VeniceWord.com

go to the menù

go to the content of the page

Menù

go to the content of the page

Welcome

We suggest

News

ABOUT US

Events

Traditions & Festivals

Visitors' Area

buongiorno venezia

buongiorno venezia weekly newsletter by veniceword.com

Did you receive "Buongiorno Venezia" from a friend? Get your own free subscription here!

NOTICE: If you wish to reprint this information, we ask you to please credit our site (and a link to our site would be greatly appreciated). If you need special reports or photographs about Venice, our journalists can help -- just send us a message telling us what you need.

Greetings from Venice!


See the webcam over the Calatrava bridge at and the other active webcams of Venice clicking here

NEWS. It's possible that there will be no concert in St. Mark's Square during Carnival 2009. A proposed concert by the popular Italian singer Jovanotti has been refused by the Municipality, which does not want mass events in the square but wishes, instead, for less raucous celebrations spread throughout the city. It has not been confirmed whether fireworks will permitted on New Year's Eve, as they were last

NEWS.  1, 2 or 3? The Municipality has been asked not to cancel  waterbus line number 3, which is said to be too expensive, but maintaining it would cost one million euros. The alternative is having more frequent "vaporettos" on the other two lines -- 1 and 2 -- though this plan involves a big budget, too. If the proposals are related to the approaching city elections, no one would be surprised since, suddenly, money does not seem to be a problem. The general response is "We'll find it."

NEWS.  Massimo Cacciari announced that he'll quit politics after the end of his term as mayor of Venice. He cannot stand for election again because he has already served two terms. Cacciari declared that he'll return teaching (he is a university professor of philosophy), but Venetians recall that he made the same declaration after the end of his first mandate.

NEWS.  There are new insights on the life of Antonio Vivaldi, the famous Italian musician and composer of the classical "Four Seasons" violin concertos. According to new research, Antonio Vivaldi, who was a priest, had a son who died at the age of one in a shipwreck that also claimed the life of the boy's mother in 1711. Vivaldi was waiting for his family in the Genoa harbour, but the ship never arrived. This terrible and previously unknown episode of his life was discovered by historian and film director Liana Marabini, now shooting her "Vivaldi, il prete rosso" television movie (he was called "the red priest" after his red hair). The film is due to premiere in the spring of 2009 in Venice, with a soundtrack performed by the renowned Solisti Veneti directed by Claudio Scimone.

NEWS.  The International Theatre Workshop is taking place in Venice from 27 October to 29 November 2008. Shortly after, the 40th International Theatre Festival will take place, running from 20 February to 8 March 2009. The programme of the Venice Biennale's Theatre section is closely integrated in to two segments. The first, in October-November 2008, features an international training and specialisation workshop; the second, in 2009, will incorporate an International Theatre Festival in February of that year. Both are associated with a single artistic theme: the Mediterranean.

The director of the Theatre section, Maurizio Scaparro, has conceived Venice as a workshop-city. Through the use of open-air spaces (San Trovaso, San Maurizio, and Santa Maria Formosa squares) and in the Arsenale venues, the Venice Biennale has, over the years, become a lively place for innovative creativity in disciplines beyond the merely theatrical. In historical spaces, the present is set, and tradition is newly interpreted with the eyes of contemporaneity. An Ariadne's thread made of water will reach from the middle of the lagoon to the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea being the theme of the Theatre section's current activities. In November 2008, Lebanese director Roger Assaf will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Many of the workshops scheduled in October-November will then be part of the 40th International Theatre Festival, which will run from 20 February to 8 March 2009. The International Theatre Workshop also includes performances in front of an audience.
 


 FOOD. The Espresso Guide has announced the best restaurants in Italy. The top spots in Venice, in the guide authors' opinions, are still two hotel restaurants -- the Bauer's and the Metropole's. 

According to the Espresso Guide, these are the Top Ten restaurants in the Veneto region:

* Le Calandre, Loc. Sarmeola, Rubano (Padova), tel. 049.630303, closed on Sunday and Monday. Average price per person: 150 euro
* Perbellini, Isola Rizza (Verona), tel. 045.7135352; closed on Monday, Tuesday, Sunday evening. Average price: 130 euro
* La Peca, Lonigo (Vicenza), tel. 0444.830214. Closed on Monday and Sunday evening. Average price: 98 euro
* Dolada, Loc. Plois, Pieve d'Alpago, tel. 0437.479141, Open only PM; closed on Monday and Sunday. Average price: 85 euro
* Locanda San Lorenzo, Puos d'Alpago, tel. 0437.454048, Closed on Wednesday. Average price: 65 euro
* Hotel Villa del Quar Arquade, Loc. Pedemonte, San Pietro in Cariano (Verona), tel. 045.6800681,  closed on Monday. Average price: 100 euro
* Laite, Borgata Hoffe 10, Sappada, tel. 0435.46907, Closed on Wedneday and Thursday lunch. Average price: 70 euro
* Il Desco, Verona, tel. 045.595358, closed on Monday and Sunday. Average price: 120 euro
* Antica Osteria Cera, Loc. Lughetto, Campagna Lupia (Venezia), tel. 041.5185009, closed on Monday and Sunday evening. Average price: 100 euro
*  Locanda di Piero, Montecchio Precalcino, tel. 0445.864827, Closed on Sunday, Monday lunch. Average price: 65 euro

