The best things to do in Venice for the Biennale
The celebration of art, architecture and culture, has kicked off. Here, a guide to some of the city’s leading lights, local secrets and top tables.
“Venice is really having a moment,” notes Alessandro Gallo, the founder (with his wife, Francesca Rinaldo) of fashion brand Golden Goose. Sporting a long beard and wearing several necklaces over his Peruvian wool sweater, the Italian designer is sitting at a table overlooking the famed Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge, reflections of the sun-dappled water on the stone wall behind him. “It’s always been a magical place, but there is something about the last few years that has attracted a new crowd of artists and creatives here. They are drawn to the rhythm of the city, dictated by a slower, watery pace.”
Gallo and his wife are having a moment as well. A few years ago, they decided to move from fashion into hospitality. “We wanted to evolve into something that was a more complete lifestyle experience where we could express our interest in everything from art to food to design,” he says. Venice was their first choice for their hotel venture; the couple lives with their children not far away on the mainland. They managed to buy one of the oldest palazzos in the city, constructed almost a thousand years ago on the Grand Canal, and spent five years meticulously renovating it. Called the Venice Venice, the hotel soft-launched about two years ago, but the pair was very low-key about communicating the opening. “We wanted to take our time and get everything just right.”
As of this northern spring – timed perfectly for the Venice Biennale – the property is complete, having just debuted a jewel-box of a spa that is also an art installation by Romanian artist Victoria Zidaru created with tubes of linen, some lined with fragrant dried herbs, which is connected to a spectacular indoor pool, as well as their most extravagant suite. With each of its 44 suites filled with artwork from the couple’s impressive collection, and a lively canal-side restaurant, it’s now the ideal place to stay while exploring this floating city during the Biennale, which takes place this year from April 20 to November 24. venicevenice.com
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WHAT TO SEE
Venice Biennale: This year’s edition is dubbed “Foreigners Everywhere” and is curated by Adriano Pedrosa, director of MASP, the São Paulo Museum of Art. Pedrosa says the title has a dual meaning: “First of all, wherever you go and wherever you are you will always encounter foreigners – they/we are everywhere. Second, no matter where you find yourself, you are always truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.” The event spotlights more than 300 artists from around the globe, with a focus on artists who are immigrants, expatriates and refugees. labiennale.org
Secret Venice: Every corner of this bewitching, beautiful city has a hundred stories to tell, and the entertaining guides working for Secret Venice know many of them. A day tour with this boutique company will open doors, and reveal dozens of the city’s enigmas, even to someone who has been here many times. secretvenicetour.com
Good Vibes Murano: This new initiative led by the family-owned Orovetro glass brand is a fun way to learn more about the history of glassmaking in Murano. Once a month they host an evening of live glassmaking performance paired with cocktails, a cabaret-style act and a DJ. goodvibesmurano.com
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
Il Palazzo Experimental: Thanks to the stunning sunset views over the Canale della Giudecca, Ristorante Adriatica, the restaurant and bar at this 32-room hotel, is a favourite aperitivo destination for stylish locals. French designer Dorothée Meilichzon gave this stately Renaissance palace new life with a mid-century modern riff on the city’s grand architecture. New chef Denis Begik is taking the menu into a seasonal, vegetable-forward direction. palazzoexperimental.com
Osteria Ai Assassini: A traditional osteria that has recently reinvented itself, serving simple and authentic Venetian dishes. It’s a cosy, serene setting located between Rialto Bridge and San Marco Square. osteriaaiassassini.it
Osteria Giorgione da Masa: Japanese chef Masahiro Homma has revivified an old-school bistro, and sources local ingredients to create Japanese dishes with a Venetian twist – think prawn dumplings with ponzu sauce and shiso mayonnaise. Reservations are essential. osteriagiorgionedamasa.com
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Harry’s Bar: After 93 years of trading this is still the place to order a Bellini and small plates to share. On a beautiful day head to Harry’s Dolci on Giudecca for a view of the canal plus its heavenly signature meringue cake. Great people-watching at both locations. cipriani.com
Vino Vero: If you prefer a glass of natural wine to a Spritz, this stylish and intimate vino bar is the place to go. The glass-fronted boite is also revered for its excellent cicchetti. vinovero.wine
Caffè La Serra: A charming café set within a historic glasshouse in a green oasis near the Arsenale complex where the main Biennale exhibition takes place. serradeigiardini.org/it/
ART SPACES TO KNOW
For such a small place, with a population of about 50,000, Venice’s historical centre has an extraordinary number of unique world-class art institutions. And they keep coming. Next year the Anish Kapoor Foundation will open in what was once the dilapidated 18th-century Palazzo Manfrin. A few years ago the art collector Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza opened Ocean Space, a ninth-century church transformed into an interdisciplinary arts centre. ocean-space.org
Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Once the private home of this respected and eccentric heiress and art collector, it is now one of the most charming museums in Europe. Running consecutively with the Biennale will be Itay’s first major retrospective dedicated to French writer and visual artist Jean Cocteau. guggenheim-venice.it
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Palazzetto Tito: Home of the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation since being founded in 1898, a venture that has served for years as a launching pad for young painters, from Impressionist Gino Rossi to the Futurist Umberto Boccioni. This year the respected avant-garde curator Milovan Farronato has organised an exhibition of the young Turin-based painter Guglielmo Castelli, which will prove to be a major draw. comune.venezia.it
Le Stanze del Vetro: Marie-Rose Kahane, a designer based in Venice, and her husband helped to establish this modern glass museum on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. It occupies a former 19th-century warehouse skilfully renovated by architect Annabelle Selldorf. Kahane also designs her own glass collection at Yali atelier which is possible to visit by appointment only. lestanzedelvetro.org
