Cat Bauer

Catherine Kovesi's focus is on debates surrounding luxury consumption in the early modern world, and is a lover of Venice herself. One day, while wandering around the city, she stumbled upon Mirabilia, the art studio of Gigi Bon, an artist who feels closer to the rhinoceros than to people. In fact, Gigi's rhino sculptures so riveted Catherine that they inspired the symposium itself.

In 2017, worldwide luxury retail sales totaled 1.2 trillion euro. Personal luxury goods -- the core of the market -- have grown 191% since 1995. Catherine took us on a journey that started with the long history of the word "luxury" compared to the word "magnificent." Centuries ago, luxury was a vice, not a virtue, and meant "excess" and was used to describe people who overly indulged; luxuria meant "lust," and was a sin linked to women. By the Elizabethan period the word was associated with adultery.

Magnificence, on the other hand, described the elite who spent on a large scale for the greater good, which was expected of members of the aristocracy. Speaker Lynn Johnson, Founding Director of Nature Needs More said, "Follow the money." There are more than 150 churches in Venice. Venetians did not need another church, yet they built magnificent houses of worship and enhanced them with precious works of art. The pursuit of luxury was practiced by the mediocre and those with vain ambition. The magnificent believed true success was what you left to the world.

Mass-produced souvenir picture of Clara produced by Van der Meer

"One of a kind: Clara the rhinoceros in 18th-century Venice and the tale of a missing horn"

The tale of Clara the rhinoceros was a pre-recorded video presentation by Glynis Ridley of the University of Louisville, who, unfortunately, could not make it to Venice. In 1741, a Dutch sea captain named Douwemout Van der Meer obtained a female Indian rhino calf named Clara, whose mother had been killed by hunters. When Clara was a month old, she was adopted by Jan Albert Sichterman, the director of the Dutch East India Company, and grew up wandering around his property, becoming quite tame.

Sichterman then either sold or gifted Van der Meer with Clara, reuniting the rhino with her sea captain, who took her on a grand European tour where she became a sensation, appearing before emperors and kings. She was only the fifth rhino seen on European soil since the fall of the Roman empire.

Pietro Longhi, Clara the Rhinoceros, 1751 - Ca' Rezzonico, Venice

In 1751, en route to Venice for an appearance at Carnevale, Clara shed her horn, captured in the painting of Pietro Longhi, which you can see at Ca' Rezzonico in Venice, commissioned by Giovanni Grimaldi. Longhi created an almost identical painting for Girolomo Mocenigo, now at the National Gallery in London. Look closely, and you will see that fewer people are wearing masks in the painting at Ca' Rezzonico.

We know Clara’s story because of the research done by Glynis Ridley, who won the Institute of Historical Research Prize for figuring out just who the heck that rhino was at the 1751 Venice Carnival.

Shih Li-Jen & Rhino sculpture at Vernissage - Photo: Cat Bauer

The symposium brought together an international group of scholars, artists, poets and writers, who explored the intersections between Venice and the rhino. Other speakers included Jane Da Mosto, an environmental scientist and Executive Director of We Are Here Venice, whose topic was Venice: A Fragile and Resilient City; Sophie Bostock of the Orientalist Museum in Qatar, who spoke about Clara in Qatar: The story of a Meissen porcelain; Bruno Martinho of the European University Institute, whose topic was Rhino horns and scraps of unicorn: The sense of touch and the consumption of rhino horns in early modern Iberia; and Sabrina Ardizzoni of the University of Bologna who presented the Taiwanese sculptor Shih Li-Jen: His Oeuvre, and his vision of the rhino and unfettered consumption. Shih Li-Jen said, "My goal is creating rhino sculptures to inspire people to help save these creatures."

Rhinoceros, detail from mosaic floor, St Mark’s Basilica, Venice, thirteenth century.
Photo ©Mark Smith

The earliest representation of a rhinoceros in Venice is in the Basilica of San Marco in the 13th-century pavement close to the altar of the Madonna Nicopeia. As a child, Gigi Bon was so fascinated by that rhino that she identified more as a rhinoceros than as a little girl. For over 25 years, she has developed her unique vision of the profound links between her own identity, the city of Venice and the predicament of the rhinoceros. It is believed that particular image of the rhino was inspired by Marco Polo's description of his travels to the Island of Basma of what he thought were unicorns:

"There are wild elephants in the country, and numerous unicorns, which are very nearly as big. They have hair like that of a buffalo, feet like those of an elephant, and a horn in the middle of the forehead, which is black and very thick... 'Tis a passing ugly beast to look upon, and is not in the least like that which our stories tell of it being of as being caught in the lap of a virgin; in fact, 'tis altogether different from what we fancied."

