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Venues in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. Venice has been known as "La Dominante", "La Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork. Venice is known for several important artistic movements—especially during the Renaissance period—and has played an important role in the history of instrumental and operatic music, and is the birthplace of Baroque composers Tomaso Albinoni and Antonio Vivaldi.

Although the city is facing some challenges (including an excessive number of tourists and problems caused by pollution, tide peaks and cruise ships sailing too close to buildings), Venice remains a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has been ranked many times the most beautiful city in the world. It has been described by the Times Online as one of Europe's most romantic cities and by The New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man".

Venice is built on unstable mud-banks, and had a very crowded city centre by the Middle Ages. On the other hand, the city was largely safe from riot, civil feuds, and invasion much earlier than most European cities. These factors, with the canals and the great wealth of the city, made for unique building styles.

Venice has a rich and diverse architectural style, the most prominent of which is the Gothic style. Venetian Gothic architecture is a term given to a Venetian building style combining the use of the Gothic lancet arch with the curved ogee arch, due to Byzantine and Ottoman influences. The style originated in 14th-century Venice, with a confluence of Byzantine style from Constantinople, Islamic influences from Spain and Venice's eastern trading partners, and early Gothic forms from mainland Italy. Chief examples of the style are the Doge's Palace and the Ca' d'Oro in the city. The city also has several Renaissance and Baroque buildings, including the Ca' Pesaro and the Ca' Rezzonico.

Venetian taste was conservative and Renaissance architecture only really became popular in buildings from about the 1470s. More than in the rest of Italy, it kept much of the typical form of the Gothic palazzi, which had evolved to suit Venetian conditions. In turn the transition to Baroque architecture was also fairly gentle. This gives the crowded buildings on the Grand Canal and elsewhere an essential harmony, even where buildings from very different periods sit together. For example, round-topped arches are far more common in Renaissance buildings than elsewhere.

It can be argued that Venice produced the best and most refined Rococo designs. At the time, the Venetian economy was in decline. It had lost most of its maritime power, was lagging behind its rivals in political importance, and its society had become decadent, with tourism increasingly the mainstay of the economy. But Venice remained a centre of fashion. Venetian rococo was well known as rich and luxurious, with usually very extravagant designs. Unique Venetian furniture types included the divani da portego, and long rococo couches and pozzetti, objects meant to be placed against the wall. Bedrooms of rich Venetians were usually sumptuous and grand, with rich damask, velvet, and silk drapery and curtains, and beautifully carved rococo beds with statues of putti, flowers, and angels. Venice was especially known for its beautiful girandole mirrors, which remained among, if not the, finest in Europe. Chandeliers were usually very colourful, using Murano glass to make them look more vibrant and stand out from others; and precious stones and materials from abroad were used, since Venice still held a vast trade empire. Lacquer was very common, and many items of furniture were covered with it, the most noted being lacca povera (poor lacquer), in which allegories and images of social life were painted. Lacquerwork and Chinoiserie were particularly common in bureau cabinets.

Venice, especially during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and Baroque periods, was a major centre of art and developed a unique style known as the Venetian School. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Venice, along with Florence and Rome, became one of the most important centres of art in Europe, and numerous wealthy Venetians became patrons of the arts. Venice at the time was a rich and prosperous Maritime Republic, which controlled a vast sea and trade empire.

In the 16th century, Venetian painting was developed through influences from the Paduan School and Antonello da Messina, who introduced the oil painting technique of the Van Eyck brothers. It is signified by a warm colour scale and a picturesque use of colour. Early masters were the Bellini and Vivarini families, followed by Giorgione and Titian, then Tintoretto and Veronese. In the early 16th century, there was rivalry in Venetian painting between the disegno and colorito techniques.

Canvases (the common painting surface) originated in Venice during the early Renaissance. These early canvases were generally rough. In the 18th century, Venetian painting had a revival with Tiepolo's decorative painting and Canaletto's and Guardi's panoramic views.

Venice is known for its ornate glass-work, known as Venetian glass, which is world-renowned for being colourful, elaborate, and skilfully made. Many of the important characteristics of these objects had been developed by the 13th century. Toward the end of that century, the center of the Venetian glass industry moved to Murano, an offshore island in Venice. The glass made there is known as Murano glass.

