Venice in Quarantine, Anno 2020

COVER

Giuseppe Saponaro

The entrance to the Arsenale in Venice was chosen as the cover photo of the e-book Venice in Quarantine, Anno 2020 because for centuries it was the production centre for the ships of the Serenissima, historically a top secret and super-efficient location thanks to unprecedented technologies for assembling naval components. This is the only place, covering 48 hectares, equal to about 15% of the area of the city of Venice, to have a city wall. The rest of the city was protected by the lagoon. The main entrance to the Arsenale is symbolically taken as the entrance to this e-book. The twilight between day and night, or vice versa, poses the question: at the time of Covid-19 are we going to be meeting the night or the day?

© 2020 Psiche Srl, Milano

Edizione: dicembre 2020

ISBN 9788832183108

Psiche Srl

Viale Abruzzi, 4 - 20131 Milano

Tel. 3921511536

direzione@psichesrl.com

I libri di Psiche sono disponibili qui:

http://www.psichesrl.com/libri/

INDEX

AUTHORS

FOREWORDS

COLLABORATORS

FOREWORD by Ludovico Pratesi

FOREWORD by Dietmar Popp

INTRODUCTION by Giuseppe Saponaro

HISTORIC NOTES ON THE QUARANTINE by Susanne Kunz Saponaro

Photographic Album

1. San Marco Basin

2. Piazza San Marco

3. Doge's Palace

4. Churches

5. Grand Canal

6. Rialto Bridge

7. Rialto Market and Shops

8. Rii – Small Canals

9. Rive an Fondamente

10. Calli

11. Campi

12. Bridges

13. Patriotism

14. Venetian Sun

AUTHORS

Concept, Coordination, Co-Author, Photographer

Giuseppe Saponaro, born in Rome in 1958, studied at Pennsylvania State University, Architecture Department, graduated in Architecture at the University of Rome La Sapienza; PhD in Architectural Composition at the University of Rome and the University of Dortmund (Germany); tutoring at Waterloo University (Canada) and at the University of Rome, Architecture Department; Lecturer at the University of Ferrara for the Course of Architectural Design Theories from 2008 to 2020; collaborations with Domus, Controspazio and L’Industria delle Costruzioni magazines; author of monographs and architectural essays; participation to numerous complex architectural projects in Italy and abroad as architect and coordinator; lives in Venice and works as a freelance architect.

Co-Author, Photographer

Susanne Kunz Saponaro, born in Hamm (Germany) in 1958, graduated from WWU-Münster University in Languages, Literature and Pedagogy; studies of Literature and Italian Language at the University for Foreigners of Siena; PhD in Art History at Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome and WWU-Münster; tourist guide activity for Studiosus-Reisen (1983-1992); Lecturer of Contemporary Art History at Akademie Gestaltung Münster (1997-2007) and of Italian Language at Fachhochschule Dortmund (2000-2003); Licensed Tourist Guide for the city of Venice since 2006; author of several publications on Art and Art History for the publishing houses Wissenschaftliche Buchgemeinschaft, Artemis Verlag und Lit Verlag; lives in Venice and works as a tour guide.

https://www.stadtfuehrungen-venedig.de/guided-tours-venice/home.htm

Co-Author

Isabel Kunz Saponaro, born in Münster (Germany) in 1992, Bachelor's Degree in Planning and Management of Cultural Tourism and Master's in Tourism Design at the University of Padua. Since 2019 authorisation from MiBACT, Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities to work as a tourist guide.

FOREWORDS

Dietmar Popp, born in Bayreuth (Germany) in 1963, degree in Art History, Archeology and Monument Conservation at the Universities of Bamberg, Karlsruhe and Berlin; PhD in Art History at Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome with a thesis on fourteenth-century painting in Siena (TU Berlin 1994); participates in research and publications on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Italy; University lecturer in Bamberg and Marburg. Head of Department of Scientific Collections, Photographical Archive, and Art History of East Central Europe at Herder- Institut für historische Ostmitteleuropaforschung in Marburg since 2000; Project-Coordinator and Co-Editor of Dehio-Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler in Ostmitteleuropa; Chairman of the Board of the Böckler-Mare-Balticum-Foundation since 2013.

Ludovico Pratesi, born in Rome in 1961, is a curator and art critic. Currently Artistic Director of Spazio Taverna, the Guastalla Foundation of Contemporary Art and of the Young Collectors Association; Professor of Contemporary Art History at the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino and of Art Didactics at IULM University; writes as art critic for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Arte Mondadori, Artribune, Exibart, Art & Dossier, Flash Art; Artistic Director of Visual Art Centre Peschiera in Pesaro from 2001 to 2017; Vice President of AMACI (Association of Italian Contemporary Art Museums) from 2012 to 2015; author of Perché l'Italia non ama più l'arte contemporanea. Mostre, musei, artisti (Why Italy no longer loves contemporary art. Exhibitions, Museums, Artists) in 2017 and of L'arte di collezionare arte contemporanea nel mondo globale (The art of collecting contemporary art in the global world) in 2019, both for Castelvecchi publishing house.

COLLABORATORS

Graphic Design

Cosima Kunz Saponaro, born in Münster (Germany) in 1993. Bachelor's Degree in Architecture at Peter Behrens Hochschule in Düsseldorf, ongoing Master’s studies in Architecture at Maastricht University and Wuppertal. 

Translations: Italian, German, English

J. Luigi M. Kunz Saponaro, born in Lüdinghausen (Germany) in 1996. Bachelor's Degree in European Studies at Maastricht University, ongoing postgraduate studies in Geopolitics and Strategic Studies at the University Carlos III of Madrid.

We wish to express many thanks to Alessandra Chiozzi Millelire, Michele Ghirardelli, Thomas Krüger, Donal O’Toole and Sabine Ruhnau for the valuable advice and contributions they offered.

FOREWORD

Dietmar Popp

Venice at the time of the pandemic: it is reminiscent of the title of a film. With their extraordinary photographs, Susanne and Giuseppe introduce us to the city, a pure cultural heritage of humanity, forced to be deserted by the coronavirus lockdown. Are we really facing a theatrical drama? Or are we witnessing a captivating historical and cultural documentation with idealized visions and a background of critical evaluation? Venice - free from the crowds! But where is the vibrant life for which the lagoon city has been famous for centuries? Venice without Venetians, without people socialising in the campi, in the alleys, on the canals, could look sad.

During an imaginary walk, the photographs, organised in 14 chapters in addition to the introduction, convey an ambivalent feeling, with emotional ups and downs. At first, the undisturbed view of the buildings and of the monumental architectural structures is fascinating. Nothing distracts the eye.

The magnificent facades of famous buildings, the streets and different perspectives, the waterways, the bridges; the architectural, historical and artistic jewels appear clear and distinct. They recall the views painted three centuries ago by Canaletto and Guardi, although those were pulsating with life. 

A fantastic moment for Venice enthusiasts and architecture lovers. The ideal world made real, the pure and crystal-clear idea of Venice. The essence of this unique and fascinating city in the water, one might think. Nothing stands in the way of the view of the cultural heritage, of the buildings and works of art. Like an X-ray that shines through the body, it smooths the discordances and shows the structure, the tectonics, the underlying action