Cat Bauer with poet Ronna Bloom

Sprinkled throughout the symposium was the inspirational poetry of the Canadian poet Ronna Bloom, Poet in Residence at Sinai Health Toronto, which she read beautifully. I found it deeply moving. Ronna's poem about Venice, Gracious Hospitable City, captured perfectly the unique, almost inexplicable love that so many people seem to feel about Venice.

I am always amazed at how many people fall in love with Venice, some to the point of obsession, and how many repeat visitors -- who don't live here -- become possessive of the city like jealous lovers pining from afar. In contrast, Ronna's pure poetry struck just the right key:

Gracious
Hospitable
City

by Ronna Bloom

I appeal to the gods of the lagoon, to the dirty filthy spirit
of boat spume and masks discarded,
Help me understand Venice. 

To Fondamente Nove which ends at the water: throw me in.
To the man who took my suitcases on board answering his cell phone,
"Mamma, dimmi." Speak to me.

I appeal to the resistant force inside
who holds her secret heart secret
so no one can make a Las Vegas Doge's Palace of her love.

"Everyone loves Venice." And I nod.
But does everyone have a hidden life revealed to them
in the mirror of a place they've never been?
A place that's cherished and also grieved?
I knew I had to come, but for years avoided it,
as though beauty were a wound I couldn't look at.
Remembering Rilke, beauty is the first touch of terror we can still bear.

How to care for a place being shipped into the sea by its keepers
sold to the highest bidder and
offered as a knock-off of  itself to those who don't know?

While the ones who do know
age perilously on the slow #1 vaporetto to work --
or from human overwhelm, take a cart into the calle
and ram it into a group of zombie-eyed walkers
with small flags from around the world --
or who host every minute they walk out their door --
or restore paintings in the back of Accademia to repair the sky.
Whose dogs' back legs shake like spider webs as they crouch --
and whose stringed instruments break the fragile air
the way the high tide siren does --
who still marvel at their own churches, arches, light and water
with anyone who'll look, whispering the beauty is free --
and lean out their tired windows and smile.

Respect does not mean being left alone, but cared for.
Who can answer that in a language everyone will understand?
Dimmi.

The symposium stressed that a new conversation is needed. That the Academy needs to talk to industry. That the Academy needs to talk to conservationists. That the conversation needs to move away from battling the feeders of consumer demand towards understanding consumer motives. That creating empathy in consumers is probably a losing battle. That conservationists need a new paradigm.

Venetian artists: Fabrizio Plessi with Gigi Bon at Vernissage - Photo: Cat Bauer

Afterwards, there was a Vernissage for Rhinoceros: Luxury's Fragile Frontier in the Magazzino Gallery, Palazzo Contarini Polignac's exhibition space, featuring the art of Gigi Bon and Shih Li-Jen, and the poetry of Ronna Bloom, which is open to the public until December 21, 2018.

I haven't spent such an enlightening and educational day in a long time, surrounded by intelligent, thoughtful and magnificent people. Venice needs more symposiums like this. Kudos to Catherine Kovesi and Bikem de Montebello for organizing the event, and thank you to all the speakers for imparting their gems of wisdom.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Remembering Venetian Valeria Solesin, Killed in the November 2015 Paris Attacks

Graduation day in Piazza San Marco - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) One of the perks of graduating from Ca' Foscari, Venice's university, is that the ceremony takes place in Piazza San Marco, one of the most breathtaking venues on the planet. On November 16th, thousands of friends and relatives witnessed young students take that monumental step on their life's voyage.

Three years ago today, the residents of Venice gathered in Piazza San Marco for a much sadder event: the candlelight vigil for Valeria Solesin, a 28-year-old Venetian PhD candidate at Sorbonne University, killed by ISIL on Friday, Novemember 13, 2015 in the Paris terrorist attacks.