Byzantine craftsmen played an important role in the development of Venetian glass. When Constantinople was sacked in the Fourth Crusade in 1204, some fleeing artisans came to Venice; when the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453, still more glassworkers arrived. By the 16th century, Venetian artisans had gained even greater control over the colour and transparency of their glass, and had mastered a variety of decorative techniques. Despite efforts to keep Venetian glassmaking techniques within Venice, they became known elsewhere, and Venetian-style glassware was produced in other Italian cities and other countries of Europe.

Some of the most important brands of glass in the world today are still produced in the historical glass factories on Murano. They are: Venini, Barovier & Toso, Pauly, Millevetri, and Seguso. Barovier & Toso is considered one of the 100 oldest companies in the world, formed in 1295.

The city of Venice in Italy has played an important role in the development of the music of Italy. The Venetian state – i.e., the medieval Republic of Venice – was often popularly called the "Republic of Music", and an anonymous Frenchman of the 17th century is said to have remarked that "In every home, someone is playing a musical instrument or singing. There is music everywhere."

During the 16th century, Venice became one of the most important musical centers of Europe, marked by a characteristic style of composition (the Venetian school) and the development of the Venetian polychoral style under composers such as Adrian Willaert, who worked at St Mark's Basilica. Venice was the early center of music printing; Ottaviano Petrucci began publishing music almost as soon as this technology was available, and his publishing enterprise helped to attract composers from all over Europe, especially from France and Flanders. By the end of the century, Venice was known for the splendor of its music, as exemplified in the "colossal style" of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, which used multiple choruses and instrumental groups. Venice was also the home of many noted composers during the baroque period, such as Antonio Vivaldi, Ippolito Ciera, Giovanni Picchi, and Girolamo Dalla Casa, to name but a few.

Venice is the home of numerous symphony orchestras such as, the Orchestra della Fenice, Rondò Veneziano, Interpreti Veneziani, and Venice Baroque Orchestra.

The Carnival of Venice is held annually in the city, It lasts for around two weeks and ends on Shrove Tuesday. Venetian masks are worn.

The Venice Biennale is one of the most important events in the arts calendar. In 1895 an Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale (biennial exhibition of Italian art) was inaugurated. In September 1942, the activities of the Biennale were interrupted by the war, but resumed in 1948.

The Festa del Redentore is held in mid-July. It began as a feast to give thanks for the end of the plague of 1576. A bridge of barges is built connecting Giudecca to the rest of Venice, and fireworks play an important role.

The Venice Film Festival (Italian: Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica di Venezia) is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932 as the Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. It is one of the world's most prestigious film festivals and is part of the Venice Biennale.

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Venues in Venice (18)

