The Multiplicity of Serenissima
Venice is a mosaic of history, culture, art and mystery.
With its labyrinthine streets and canals, Venice is an infinite intertwining of "genius loci".
Every corner, even the narrowest, hidden and least frequented, seems to have its soul,
a unique spirit that invites the wanderer to stop, listen and perceive.
This multiplicity results from a thousand-year history and a particular geographical
conformation, shaping a unique urban environment.
The "genius loci" finds a particularly complex and layered expression in Venice.
The city is a kaleidoscopic collection of places with different spirits, each telling a story.
Each "sestiere" (the six traditional districts of the city) has a distinct identity. San Marco,
with its famous square and Basilica, is Venice's symbolic and touristic heart.
The "genius" is grandeur and splendour, representing power, devotion,
and contemporary cultural consumerism.
Places like Dorsoduro, with its art galleries and bohemian atmosphere, or Cannaregio,
linked to the daily life of the Venetians and the memory of the Jewish Ghetto.
Castello, the largest sestiere, preserves the city's maritime origins with its shipyards
and the quiet of the less frequented areas.
Venice does not live only in the present: every stone, wall, and canal is a living archive.
The "Serenissima" was a crossroads of cultures, a maritime empire,
and a centre of commercial and cultural exchanges between East and West.
Venice's intimate relationship with water is a central element of its character.
The canals are communication routes and integral to the city's landscape.
Water reflects light and shapes, creating shadows and colours that constantly change.
The sound of water lapping against the foundations or the noise of an oar or a marine engine
adds a sensory element that cannot be separated from the experience of the place.
Venice's Albanian, Armenian, Greek, Dalmatian, and Jewish communities left
a deep mark on the city. Then there is the Venice of the Venetians,
descendants of those who built the city on water to escape the barbarian invasions.
Their number is constantly decreasing, which has attracted the interest of, among others,
Marc De Tollenaere, an artist who, with his photographic work "One, No One And Fifty Thousand", celebrated the unconditional love for Venice by those who did not want to leave it.
Each community has left its mark, transforming buildings, streets and islands
into spaces that tell stories of encounter, exchange and coexistence.
This intertwining of cultures has made Venice a universe in which different souls coexist,
making each visit an inexhaustible discovery.