I will never forget that evening when so many citizens of Venice gathered together in solidarity for Valeria. It was an extremely emotional and poignant moment, with thousands of candles lighting up the dark. Here is an excerpt of a post I wrote at the time:

Candlelight Vigil for Valeria Solesin - Venice Victim of Paris Terrorist Attacks

Candlelight Vigil for Valeria Solesin in Piazza San Marco - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) Thousands of people gathered in Piazza San Marco last evening to honor Valeria Solesin, a young, beautiful, intelligent Venetian woman, one of Venice's -- and the world's -- brightest stars, who was senselessly murdered by Daesh aka ISIL in Paris on Friday night. We gathered to remember all the Paris victims, but especially Valeria, a hometown girl. About seven thousand residents of Venice, young and old, made the journey to the center of the city to hold aloft twinkling points of light, illuminating the darkness that has descended on the planet. Many Venetians arrived with their children.

Valeria Solesin

Valeria Solesin represented everything good, empowering and compassionate about Europe. She was a brilliant young woman, who deeply believed in peace, not war. Valeria grew up in Venice, graduating in 2006, then got her degree at Trento University. For the last four years she lived in Paris as a PhD candidate at the prestigious Sorbonne University, studying sociology, with an emphasis on family and children. For years, she was a volunteer for Emergency, an Italian NGO that provides assistance to the civilian victims of war -- the extreme opposite of everything ISIL represents. She was killed at the Bataclan concert hall at age 28.

Click to read the entire post.

Graduation Day 2018 in Piazza San Marco - Photo: Cat Bauer

An award in Valeria's name is now in its second edition. The Premio Valeria Solesin is a competition for students at Italian universities inspired by the young Venetian researcher. Prizes go to the best Master's research theses on "Female talent as a determining factor for the development of the economy, ethics and meritocracy in our country," a topic to which Valeria had dedicated her work. It is open to students of 34 top Italian universities, public and private, and is supported by 14 companies, with Allianz Worldwide Partners promoting the 1st prize. Winners of the second edition will be announced on November 27, 2018.

UPDATE 2022: The Valeria Solesin Award, promoting female talent, is now in its sixth edition.

Valeria Solesin was doing important work on the role of women in society. It is an extreme tragedy that her life was stolen from her at such a young age. Let us hope that the memory of the young Venetian woman inspires others to follow her path, and that positive female energy helps to balance the planet.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Juliet texts emojis but Romeo forgets his smartphone: Shakespeare in Venice at Hotel Danieli

Shakespeare in Venice at Hotel Danieli - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) William Shakespeare, the world's most famous English playwright, set one third of his plays in Italy. This rich exotic backdrop allowed him the freedom to tackle difficult subjects that might have been taboo on his native soil.

On Friday evening, November 9, I was a guest at the magnificent 14th century hall of Palazzo Dandolo, home of Hotel Danieli, and the stage for Shakespeare in Venice, a Journey through Shakespeare's Works, a condensed, contemporary version of five of the Bard's plays set in the Veneto.

The Merchant of Venice at Hotel Danieli - Photo: Cat Bauer

The quirky production, directed by Lorenzo Maragoni, whizzed through Romeo & Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello and The Merchant of Venice in about an hour with two young actors, Giulia Briata and Josh Lonsdale playing all the parts. They were accompanied by Giorgio Gobbo on guitar, who tossed the audience into a farcical key by singing the Beatles' Here Comes the Sun in falsetto when morning dawns and Romeo must flee Juliet's room after their wedding night.

Josh Lonsdale is not only an actor; the 26-year-old Brit also wrote the text. One of the best bits was when Juliet, about to drink the poison, sends Romeo a text message complete with emojis (smiley face, kiss, kiss) warning him that she is not dead, and not to overreact. Unfortunately, Romeo has forgotten his phone, and does not get the message...

Cocktail dinner at Hotel Danieli - Photo: Cat Bauer

After the performance, guests were treated to a cocktail dinner created by Chef Alberto Fol featuring food inspired by Shakespeare in Venice with tasty morsels like Insalata di latti di seppia con sedano e olive, Gallina Padovana con saor di cipolla, Zuppetta di pesci dell'Adriatico and Anatra arrostita alle spezi Orientali con salsa Peverada on the menu.