Not to miss. Biennale Architecture: the 11th International Architecture Exhibition - "Out There: Architecture Beyond Building", curated by Aaron Betsky - will take place in Venice (Giardini and Arsenale) until 23 November 2008.

The 11th International Architecture Exhibition Out There: Architecture Beyond Building runs in Venice until November 23rd.  Frank O. Gehry was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. In the Arsenale venues, visitors may see 23 Installations, whereas in the Padiglione Italia at Giardini they discover the experimental work of 55 international firms and a survey of the Masters of the Experiment. "The challenge of the 11th Venice Architecture Biennale," director Aaron Betsky emphasises, "is to collect and encourage experimentation in architecture. Such experimentation can take the form of momentary constructions, visions of other worlds, or the building blocks of a better world. This Biennale does not want to present buildings that are already in existence and can be enjoyed in real life. It does not want to propose abstract solutions to social problems, but wants to see if architecture, by experimenting in and on the real world, can offer some concrete forms or seductive images".

REMINDER. Italian architect and designer Marcello Morandini, with two separate exhibitions, is one of the protagonists on the cultural scene in Venice. In addition to "Bianco, Nero, Azzurro Cielo" which is being presented in his reference gallery Giudecca 795 alongside work by his wife Teresa, Morandini is having an important show at Ca' Pesaro (the Museum of Modern Art in Venice).
Marking the occasion of the Architecture Biennale.the exhibit "Morandini & Morandini - Bianco, Nero e Azzurro Cielo" at the Giudecca795 Art Gallery until 16 November,  for the first time  presents the artwork of a very special couple: Marcello Morandini, who has become a reference point for designers around the world, and his wife Teresa Barisi, a talented hyper-realistic painter. One of the most renowned artists in constructivist art since his early debut at the Venice Biennale in 1968, Morandini has devoted his work to elementary geometric shapes, mostly black & white sculptures and objects in Plexiglas, porcelain, and wood. The sculptures' shapes are often developed on the basis of individually constituted mathematical systems. The reduction of colour to black and white thereby creates a focus on the shapes and their aesthetic value. The exhibition at the Giudecca 795 Art Gallery presents recent works which are "married" to the paintings by his wife Teresa. Though the two styles look incompatible at first sight, they are not. As in any successful marriage, the two different personalities share common elements that are complementary. Teresa Barisi Morandini's work acts as astonishingly real scenery for the architect's optical sculptures, shown as if they were in their intended environment.

SERVICES. Avoid queues at the ticket office... We are launching a new service for the online purchase and home (or hotel) delivery of  Venicecard tickets, complete with a map and PDF guide. Please allow 10-15 days for mail delivery!!! Click for details.

venicecard ticketvenicecard kit

You may remember a series of children books dedicated to a young "detective", Nancy Drew. She's back in a videogame, which offers a new perspective to discover Venice, with the 360 degrees images of its set.

In  "Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice," from Her Interactive for the PC, Nancy has been invited to Venice by the Italian police to help them solve a series of crimes where priceless Venetian artifacts have been stolen. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Venice, as depicted in almost photo-realistic scenes, the mystery takes you around the city to many of its famous piazzas and other locations, letting you ride on gondolas to get from place to place. You play as Nancy and see Venice through her eyes. The game uses point-and-click navigation, with several of the scenes allowing you to look in 360-degree views by placing your cursor at the edge of the screen. The book which inspired the videogame is PHANTOM OF VENICE (NANCY DREW 78): PHANTOM OF VENICE (Nancy Drew).

Wish to comment?
Click http://blog.buongiornovenezia.com/

Would you like to own a gondola?  Buy a gondola, "park" it in Venice, and someone will take care of it for you in the wintertime, ensuring that you'll always have your own gondolier when you come to Venice, (and even give you rowing lessons, if you wish, so that you can be the gondolier!). Or you may decide to have the gondola packed and shipped home. This strange but, just as strangely, well-received idea already has many fans. If you're interested, contact us. (More about gondolas)

DO YOU LIKE THIS NEWSLETTER? Share "Buongiorno Venezia" with someone who loves art, culture, romance, and the special, quirky qualities that make Venice so unique. Just forward a copy.

QUESTIONS? SPONSORS? Contact us.

 

top of the page