Campo San Fantin, 1965
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre", and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice became the site of many famous operatic premieres at which the works of several of the four major bel canto era composers – Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi – were performed.
San Marco, 4810
It is the seat of the oldest Venetian confraternity built around the 8th century as a sign of devotion to the first patron saint of the city of Venice. Two minutes from the Rialto Bridge, in its spaces, it hosts congresses, conferences, exhibitions and in the evening the concerts of the I Musici Veneziani orchestra.
San Marco 2504 - Fondamenta Duodo o Barbarigo
The Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto is a 15th-century palace on the Grand Canal in Venice, northern Italy. Built in the Venetian Gothic style, it was originally two palaces, Palazzo Barbarigo and Palazzo Minotto, later joined together. The Barbarigo palace was owned by the Barbarigo family for several centuries and was the birthplace of Gregorio Barbarigo, who once refused the Papal Crown. It was later owned by the Minotto and Martinengo families.
Campo San Vio
St George's Church, Venice is an Anglican parish church in Venice, Italy in the Diocese in Europe.
Piazza San Marco 315
Virtuosi di Venezia repropose the compositions of Vivaldi on the Ateneo of San Basso, a place, as well as prestigious, well known for having the same dimensions of the Pietà Institue music hall, which no longer exists in which Vivaldi composed at the Institute of Charity.
Riva de Biasio, 927
With its extraordinary gardens and its frescoed rooms, the Cà Nigra Lagoon Resort offers you the ideal setting for any type of event you would like to organize in Venice, whether it be cultural, corporate or worldly: installations and art exhibitions, cocktails, receptions, theme parties, gala dinners, conferences, workshops, training courses, team building, photoshooting.
Sestiere Dorsoduro, 2596
The Zenobio Palace is one-of-a-kind palace situated next to the anabranch of the Canale Grande.
Campiello S. Vidal, 2862
San Vidal (San Vitale) is a former church, and now an event and concert hall located at one end of the Campo Santo Stefano in the Sestiere of San Marco, where it leads into the Campillo San Vidal, and from there to the Ponte dell'Accademia that spans the Grand Canal and connects to the Sestiere of Dorsoduro, Venice.
Piazza San Marco 1
The Doge's Palace (Italian: Palazzo Ducale; Venetian: Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic. It was built in 1340 and extended and modified in the following centuries.
Santa Croce, 578
The real journey starts here. Discover the charm, elegance and warmth of the Hotel Carlton on the Grand Canal meeting!
Riva degli Schiavoni, 4196
A stone's throw from Piazza San Marco, along the banks of the Schiavoni, stands the building built for the Dandolo family in the fourteenth century, with a beautiful Gothic facade. Seat of famous receptions, in 1822 it was transformed into a hotel by Giuseppe Dal Niel, a mallet known as 'Danieli', which modifies; in the neo-gothic style, the splendid hall, thanks to the architect Tranquillo Orsi.
San Marco, 1332
Traditional Hotel joining two 18th & 19th century buildings, located near St. Mark's Square, with fine view of the Grand Canal. Definitely worth discovering are the Grand Canal Restaurant with an internal dining room and a splendid outdoor terrace; the sumptuous Ridotto, a multipurpose room surrounded by intimate ambiance, perfect for organizing celebratory, convivial or corporate events.
Viale Santa Margherita, 31
The Splendid Venice is a 4-star hotel in Venice, Italy, located between St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge. The hotel is owned by the Starhotels group and has 165 rooms (including 16 suites). The hotel has a private dock on the canals for access by gondola or water taxi.
San Polo 2368
Palazzetto Bru Zane is a French-administered cultural institution, research centre and concert hall, in Venice, in north-eastern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzetto Bru Zane, an annex to the Palazzo Zane Collalto], on the Rio Marin in the sestiere of San Polo. The centre opened in October 2009. It is funded by the Fondation Bru, which also bought, restored and renamed the Casino Zane. The centre uses the name Palazzetto Bru Zane - Centre de musique romantique française.
Sestiere San Polo, 2766
Palazzo Pisani Moretta is a palace situated along the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy (in the sestiere of San Polo) between Palazzo Tiepolo and Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza.
Campiello della Scuola
The Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista is a confraternity building located in the San Polo sestiere of the Italian city of Venice. Founded in the 13th century by a group of flagellants it was later to become one of the five Scuole Grandi of Venice.
Piazza San Marco, 328
St. Mark’s Music Chapel was born at the beginning of the 14th century and very soon it becomes the centre of Venetian musical life, where style and ways of considering music suited to the magnificence of the Basilica developed. At the second half of the 16th century a new musical thought evolved leading to a radical change that influenced the centuries that followed. In the period when the greatest Renaissance composers actively took part in the Chapel’s life (Willaert, Merulo, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, and Monteverdi), “broken choirs“, echo sonatas – the instrumental parts with melodic lines not the same as the choral lines – were born in the Basilica, a new way of connecting music and word defines and with the aid of new instrumental techniques a new conception of the sound evolves.
Fondamenta Manin, 1
Steeped in history, the Medieval Church di Santa Chiara is one of the most ancient structures on the Island of Murano whose halls have previously hosted everyone from simple nuns to exalted Doges and even Casanova.  Recently restored and reopened to the public, The Glass Cathedral - Santa Chiara now offers the ideal balance of ambiance, entertainment and comfort perfect for masquerade balls, corporate events, private parties and all of your events in Venice. The Glass Cathedral - Santa Chiara is a stunning events venue with a large banquet hall, full service bar, private glass working furnace and many other amenities.
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