Dessert table at Hotel Danieli - Photo: Cat Bauer

Shakespeare in Venice is part of a collaboration between the Hotel Danieli, the Teatro Stabile del Veneto and the Chamber of Commerce of Venice and Rovigo, a cultural project whose aim is to promote Venice's uniqueness and cultural and artistic heritage through Shakespearean theatre and Post WWII nonconformist literature. Next up on December 11 is Art/Beat - from Beat Generation to Contemporary Art, a commemoration, in English, inspired by the term "beat" coined by Jack Kerouac 70 years ago, and performed by two actors and two musicians.

For reservations contact:

• Hotel Danieli, a Luxury Collection Hotel, part of Marriott International - Tel. 041 782714
• E-mail: banqueting.danieli@luxurycollection.com

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Alone in the Doge's Palace - Venice, Italy

Palazzo Ducale at night - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) Tonight I was alone inside the Doge's Palace with only the phantoms of the past. I had come from a book presentation in the Doge's Private Chapel. It was not the first time I have been alone inside Palazzo Ducale.

When I first arrived in Venice twenty years ago, I was fortunate enough to have an access-all-areas pass to the Doge's Palace to do some research, and could wander freely through the rooms rich with the Renaissance. I met a lot of ghosts.

Golden Staircase - Photo: Cat Bauer

There are so many tourists cramming the halls these days that I forgot what it looked like. Tonight, as I descended the Golden Staircase, I saw -- really saw -- a section of the floor for the first time, an optical illusion 5D Mary-Poppins-jump-through-the-pavement floor that threw me off. I froze. The floor did not seem solid at all. For few moments I thought I would tumble through the spaces and into another era, and come face to face with the Doge.

5D pavement inside Doge's Palace - Photo: Cat Bauer

I finally found my footing in the present, touched marble, and continued down Sansovino's Scala d'Oro, shaken. I met a female attendant leaning against the loggia. I was still dizzy: "What they built... what they built... so many years ago."

She was pragmatic. "Well, they didn't build it all at once.” She pointed across the courtyard. “They built that section in 14th century; and that section in the 15th century, and that section in the 16th..."

"Yes, but, what have we actually built these days, in the year 2018?"

She thought, then said: "The Calatrava Bridge and MOSE."

I haven't had such a good laugh in a long time.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Acqua Alta - Exceptional High Water in Venice, October 2018

Acqua alta on the Zattare in Venice - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) We are having our first acqua alta, or high water, of the fall season, and it is a doozy. I can't remember it being this high since back in 2008, ten years ago.

There is a siren that goes off to warn the citizens of Venice that acqua alta is expected, which starts with a shattering air raid wail, then segues into four ascending harmonic tones that sound something like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. With each ascending tone, anxiety rises. We usually have one or two tones. Three is bad. Four is almost unheard of. Today we had four. On top of that, it has been raining on and off all day with strong, gusty winds.

Fallen trees by Accademia - Photo: Cat Bauer

Officials say that the water level reached just about 160 centimeters today, which is "exceptional." They measure the high water level from point zero at Punta della Salute, which is where the mareograph, an instrument for recording the rise and fall of the tide, is located.  Most of Venice -- 97% of the town -- is at more than 100 centimeters, so normally when we have acqua alta, we put on our rubber boots and go about business as usual since there are only patches that flood -- in fact, many times we don't even put on our rubber boots if we know the area well enough to navigate.

Only certain areas are lower than 100 cm -- the lowest point in Venice is right in front of the main entrance of the Basilica of San Marco in Piazza San Marco, which is 64cm, and always floods. But when we have exceptional high water -- over 140cm -- that means 90% of the town is covered by water.

Flood Rates of Venice in Relation to High Water Levels

+100cm - 3.56%

+110cm - 11.74%

+120cm - 35.18%

+130cm - 68.75%

+140cm -  90%

The information I am using from the Province of Venice's Turismo Venezia does not list tides over +140cm, but we can imagine that at +160cm, nearly the entire town is covered by water. This does not mean that we are under water, but there is water in almost every calle in town. Here is a photo of the calle outside my door, which never gets high water, even at +140cm. I was only millimeters away from the water coming in my house! I wonder if in the future there will always be water in the calle, and that to live in Venice you will have to put on rubber boots just to get out the door.

