Masters of art in campo Santa Maria Mater Domini. Glass, wood, paper, lead and ink. We’re in Santa Croce, an out of the way and devious district, ‘minor’ Venice only in appearance. A campo, a well, a canal, a frame of Gothic buildings. And much more to explore.
Toni Dalla Venezia. He’s a real character, Toni. He’s not one to stay sitting down, he likes to define himself as conceited and is proud of it. Framer, restorer, gilder, artist. Permanent apprentice. At the age of eleven he was workshop assistant, at sixteen he painted and frescoed. In Cannes he worked for Picasso. His workshop is a chamber of wonders; you go in through a narrow little solitary door between calle and canal. You find machinery, tools, memorabilia, objects and works of art, paper and paints, an old stove with a pewter boiler. A job that is not taught, his, but one you learn. To steal with the eyes
Venezia Stampa is Michele and Luca’s craft workshop. At the end of the 1980s they decided to change their lives and take over a business that was closing down. Lots of recklessness and two Heidelberg machines did the rest. This print shop works on precious paper with early printing techniques, moveable characters and blocks. The artistic prints of original photos of Venice are valuable
The only producer and restorer of stained glass in the city centre, Marco Franzato uses lines, colours and light as the basis of his language. In his workshop he experiments and mixes molten glass, lampwork, decoration, glass and lead. He gives the ancient splendour back to octagons and wheels, typical elements found in Venetian houses, and works on historic stained glass windows, such as those of the Doge’s Palace and Palazzo Papadopoli, and also on contemporary designs. The stained glass for the Cyprus pavilion at the 56th Biennale was his.
Igor Balbi is a Murano glassmaker by birth and training. He began with his family, where he learnt the classic technique of lampwork. Then came the need to progress and the invention of a revolutionary technique of blowing Murano glass that bears his name. Details, colours, the tactile experience are incredible. His wine glasses are light and sinous one-off pieces, a kaleidoscope of colours and chemical reaction. And then chandeliers, furnishing accessories, jewellery and sculpture. Joint projects and group exhibitions are given space in the exhibition gallery next to the workshop.
Bonefolder, scissors, hammer: simple tools, the alphabet of a bookbinder. The Legatoria Lanfranchi withstands time, rebinding and restoring magazines, books, Bibles and documents. Precision and patience like that of a haute couture tailor, in which the Querini Stampalia, the Marciana Library, the Musei Civici, Ca’ Foscari, the Correr Museum and the entire archive of the Gazzettino from 1820 have all put their trust over the years. The papers are beautiful, from the Florentine classics to Rome paper, from Serpente to Buckram. The cutting of the covers is done by hand on a Leipzig press, as is the gold leaf lettering, imprinted with a hot press.
Leave the workshops for the art inside the palazzi. The Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo surprises with its perfume exhibition. Spices, essences, woods and precious aromas live again in the rooms of the museum, in an exciting succession of ancient objects and documents, multimedia tools, sensorial experiences – genuine olfactory stations. The famous Mattioli Herbarium and the first cosmetic recipe book used in Venice in the sixteenth century are on display here. Thanks to the support of Mavive, the Vidal family’s historic Venetian company, and the partnership with the Musei Civici, since last June the museum has been enriched with a perfume laboratory and a White room, a space for temporary events.
Finally, visit Cà Pesaro, a splendid palazzo on the Grand Canal housing the Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna, where you can admire works by Klimt, Chagall and Bonnard, among others, along with the Museum of Oriental Art
on the top floor.
A family atmosphere with design details for your lunch break at Alberto and Giacomo’s Muro San Stae. Excellent pizzas, along with some traditional Venetian seafood preparations and meat dishes. A fine wine cellar, with an interesting selection of Bavarian beers and historic and emerging wines.
F.B.