Water in the calle - Photo: Cat Bauer

The water rose so high that they cancelled the vaporetti except out to the islands. Schools and museums had already announced they would be closed today and tomorrow. We were told to stay inside, but nobody seemed to listen, including me. I managed to navigate well enough up until about 2:30pm, but gave up when the water went over my boots at Rialto. There were guys right inside the vaporetto stop selling those noisy plastic colorful boots to tourists for ten bucks a pair.

Intrepid travelers at Bar da Gino during acqua alta in Venice - Photo: Cat Bauer

The tourists in town were in good spirits, and seemed to treat it like a great adventure. Of course, for businesses it is not an adventure at all, but a lot of stress, hard work and clean-up. Even Gino's by Accademia which is open all day from 6:00am to around midnight gave up and closed around 2:00pm, leaving some intrepid travelers munching on some pizza as the water lapped around their feet.

Here is a YouTube clip I filmed of the Zattare, which became part of the lagoon, and was not possible to navigate without thigh-high boots as early as 12:45pm.



Another four-alarm siren went off as I wrote this. The winds are gusting. Exceptional acqua alta is also on the agenda for tonight and tomorrow...

Go to the Province of Venice High Water Information Centre for more information.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

It's a First in Italy: Léon Bakst, Acclaimed Set & Costume Designer of the Ballets Russe, at Palazzo Cini in Venice

1909 Amoun costume for Michel Fokine in Cleopatra - design by Léon Bakst - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) The Ballets Russes has always intrigued me. Originally conceived by ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who is buried here in Venice on the island of San Michele, the itinerant company never performed in Russia, beginning its adventure in Paris in 1909.

The Ballet Russes grew out of the World of Art movement, founded in Russia by artists opposed to the prevailing culture -- a talented group that introduced "Russian Colour" in music, choreography and the figurative arts. In addition to Diaghilev, the founders of Ballet Russes included Léon Bakst, who had created a name for himself as an art editor and childrens' book illustrator before tackling set and costume design for ballet. Other prominent members included the renowned Vaslav Nijinksy, considered the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century, and Michel Fokine, the groundbreaking Russian choreographer and dancer.

In 1909 Bakst visited Venice with Diaghilev and Nijinksky. That same year he joined the Ballets Russes, which debuted with the ballet Cléopatre performed by Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Ida Rubinsetin and Michel Fokine, who was also the choreographer. 

Cleopatra costume design by Léon Bakst for Ida Rubinstein, Paris 1909 - Photo: Cat Bauer

"The greatest success of the season is Cléopatre. The theatre was packed even on the closing nights and the result was surprising every time, earning 34,000 francs a day." 

Letter by Bakst to his wife Lyubov Gritsenko, June 30, 1909.

"In my apartment Ida Rubinstein met Diaghilev and the entire troupe of the Ballet Russes artists and it was then that she was invited to perform in the 'Russian Season,' in Cléopatre, and later in Shéhérazade. For a year I couldn't make a real dancer of her. She was very unemotional in the roles of Cleopatra and Shéhérazade, but thanks to her striking appearance she managed to achieve unusual forms and a very profound image."

Letter by Michel Fokine to Frederick Beaumont, January 1, 1925

The Fondazione Giorgio Cini Institute of Theatre and Opera and the Saint Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music present the exhibition of Léon Bakst, built almost entirely around Bakst's stage and costume designs from the large collection of his work in the Saint Petersburg Museum, now on show in Italy for the first time. In addition to Bakst's designs, the exhibition is complemented by rare theatre programs and other iconographic items from the archive of choreographer Aurél M. Milloss, presereved in the Fondazione Giorgio Cini.

The exhibition made me greatly appreciate the organizations that somehow manage to preserve the monumental moments of mankind throughout war and strife, suppression and revolution. It seems that no matter how hard the forces of obstruction try to repress these precious jewels, industrious individuals manage to squirrel them away.

Léon Bakst. Symbol of the Ballets Russes, curated by Maria Ida Biggi and Natalia Metelitsa is at Palazzo Cini until November 19, 2018. Go to the Fondazione Giorgio Cini for more information.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

What are those Photos around Venice? "Water, Future, Life" - Ten Years of the Elena Trevisanato Foundation

Brehane, elderly woman from Obal village - Photo by Axel Fassio

"We were resigned to the necessity of migrating, without knowing where to go. Today we are here, our village is prospering and we can live on our land. Water keeps our roots and our traditions alive."

Brehane - an elderly woman from the Obal village

(Venice, Italy) Ten photographs. Ten stories. Ten months. "Water, Future, Life," ten photographs by Axel Fassio tell ten different stories in an itinerary that weaves throughout the heart of Venice and Mestre for the next ten months to raise awareness of the ten years that the Fondazione Elena Trevisanato has been doing good deeds in Ethiopia.

Zahi, village chief of Darwoanji - Photo by Axel Fassio

"Since the day we got water, it is not only the history of individuals that changed, but the history of our entire community. It has been a dream come true. It is like we are born again."

Zahi, village chief of Darwoanji

Elena Trevisanato died very young, at age 19, when she fell off a horse. Her family spun their grief into gold by setting up the non-profit Fondazione Elena Trevisanato, which has transformed the lives of about 135,000 people by bringing water, new schools and health care to villages in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. With images and words, ten villagers reflect upon how their lives have been transformed by the Fondazione Elena Trevisanato.

Asma, student from Darwonaji village - Photo by Axel Fassio

"Education is the light of the world."

Asma - 12-year-old student from the Darwonaji village

The exhibition began on October 5 on Salizada San Samuele where the ten photographs were sprinkled throughout various businesses along the street. It will continue until July 2019, culminating with an auction next September. Here is the itinerary:

• October 2018: Salizada San Samuele
• November 2018: Campo Santa Margherita
• December 2018: Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio
• January 2019: the island of Giudecca
• February 2019: the Rialto Fish Market
• March 2019: the center of Mestre
• April 2019: vaporetto stops along the Grand Canal
• May 2019: Campo San Giovanni e Paolo
• June 2019: Forte Marghera
• July 2019: Fondamenta Misericordia

At the inauguration next February, there will be an event at the Rialto Fish Market open to all. The Fondazione Elena Trevisanato believes that the Rialto Fish Market is a historic space that is synonymous with work and tradition, as well as the future and life of all the citizens of Venice.

Selam, patient at Darwonaji health center - Photo by Axel Fassio

"The presence of the hospital ward has greatly improved the assistance we receive. Today, the dispensary of our village is a real place of care."

Selam, patient at the Darwonaji health center

Photographer Axel Fassio is a "globetrotter since birth, a Venetian by adoption." He has exhibited throughout the world, from Europe to the United States, from Argentina to Sri Lanka and Kenya. His images have been published in National Geographic, Der Spiegel and The New York Times, the Discovery Channel and BBC Travel. He has lived and worked in Africa with NGOs and the United Nations.

Everyone involved is volunteering their time, energy, spaces and other resources to turn the spotlight on the foundation created by the Trevisanato family to memorialize Elena, their daughter and sibling. Fondazione Elena Trevisanato has transformed the grief of one tragic young death into a movement that gives life and hope to thousands. 

Fondazione Elena Trevisanato onlus
Santa Croce 252
30135 Venezia
Tel.: +39 041 522 61 36
info@fondazione-elena.org
fondazione-elena.org

Exhibition info
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Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Rebel Angels, Dogs are Humans with More Hair and John & Yoko Erotic Lithos - Art in Venice & Treviso

Francesca Woodman - From Eel Series, Venice, Italy, 1978,© Charles Woodman, courtesy Victoria Miro, London/Venice

(Venice, Italy) Francesca Woodman (1958-1981) was an angel on earth, and like many angels, died young. The sensitive photographer killed herself at age 22 by jumping out a window in New York City. Born on April 3, 1958 in Denver, Colorado to artists George and Betty Woodman, the family spent their summers in Italy, which profoundly influenced her work, and is the focus of the show at the Victoria Miro Gallery here in Venice. Woodman took her first self-portrait at age 13, and used herself and other female models, often nude, to create small, haunting images packed with powerful emotions.

The intimate photos on show at the Victoria Miro Gallery are deeply moving, and it made me wish that Francesca Woodman had stuck around a lot longer to witness the impact her work has on people still here on earth. Hopefully she is watching from the heavens.

Francesca Woodman: Italian Works is at Victoria Miro Venice through December 16. Go to Victoria Miro for more information.

Osvaldo Licini Amalasunthas on a Green Background (1949) ©Osvaldo Licini by SIAE 2018

Another rebel angel, Osvaldo Licini (1894-1958) was a complicated artist from the Marches region of Italy, who, in 1958, was the first Italian artist to be awarded the Grand Prize for painting at the Venice Biennale. He died soon after from emphysema. Sixty years later, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice commemorates Licini with a retrospective curated by Luca Massimo Barbero.

Over 100 works in 11 exhibition galleries follow the wildly diverse artistic path of the artist as he traveled from landscapes and figurative work to abstraction and Rationalism, with an accent on geometry. The most iconic works are of Amalasunthas, Queen of the Ostrogoths, and his series of Rebel Angels, which illustrate the many facets of his complex personality. Licini said, "He who seeks certainty rarely finds it."

Karole Vail, Dir. Peggy Guggenheim Collection - Photo: Cat Bauer

The last days of summer were celebrated with breakfast on the fabulous terrace of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal before the press conference for Osvaldo Licini, with Karole Vail, director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, radiant in white. OSVALDO LICINI. Let Sheer Folly Sweep Me Away runs through January 14, 2019. Go to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection for more information.

New York City 2000 © Elliott Erwitt - Magnum Photos

At 90-years-old, veteran Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt (1928) is still going strong. He's photographed everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Che Guevera, but is perhaps best known for his witty photographs of dogs. There is a lighthearted exhibition dedicated to his canine creatures at Casa dei Carraresi in Treviso, curated by Marco Minuz entitled I cani sono come gli umani, solo con più capelli -- Dogs are like humans, only with more hair.

Born in Paris, Erwitt spent his childhood in Italy until his family moved to the United States. Erwitt's preferred method of shooting is with a Leica camera using black and white film, and said "photography is not rocket science. It's rather simple," but only a few photographers have a certain "magic." There are also two short films in English with Italian subtitles in which the photographer speaks about his life and work, and how "Marilyn looked better in pictures than in person."

ELLIOTT ERWITT: Dogs are like humans, only with more hair is at Casa dei Carraresi in Treviso -- just a short walk from the train station -- through February 3, 2019. Go to Casa dei Carraresi for more information (in Italian).

Bag One - John Lennon - Photo: Cat Bauer

John Lennon created Bag One, a leather bag filled with 15 lithographs commemorating his wedding and honeymoon as a wedding present for Yoko Ono. The day after the initial presentation at the London Arts Gallery on January 15, 1970, eight erotic lithographs were seized by agents of Scotland Yard. When the show open on Febuary 7th at the Lee Nordness Gallery in New York, there were no such problems, nor are there any problems viewing the lithos today at the new Beatrice Burati Anderson Art Space & Gallery here in Venice. The lithos are on loan from the private collection of Rolando Giambelli, founder and president of The Beatles People Association of Italy.

Section of Ertotica #4 from Bag One lithograph by John Lennon - Photo: Cat Bauer

The lithos are part of the Water/Mater exhibition, which also features works by the Dutch architect, designer and artist Maurice Nio based on the theories of the Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto, which focus on how water molecules are sensitive to emotional vibrations. Maurice Nio also presents Dark Matter, a 17-metre sculpture on sand bags that is a metaphor for the uncontrollable forces of Nature.

Water/Mater runs through December 22, 2018. Go to the Beatrice Burati Anderson Art Space & Gallery for more information.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Homo Faber Shines in Venice - Michelangelo Foundation's Mission for Creativity and Craftsmanship

Homo Faber Opening Ceremony ©SGP

(Venice, Italy) Homo Faber. Crafting a more human future is Europe at its finest, an exhibition that celebrates the human touch. You can feel the excitement in the air as soon as you step off the boat and onto the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Sixteen dynamic event spaces imagined by a team of world-class designers, curators and architects spice up the monumental spaces of the Giorgio Cini Foundation. It is the first major cultural exhibition dedicated to European craftsmanship, and an opportunity to visit a venue not normally open to the public.

The Michaelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship believes that it's time to give back and to put the human being back into the center of our systems. An international non-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, the foundation was created by Johann Rupert, chairman of Swiss luxury goods Compagnie Financiere Richemont, and Franco Cologni, former Cartier executive, to celebrate and preserve master craftsmanship around the world and strengthen its connection to design.

Through September 30th, you have the opportunity to watch artisans at work and see the results of the collaborations between artisans and designers, attend conferences and concerts, and interact with over 100 Young Ambassadors, all the while strolling around one of the most beautiful venues on the planet. It's an immersive experience, and I promise you will come away refreshed by the knowledge that there remains an entire domain of humanity that still operates on the highest level.

Young people discovering LUXOS Magazine - Photo: Cat Bauer

I was delighted to see LUXOS Magazine, of which I am a contributing editor, prominently displayed on a wall of quality print magazines, available for free, inside the Homo Faber bookstore. I was even more excited to witness a group of young people discover LUXOS for the first time, and watch them flip through the magazine, intrigued. "What is it? Is it a fashion magazine?" they asked. "It's that, and much more," I explained. "LUXOS focuses on culture as well as brands." Which is a perfect fit with Homo Faber.

"Inside & Out" in the pool at the Giorgio Cini Foundation - Photo: Cat Bauer

There is a huge empty swimming pool inside the Giorgio Cini Foundation, complete with two diving boards. It is not empty any more. With "Fashion Inside and Out," curator and exhibition-maker Judith Clark spotlights the master artisans in the fashion industry who are crucial in bringing contemporary designers' visions to life. Using natural materials, Clark's original staging illustrates how critical craftsmanship is not only to fashion itself, but in the way it is exhibited, with examples by major brands such as Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton on show.

Venetian Way inside the Giorgio Cini Foundation - Photo: Cat Bauer

Susanna Pozzoli, photographer, artist and artisan, had the privilege to enter and experience the goings-on in 21 workshops in Venice and the Veneto Region, which she has documented in "Venetian Way," a series of photographs captured by use of analogue rather than digital photography, and "is about the beauty of loving the work itself." Displayed along the walls of the cloister, Pozzoli's photographs are a journey through the creative process. I was thrilled that the work of one of my dear friends, Sergio Boldrin, had been included. Together with his brother, Massismo, Sergio makes papier-mâché masks in his La Bottega dei Mascareri workshop here in Venice. Sergio is also part of the Doppia Firma (double signature) section, which pairs master artisans with international designers to create unique, original objects.

Montblanc at Homo Faber - Photo: Cat Bauer

One of my favorite experiences was sitting down with Frank Derlien, Head of Final Assembly and Nib Manufacturing at Montblanc, as I sampled a series of fountain pen nibs to decide which one suited me best. Part of the "Discovery and Rediscovery" section, the artisans at Montblanc work through 35 different stages, rolling, stamping and shaping the 18 karat gold nib that perfectly matches an individual's writing style. I am a firm believer that the art of handwriting is a precious human ability that the digital world cannot replace, and Frank confirmed that there was great interest on the part of young people in Montblanc's offerings.

Cat Bauer aboard the yacht Eilean

We had to take our shoes off to climb aboard the Eilean, the legendary 22-metre yacht built by the renowned William Fife boat engineers in Scotland in 1936. Eilean (Gaelic for "little island") is moored in the Venetian lagoon during Homo Faber after being returned to her original splendor. Beautifully restored by master Italian craftsmen and engineers from the Cantiere Francesco Del Carlo di Viareggio, she is an exquisite example of the heights that human hands are capable of reaching.

On the grounds of San Giorgio Maggiore - Photo: Cat Bauer

That is just a very small sample of the offerings on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore through September 30th. There are many more delights waiting at Homo Faber. Crafting a more human future for you to discover, including three free concerts on the last three days of the exhibition (September 28, 29 and 30) at 8pm inside the awe-inspiring Basilica of San Giorgio. A visit to the island will renew your faith in humankind -- which should also include the Vatican Chapels exhibition, part of La Biennale International Architecture Exhibition. Go to the Michelangelo Foundation for more information.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog