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Venice in PerilThe British Committee for the Preservation of Venice

2 Venice in Peril Newsletter

If the mobile barriers currently beingbuilt between the Adriatic and thelagoon had already been in action,Venice would not have been floodedon 1 December. This was the worstflood since 1985, reaching 156cmabove the mean water level mark.

Unfortunately, a shortage in State funding has alreadycaused the estimated date of the barriers’ completion toslip from 2012 to 2014.

At this time of financial hardship, what are the prospectsthat Venice, which requires and will require constantexpenditure to survive, will be adequately protected?

The mayor of the city, Massimo Cacciari, who has alwaysopposed the barriers, makes political capital out of thefact that the city’s ordinary budget has been drasticallycut to finance their construction and he encourages apopular belief in Venice and beyond that they are notnecessary. He even made the illogical remark after thislatest flood that they were a waste of money since it was23 years since the waters had risen so high. Theestimated cost of the barriers is €4.272 billion. To date,€2.443 billion has been voted, of which €1.963 billion asbeen spent; 46% of the work is complete.

Mobile barriers are, however, indispensable: this was theconclusion of the conference held by CambridgeUniversity in 2002, attended by over 100 scientists andfinanced by the Venice in Peril Fund as part of a wide-reaching three-year research programme into the stateof knowledge about the lagoon and proposed solutionsto the flooding.

When the barriers are in place, even the small acque altewill be prevented as they will be closed when the tide ispredicted to rise to 110cm above mean water level, thelevel when the campi and calli begin to be awash, whichhas happened 55 times between 1996 and 2005.

The Cambridge conference also warned, however, thatmobile barriers would only give Venice the time todevelop whatever protection needs to come next, as nosolution for Venice is for ever. The water level is alreadyso high as to be eroding the fabric of the city. Theecological predicament of the lagoon is constantlychanging and the effects of global warming, while as yetincalculable, are highly unlikely to be positive.

After the environment, the greatest threat to the futureof Venice is the absence of any long term planning bythe authorities for the protection of the city, and withoutlong term planning there can be no long term researchor long term projections as to how the costs will becovered. The most powerful reason why such planningdoes not take place is that the Venice question hasbecome deeply and damagingly politicized. No issue isconsidered on its merits alone, but on how it playswithin party politics. At a time of financial crisis,political factors are likely to weigh even more heavily,which is bad news for Venice.

The Venice in Peril Fund appeals to the Italianauthorities, at national, regional and city level, torecognize that the future of Venice will always needexceptional funding, long term planning andcollaboration between politicians of all parties to survive.

Venice is a treasure for all mankind and the world is watching. ■

Anna Somers Cocks

Chairman

Chairman’s Message

What prospects for Venice at a time of financial crisis

Front cover: Piazzetta of St. Mark’s.Plakativ Media have beengiven the right to subletthis hoarding space inexchange for financingthe restoration of theBiblioteca Marciana,opposite the Doge’sPalace. They have similarlyacquired the right to putan ad half the size of anOlympic swimming poolon the Museo Correr,opposite the Basilica.

The Venice in PerilNewsletter is printed on recycled paper, Evolve Silk

Sickert in Venice 3

Venice News 4

Il Nuovo Trionfo 5

The Abandoned Islands of the Venetian Lagoon 5

Venice is becoming a city of mega-advertising butoutsiders are making the real money 6

Conserving the memory of Venice’s Scuole piccole 7

How the Veneto has betrayed Palladio 8

Obituary: Michael Edward Mallett 10

W.H. Patterson Gallery’s Annual Exhibition 11

Venice is a management challenge 12

Premio Venezia Concert 2008 13

The Leading Travel Companies ConservationFoundation 14

My Venetian Dozen 16

In this issue

shows off his special talent for mysteriouscolour – decorative, yet somehowbrooding. He was fascinated, also, by otherfamous ‘tourist’ views, of Sta Maria della

Salute and, of course, The Rialto of 1901.

As his love affair with Venice progresses,there is a change of focus: he starts to seepast the magnificent buildings and begins tofocus on people. Gradually he movesindoors. Two catalysts in this process werehis two favourite models, two working-classwomen called La Giuseppina and LaCarolina. The denizens of Venice were, ofcourse, famous in their own right for theirpicturesque qualities, and these two womenwith their extraordinary geisha-likeconstructions of hair (La Giuseppina against a

Map of Venice, 1903) clearly fascinated him.Recording their interaction within shadowyrooms, as in his Conversation of 1903 or The

Women on a Sofa – Le Tose of c.1903-4, ledultimately to his ‘Camden Town’ interiors;even his later obsession with nudes in aninterior was foreshadowed in Venice.

Venice inspired and continues to inspiremany artists; Sickert found in the city notjust a fabulous setting to paint, but alsosome of his most profoundly personalthemes. Focussing on not just the Venetian

output provides someravishing images, italso gives us a genuine insight intothe forces thatmoulded his career. ■Ian A C Dejardin

Director,

Dulwich Picture Gallery

3

Sickert in Venice

In 2007 Dulwich Picture Gallery hostedthe single most successful exhibition in itshistory, Canaletto in England. In 2009 theGallery offers a kind of reciprocal visit inthe exhibition Sickert in Venice. TheVenetian Canaletto was at the height of hispowers and fame when he visited thiscountry; but the exhibition showed that heresponded creatively and qualitatively tothe demands of England’s very differenttownscape and countryside. By the timethat Walter Sickert first discovered Venice,the image of the city had saturated theEnglish psyche, not only in the universallypopular works of his illustrious Italianfellow-artist, but in the passionate writingsof John Ruskin in the 1850s, his Stones of

Venice amounted to a rediscovery of the cityin its Gothic and Romanesque buildings.Meanwhile, other artists had made it theirown, Turner’s limpid watercoloursdominating the field. Sickert was at thestart of his career in 1895, when he firstvisited, and in a series of visits over the next10 years, he effectively forged his style andthe themes that were to dominate hisoutput thereafter.

Sickert fell in love with the buildings atfirst, and his model in painting them wouldseem to have been Claude Monet. Just asMonet repeatedly painted Rouen Cathedralat different times of day, Sickert tackled thefamous façade and domes of St Mark’s in abeautiful series of paintings that will be oneof the highlights of this gorgeous show.Sickert is one of the very greatest colouriststhat England ever produced (I say England:he was, of course, born in Germany, butraised here). He seems to me to be neitherimpressionist nor expressionist in his use ofcolour, although he was well informedabout the latest developments in painting,and was indeed one of the most importantconduits for importing new ideas intoBritish art. The colour harmonies heprovides are unique to him, but if youtwisted my arm I would say that the artisthe most reminds me of – in colour only, ofcourse – is Vuillard.

He is at his most Monet-like in thedazzling The Horses of St Mark’s of c.1905,but his lovely St Mark’s, Venice of c.1896-7

Sickert in Venice will be on

view at Dulwich Picture Gallery,

Gallery Road, London SE21 7AD

from 4 March to 31 May 2009.

For more information visit

www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

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Walter Sickert, The Rialto Bridge, 1901, oil on canvas

Sickert in Venice 4 March – 31 May 2009

Venice in Peril Private View and Reception

Wednesday 4 March 20096.30pm

There will be an introduction to theexhibition by Ian Dejardin,

Director, Dulwich Picture Gallery

A special coach will leave at 5.45pmfrom outside Sloane Square tube station returning by

approximately 9pm

A booking form is enclosed with thisnewsletter.

Please call the Venice in Peril Office ifyou require further information.

Tickets: £45 to include a receptionand optional transport

4 Venice in Peril Newsletter

Venice News & Current Venice in Peril Projects

The inexorable flow of tourists,traditionally at a peak in September,dropped off significantly this year.According to the local StatisticsConsortium this drop was partly a generaltrend, inevitably linked to the world-wideeconomic situation. After a season ofoperating at half capacity, the additionalvaporetto Line 3, which had beenintroduced to meet residents’ complaints ofovercrowding, was withdrawn at the end ofthe summer. The Venetian feast of StaMaria della Salute on 21 November saw anexpected swell in numbers, and the basilicawas packed with people wanting to hear theCardinal Patriarch preach at the 10 o’clockMass.

Association of InternationalCommitteesThe 36th Annual General Meeting of the22nd “Comitati Privati” (InternationalVoluntary committees) took place 23-25October in Palazzo Zorzi. In the 40 yearperiod of their existence, the Committeeshave financed projects of varyingproportions to a value of some €50 million,and during the financial year July 2007 toJune 2008 the total committed was 2million Euros. Delegates were addressed bythe Director of the UNESCO office inVenice, Dr Ruoss, and his Director forCulture, Mme Roudil, as well asrepresentatives of the Region, Province andMunicipality, the representative of theCardinal Patriarch and by the tworepresentatives of the Ministry for CulturalHeritage and Environment, dott.ssa NepiSciré and arch Renata Codello.

There was a lively discussion criticising theaggressive commercial publicity erected onpublic buildings in exchange for‘sponsorship’ of restoration work,particularly in the area of Piazza S. Marcoand Palazzo Ducale. (See the Chairman’smessage, page 2.)

Next year’s Annual General Meeting willbe held on 22-23 October.

Municipal Housing for Residentsand University StudentsPlans have been announced jointly by the

Councillor for Public Works and theUniversity of Architecture’s Foundation forthe long delayed re-development of certainsites that will provide accommodation forVenetian residents on the waiting list andstudents of the two universities. Fundingwill come from the Ministry for Educationas well as local sources. One notable site inCannaregio is the ex-convent of theCrociferi (next to the church of theGesuiti) transformed into a barracks duringthe Napoleonic occupation. If thefeasibility study, tendering and executiongo to plan this should be ready for 2011.Other sites to be renovated are an ex-glassfactory on Murano, the former Scalera filmstudio area on the Giudecca, the campoCelestia near S. Francesco della Vigna, alsoin the area of S. Pietro di Castello.Additionally, the ex-slaughter housecomplex at S.Giobbe – home of theDepartment of Economics at University ofCa’Foscari – will be redeveloped. A housein an adjacent calle was restored in a jointproject between Venice in Peril and theComune from 1997 to 2006. This providesfour family units.

The Flood BarriersThe Municipality still resents thecontinuation of funding for the barrierscheme, which, it claims, deprives them ofresources for vital maintenance. Theirappeal to the local Regional Tribunal toblock funding to the Consorzio VeneziaNuova for the construction of a village forthe 500-strong work force engaged in thebuilding has been rejected.

Meteorological high tides predicted inVenice for late November wereovershadowed by considerable flooding onthe mainland, particularly in eastern Venetowhere several rivers burst their banks. On1 December the city was flooded to 156cmsover the mean water level, the worstepisode since 1985. There was repeatedflooding during the rest of the month.

The Armstrong Mitchell Crane inthe ArsenaleVenice in Peril has adopted this solesurvivor of a number of cranes made inNewcastle upon Tyne in the 1880s. So far

we have financed its stabilisation and adetailed study, under the direction of theSuperintendency, of how it should berestored. Due to the risks involved inremoving the ballast from itscounterbalance chamber, which musthowever be done as its casing is cracking,the estimate has come in at €2.5 million,nearly three times the initial figure. We aredetermined to continue with this project,and we are consulting with other experts inthe field. The crane was seen by thousandsof visitors to the Architecture Biennale,which closed 23 November.

Lazzaretto NuovoThis season’s educational programme,administered most efficiently by dott.Gerolamo Fazzini and volunteers from theArcheo Club d’Italia/Ekos Club, closed on23 November. It ended with awards for theyoung participants in the summer schooland an excellent presentation by ProfMatteo Borrini, forensic archaeologist fromFlorence University, of a new, permanentdisplay of skeletal remains and artefacts.These remains and artefacts were excavatedfrom the quarantine island, a place wherethe crews of ships arriving from the Orientwere held until they were judged to beclear of infection. Victims of the bubonicplague (the first in 1365 left victims in theLazzaretto Vecchio and at S.Marco inBoccalama) were housed for the briefperiod of the fatal infection in cells open tothe air. The subsequent plague of 1630caused thousand of deaths, its finaltermination being commemorated inthanksgiving by the re-building of thechurch now known as Sta Maria dellaSalute, designed by Longhena.

Subject to receiving a detailed descriptionof the work that needs to be done Venice inPeril will continue its funding for therecovery and preservation of theremarkable “graffiti” on the walls of theTezon Grande.

Palazzo Grimani near Sta MariaFormosaThis wonderful Renaissance palazzo, inwhich the great collector Cardinal Grimanihoused his collection of classical sculpture

5

against frescoed walls, has reopened to thepublic after many years in restauro. Venicein Peril financed the research into thewhereabouts of the dispersed pieces, ofwhich there is a computer presentation.There are three tours a day, for a maximumof 30 people, at 9.30, 11.30 and 13.30. Tobook, ring +39 041 520 0345.

Teatro La Fenice The generous bequest from the estate ofMrs Dorothy Hare has been spent onproviding the baroque instruments neededby the orchestra, to be used initially inperformances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorioconducted by Riccardo Chailly, 21-23November.

The XXV edition of the nationalpianoforte competition, Premio Venezia,took place in mid-November, the 21 yearold winner, Fiorenzo Pascalucci, performedChopin, Scriabin and Debussy to greatacclaim and, once again, part of his prizewill be a performance in London next year,generously funded by Marina MorrisonAtwater, a Trustee of Venice in Peril.

Iccrom Stone Course 2009 The International Course for theConservation of Stone is to be revived from16 April to 3 July in Venice. As in previousyears, Venice in Peril is funding a bursary,and UNESCO is offering a further 12.A British expert, David Odgers, is on theteaching staff.

The Martin Randall Music Festivalran from 23 – 29 November with lectures,recitals, visits and concerts in selected,exclusive venues all over the city. Venice inPeril is most grateful to Martin Randall, hisartistes and the participants for the revenuethat the Festival has generated for theFund.

Finally, Warwick University in Venicenow based in Palazzo Pesaro Papafava inCannaregio, is holding its History andHistory of Art undergraduate course fromSeptember until mid-December each year.The long commitment of the late ProfessorSir John Hale, the late Professor MichaelMallett and the present academic

generation, is greatly valued in the city. TheCircolo Italo-Britannico have an agreementto hold their Monday evening lectures inthe prestigious venue. Other events are

held in the palazzowhen it is availableduring the spring /summer term. ■

by Frances Clarke

Thirty years after the initial publication ofLe Isole Abbandonate della Laguna, this bookhas been updated by San Marco Press withan English translation.

This dual language edition in Italian andEnglish describes many of the islands thathave been abandoned over the centuries.Several, such as Santo Spirito, Sant’ Angelodella Polvere and Madonna del Monte, stillremain deserted, having been thrivingmonastries, or military depots in previousyears. Others, like Lazzaretto Vecchio andPoveglia, are under restoration, whilstLazzaretto Nuovo and Certosa havealready been restored.

The book contains many fascinatingantique prints, extracts from books aboutthe lagoon over the centuries and recentphotographs that illustrate and explain thedevelopment and subsequent desolation ofthe islands.

It is an indispensable read for those with aninterest in the Serenissima’s interactionwith its immediate lagoon territories.

The publishers will be donating 10% of thelist price of the books sold in the UK toVenice in Peril and of those sold in Italy10% will go to assist in the furtherrestoration of Lazzaretto Nuovo.

It can be ordered fromwww.sanmarcopress.com directly from thepublishers, from Old World Books in theGhetto in Venice venezialibri@yahoo.it orother Venetian and selected UK bookshops. ■

The AbandonedIslands of theVenetian LagoonNew Publication

Isole abbandonate della laguna venezianaThe abandoned islands of the Venetian lagoon

Giorgio e Maurizio Crovato San Marco Press

This last surviving Trabacolo has beenrescued by a group of Venetians; about 20metres in length with two masts, Il NuovoTrionfo was originally used to transportsand. It is a fine example of a cargo vesselthat used to be a common sight in thenorthern Adriatic.

This vessel survived because it was boughtin 1977 by an Austrian engineer whorestored it and used it as his houseboat.

A volunteer group has been established allof whom have contributed funds for thepurchase and maintenance of the vessel.She is available for hire by clubs, schoolsand individuals. ■

www.ilnuovotrionfo.it

info@ilnuovotrionfo.it,

or fax +39 041 244 4928

“Il Nuovo Trionfo”

6 Venice in Peril Newsletter

Venice is becoming a city of mega-advertising but outsiders are making the real money

The well known economist, John Kay, whotook part in the Venice in Peril Debateabout expenditure on Venice in 2006 andwho recently won the new Istituto VenetoPrize for outstanding journalism aboutVenice (his acceptance speech is publishedin this Newsletter on pages 12 & 13), hasalso given us the things he loves and hatesmost about the city.

His first three loves are all the great viewsof Venice, the views that have movedtravelers for centuries and catch our breatheven if it’s the hundredth time we see them.He says: “First: The opening scene of Visconti’s

Death in Venice. Aschenbach sails from the

Adriatic into the lagoon and city on board a

steamer. Second: Thirty years later, I sail from

the Adriatic into the lagoon and city on board a

yacht. Third: To travel down the Grand Canal

in a water taxi and land at the mooring to

receive the Istituto Veneto’s prize.”

Well, it is precisely these views that havebeen desecrated in a way that has neveroccurred before in the history of Venice.The pale pink façade of the Doge’s Palace

now has two Lancia cars careering outfrom one corner on a bright bluebackground, while the villain of a JamesBond movie lunges out of a huge Swatch adon the Piazzetta. Vast ads are cropping upon more and more palazzi on the GrandCanal and it is clear that any publicbuilding is now up for grabs.

The agencies dealing in mega-advertisinglocations have realised they can exploit arecent change in the law to sell space thereand make a large profit, yet they still getcalled sponsors by the authorities. This lawallows the scaffolding on public buildingsunder restoration to carry advertising solong as the local Superintendent considersthat it does not “detract from theappearance, decorum or public enjoymentof the building”—a condition that is clearlynot being taken seriously at present.Yet, while the ads have aroused local andinternational protest, VeniceSuperintendent Renata Codello insists thatshe has been very discriminating: “I haveturned down masses of proposals, includingone with the entire Italian football team

dressed only in theirshorts,” she told theAssociation of PrivateCommittees for Venice inOctober.

We asked threeadvertising agencies tocontact Plakativ Media,the main firm handlingthe Venice sites, andenquired discreetly as tohow much it would cost tohire the two other spacesthat are about to go up inSt Mark’s Square. Plakativis paying €3.5m to restorethe Correr Museum sideof the Square in exchangefor a 240 m2 advertisingscreen (half the size of anOlympic swimming pool)on the scaffolding of thefaçade.

We discovered that nearthe Campanile there will

shortly also be a 60 m2 ad, which hasalready been let out, and for which theasking price is €165,000 a month. The adon the Correr is currently for rent at€50,000 a month, €75,000 in Februarywhen the carnival is on, but its price rises toapproximately €158,000 a month for aminimum of 12 months when the screengoes digital.It is difficult to calculate exactly how muchmoney Plakativ will make on the dealbecause it depends on its success in sellingthe spaces over time, on its discounts, andthe duration of its agreement with theauthorities, but at these prices it is likely toa very large profit indeed—not to thebenefit of Venice, of course.

But there is also an unpleasant uncertaintyabout what these ads will look like and howlong they will be up. The Superintendencysay that the big one will be only for theduration of the Correr restoration, due toend in 2012, but Plakativ has told potentialclients that its agreement is for seven yearsplus. As for their appearance, Dr Codellotold the Annual Meeting of the Association

The Bridge of Sighs with Lancia advertising

Phot

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Conserving the memory of Venice’sScuole piccolePaul Holberton

of Private Committees that she woulddefinitely not allow digital advertising, butthat is precisely what Plakativ is currentlyoffering potential clients.

In defence of her decision to allow all theseads, Dr Codello said: “I have no choice: lastyear some of the marble facing of theDoge’s Palace fell down; this year it was abit of the cornice of the Correr Museum.Under law I am personally responsible if atourist is hurt. With the cuts to the fundingof our ministry [25.8% in 2009], I canexpect no help from government.”

It really is a tragic situation when agovernment which repeatedly boasts thatthe countries major assets are its art andbeauty can put a government official insuch a quandary. For while Italy has indeedgot major public expenditure problems, it isnot a poor country. That these ads arebeing allowed is a sign of how an outdatedand inefficiently interpreted ideology of thefree market has taken over the governanceof heritage and culture in Italy. From apolicy of meticulous, if sometimes overrigid protection of historic buildings, wehave come suddenly to this slap in the faceof the visitor, who may be seeing Venice forthe one and only time in his life and will bebitterly disappointed.

John Kay’s thesis is that any shortage ofmoney for Venice is a sign ofmismanagement; that if run properly andwith a long term strategy (here hecompares the city unfavourably withDisneyland, not because he thinks Venice islike Disneyland, but because it would bebetter run if it were Disneyland), it wouldraise abundant funds for its conservation.Sadly, many, including Mayor Cacciari,chose to misunderstand what John Kay wassaying, but from within Venice itself,among the younger professional classes,and in the outside world, a sense ofindignation, a sense that things mustchange, is spreading. For Venice is not justanother city, it is the “fairy city of theheart”. Tread softly for you tread on ourdreams. ■

Anna Somers Cocks

The Venice in Peril Fund this summeracquired a manuscript, rather unusually, butillustrating the interest of the Fund in theconservation of all things Venetian in thewidest sense – in this case of a peculiarlyVenetian tradition, that of the piccole scuole.The six (or, later, briefly, nine) ScuoleGrandi were a prominent part of the city’sfabric, both visibly and politically, but thepiccole scuole, of which there were some 925,though they were less conspicuous andspent less conspicuously on art andbuildings, were even more vital. Amonghistorians interest in them, asrepresentative of the populo minuto, hasrecently been aroused, also, among arthistorians, in connection with Tintoretto,who was so largely patronized by them (itwas mostly their chapels he decoratedthroughout the city) that he could make thegesture of painting the Scuola Grande diSan Rocco for free.

The manuscript the Fund has acquired,which has been donated to the Archiviostorico del Patriarcato di Venezia, was themariegola (matricola in Italian) or combinedrule-book and logbook of the Scuola delSantissimo Sacramento in the church ofSan Polo. These scuole of the HolySacrament (or Eucharist) sprang up in theearly sixteenth century and were soonestablished in every parish church of thecity, then 70 in number. Historians like toread this movement as an early sign of the

stirrings towards Church Reform of theperiod, and soon enough this piousreverence for the host as the bodilysubstance of Christ came to stand inaggressive contrast to the denial ofLutherans and Protestants. The primepurpose of the Holy Sacrament scuole,however, like that of all the scuole, was tocare for the unfortunate among theirnumber and to ensure the decent burialand, through masses, the afterlife of theirmembers; and in particular in their case todistribute the Sacrament to the sick. Acomparable mariegola shows precisely this,a man in bed with the host being broughtto him; the illumination accompanying thismariegola recalls instead a devotionalaltarpiece, being fixed on the worship ofthe host. The chalice with the host was theuniversal emblem of these scuole, appearingfor instance on the box or banco in thechurch in which each kept theirparaphernalia, including their mariegola.

While such mariegole follow a commonpattern, derived from state documents, ofan illuminated frontispiece followed by anendowment text, they are all different, allindividuallycommissioned andconceived, thoughthe foundation ofeach had to beapproved by thevigilant Council ofX. This manuscriptopens with theCouncil of Xcharter, which was granted in 1507, but it isa copy, and its initial pages probably date,like the frontispiece, to the 1510s. Its greatinterest, however, is that thereafter themanuscript continues uninterrupted, addedto over the ages, until 1771, and would nodoubt have continued after that, if the scuole

had not been suppressed by Napoleon. Ifnot itself a monument, it was once vital tothe life in and around the church of SanPolo; not hitherto known to scholars, it willnow be accessible and should aid adeveloping area of interest. ■

With thanks to Christie’s, London, for enabling the

purchase without commission

8 Venice in Peril Newsletter

How the Veneto has betrayed PalladioThe Royal Academy is celebrating Palladio’s quincentenary with an exhibition thismonth, but his famous villas and the sublime countryside around them have beenwrecked by hideous urban sprawl

“The Veneto is one great construction sitethat has produced monstrosity aftermonstrosity over the past 50 years,damaging both people and theenvironment,” says Francesco Vallerani, ageography professor at Venice University.

The Veneto has mountains, alpine lakes,romantic hills and rivers, the lagoon andthe sea. It has more medieval city walls thanany other region in Europe. Mostimportantly, it has thousands of 15th- to18th-century villas that are the very symbolof the Veneto. The patricians of Venicebought land, invested in huge estates andcommissioned famous architects to buildmagnificent residences.

The Istituto Regionale Ville Venete(IRVV)–the regional institute for theconservation of Veneto villas–has statutorypowers to help 4,270 properties, aroundhalf of which are listed, with 30 designedby Andrea Palladio. Unfortunately,however, these powers have always beenlimited to the buildings, and it has noofficial remit for the unprotected landsurrounding them.

In the 20 years since the Veneto Region setup the IRVV, the institute has distributedpreferential loans and grants to 1,750 villasfor repairs. In 2007 it contributed over €3mto 22 restoration projects, and this year thefigure will be almost €5.5m. Yet there is stilla lot more to be done: one obvious exampleis Palladio’s Villa Chiericati in Vancimuglio,which is in a dire state of repair, andsurrounded by warehouses, a shoppingcentre and an incredible new “Palladianstyle” hotel. Lionello Puppi, an art andlandscape historian and member of thescholarly committee of the CentroInternazionale di Studi di ArchitetturaAndrea Palladio (the international institutefor Palladian studies), says: “We arecelebrating Palladio’s 500th anniversarywith a host of exhibitions and events,including ‘Palladian’ tourist itineraries, butI’m afraid that some important sites willnot be visited because of the terriblecondition they’re in. There’s Villa Zeno inCessalto, for example, a Palladianmasterpiece built in 1554 to be the

centrepiece of a large estate. It is boardedup and in danger of being demolished. Thecurrent owners used to run a large farm onthe estate, but the villa itself was no use tothem and expensive to run, so theyabandoned it. New buildings are engulfingVilla Forni Cerato in MontecchioPrecalcino near Vicenza. The last ownerswent bankrupt and abandoned the villa,which is now in ruins and has beenrepossessed by the bailiffs.”

Nadia Qualarsa, director of the IRVV, says,“It’s a crucial time for the Veneto: newurban zoning legislation has come intoeffect, and the Veneto Region should befollowing through by implementing thelaws in collaboration with the variousmunicipal councils.”

The Veneto Region’s recent planningmemo does now stress that urban plannersmust recognise the importance of the landitself: a villa cannot be considered out ofcontext of its surroundings. But havoc isstill being wreaked.

Around 2000, the Veneto’s local industries,which had generated great wealth for thelocal economy, were in crisis, and thebuilding boom appeared to have abated.Not so: it just took on a different form. Inthe 2003 budget, finance minister GiulioTremonti slashed funding to the provincialgovernments and municipal councils. Themunicipal councils in turn tried to generaterevenue by levying one-off taxes onconstruction work. The situationdeteriorated further with the abolition ofthe ICI (Imposta Comunale sugli

Immobili), the municipal council propertytax. “It’s ironic,” comments ProfessorVallerani: “For years, the municipalcouncils sold off the land to propertydevelopers in order to get the ICI on thenew buildings. Now the ICI has gone andthere are empty factories and warehouseseverywhere, monuments to the blinkeredproperty speculation.”

The villas and countryside of the Venetoare now also under threat from the massiveexpansion of the US military base at DalMolin in Vicenza. Professor Puppi, who hasstudied the project in detail, is alarmed. “Itwill be catastrophic for the countryside,with miles of concrete in an area wherePalladio built some of his finestmasterpieces. The most serious case is VillaCaldogno, which was rescued by theVeneto Region and Caldogno municipalcouncil and is now home to a Centre forContemporary Culture. The villa is locatedslap bang in the middle of this concretejungle. Villa Valmarana in Vigardolo, one ofPalladio’s earliest works, is facing the sameproblem, along with another villa in Tricolibuilt in 1537.”

Another high-profile project currentlyunderway is the new A31 Valdastico Sudmotorway. For years now, charities such asItalia Nostra, the World Wildlife Fund andthe Landmark Trust, along with localcitizens’ groups, villa owners and farmers,have been fighting to stop the motorwayand prevent the countryside from beingdestroyed further. In October 2007, Italy’shigh court, the Consiglio di Stato, finallyruled in favour of the motorway,overturning an earlier decision by theregional administrative law court to rejectit. In fact, some of the strongest support forthe motorway has come directly from themunicipal councils, the provinces, and theVeneto Region itself, which evencampaigned for it during the last elections.

Francesco Vallerani is worried: “Themotorway itself may not have such adevastating impact on the countryside. Theproblem is that when a new motorway isbuilt, the land on either side of it can alsobe rezoned for construction. All it takes is

The Veneto is one greatconstruction site that hasproduced monstrosity after monstrosity over thepast 50 years, damagingboth people and theenvironment.

for the municipal councils to amend theirofficial urban plans, and you have pocketsof urbanisation springing up everywhere.The municipal council regulatory plansshould be kept in check by the regional law,but we’ll have to see if it is enforced.”.

The motorway could even hold the worldrecord for the number of exits, seven over54 kilometres. Margherita Verlato, directorof the Medio e Basso Vicentino branch ofItalia Nostra (an association set up toprotect Italy’s cultural heritage andcountryside), is decidedly pessimistic. “Therace to buy up the land along the motorwayhas already started. It’s the last remainingagricultural area in the Vicentino, and theeffects will be devastating. There are atleast 23 listed buildings and sites in thezone, as well as numerous othermagnificent buildings which, though notlisted, are very important, including villas,medieval courthouses, funerary chapels andBenedictine oratories. All of them will beaffected.”

One historic building that will sufferdirectly as a consequence of the motorwayis Villa Saraceno, a listed masterpiece byPalladio designated by Unesco as part of aWorld Heritage Site. This is now in perfectcondition following its exemplaryrestoration by the Landmark Trust. Themotorway will pass within 700 metres ofthe villa.

The motorway has caused a furore inBritain, where Save Europe’s Heritage hasjoined the campaign against it. The projecthas also come under scrutiny from Unesco.In 2005, after consulting its member statesand their administrative bodies, Unescoand Icomos (the International Council onMonuments and Sites) sent a delegation toItaly to meet officials from the VenetoRegion and the municipal council ofAgugliaro. A dirty trick was played: “Wewere screened out of the entire process,”says Lorella Tonellotto, who runs theItalian branch of the Landmark Trust.“They didn’t even let us meet the delegationto put our point of view across. No-one toldus they were coming, and the delegateswere told that we had refused to see them.”

Nonetheless, Unesco put forward its ownrecommendations and asked the state andthe municipal council to propose measuresto limit the visual impact of the motorwayon Villa Saraceno (e.g. creating anunderpass, lowering the overpasses andchanging the exit). Italy was supposed tosubmit the final plan for the motorway atthe end of 2008, which Unesco will evaluateat its annual meeting in February 2009.

It is clear that property speculation is stillrife in the Veneto but the source of the cashpouring into the region is less easy topinpoint. There is talk of shady dealing andmoney-laundering: everyone seems toknow about it but it is hard to find proof.This is no longer just about the odd smallhouse that a farmhand or factory workermight want to build for their family; it isabout entire residential areas, shoppingcentres, even motor racing circuits,financed by foreign investors andanonymous companies.

Too many complicated laws; municipalcouncils funding themselves by handing

out building contracts; major companiesand politicians dreaming up newmotorways; construction firms and quarryowners profiteering from the buildingboom. “But there is a backlash among thepeople,” says Professor Vallerani, “althoughthey need to be more savvy. In the Veneto,these local committees have also become aform of group therapy. We have anextraordinary cultural heritage, and thismakes us all the more angry with ourselvesfor having taken part in its destruction. Weused to be a nation of emigrants, but westopped being poor in the 1990s; we nowhave to learn how to be rich, how to live ina different way. I hope our children willmanage it.” ■

Edek Osser

Andrea Palladio: his life and legacy” is at the

Royal Academy from 31 January to 13 April.

Go to www.savebritainsheritage.org,

click on “E Reports”, then “Veneto in Peril”

for Save’s survey from a helicopter of the

Valdastico motorway under construction.

9

An unnecessary motorway will run 700 metres from Palladio’s Villa Saraceno.

Phot

o: ©

The

Lan

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ust

With the death of Michael Mallett, thestudy of Italian Renaissance history has lostone of its most original and productivescholars. His doctoral research at Oxfordand formative periods of study at theBritish School at Rome and the ScuolaNormale, Pisa, led to the publication of The

Florentine Galleys in the Fifteenth Century

(1967), a study of Florence’s attempt to usethe recently conquered city of Pisa to gaindirect access to the trade of theMediterranean. This early work revealsmuch of the character of Michael’sscholarship: respect for the sources, care incomposition and wariness ofpreconceptions.

Born in 1932 in Southend-on-Sea, Michaelwas educated at St Edward’s School,Oxford. Following a period of nationalservice in the Royal Artillery, Michael wentup to study history at Worcester College,Oxford. Having completed his doctoralresearch, he briefly taught at Eton College,before taking up a post at the University ofManitoba at Winnipeg.

From 1962-66 he served as assistant-director and librarian of the British Schoolat Rome, helping to broaden thatinstitution as a centre for the study of thehistory and art of medieval and renaissanceItaly. His time in Rome also led to thepublication of The Borgias (1969), asuccessful and accessible attempt to achievea more balanced view of this often

misrepresented dynasty. Thereafter, hispersonal research focused largely on themilitary history of renaissance Italy, and onthe composition and role of elites in thegovernment of Italian city states. As amilitary historian, he published Mercenaries

and their Masters (1974) and – with Sir John Hale – The Military Organisation of a

Renaissance State: Venice c. 1400 to 1617,both of which were immediately recognised as authoritative. As his workwith John Hale demonstrated, Michael wasa good collaborator, a quality borne out inhis long association with NicolaiRubinstein over the publication of thecorrespondence of Lorenzo de Medici.Michael himself edited three volumes, andthe insights this project gave into Italianpolitics and diplomacy supported his workon elites – in particular the role ofambassadors – as well as his ongoingresearch into military history.

At the same time Michael was committedto the University of Warwick, which he hadjoined in 1967 soon after it opened, andwhere he became a professor (1978), andserved as chair of the Faculty of Arts (1985-88). He was crucial in building up theHistory Department in scope and academic reputation, though he alsosupported developments elsewhere,particularly in Italian and the History ofArt. He played a key role in theestablishment and work of the Centre forRenaissance Studies, which did much tofurther the careers of younger scholars, aswell as running a number of benchmarkinginternational conferences, for example onSavonarola and the Italian Wars.

Earlier, he followed John Hale’s lead inorganising a ‘Venice term’ for students ofthe Renaissance at the University. With this ambitious project he often had tostruggle against the scepticism ofcolleagues and a perennial shortage ofresources, but his persistence, diplomaticskills, and the supportive contacts he made and sustained in the city, insured that the project survived. Indeed, it nowflourishes, to the benefit of generations ofundergraduate and postgraduate students,as well as Venice itself.

Michael’s involvement in the cultural andacademic life of Venice led to contributionsto the multi-volumed Storia di Venezia. Healso succeeded John Hale as chair of theBritish and Commonwealth committee ofthe Gladys Krieble Delmas Foudationwhich supports the study of Venice past andpresent. He served for many years as aTrustee of Venice in Peril where – amongstmuch else – he championed the view thatconcern for that city was felt, and should beencouraged, ‘north of Watford’.

These activities, all conscientiouslypursued, brought him well deservedrecognition in the UK and Italy. Hereceived the British Academy’s SerenaMedal for Italian Studies (1998). He wasmade a Commendatore dell’Ordine alMerito of the Italian Republic. He receivedan OBE in 1998. Most recently, inNovember 2007 he received – along withhis close colleague and friend Lady FrancesClarke – an honorary DLitt from his ownuniversity at a special ceremony, done withgreat style, in Venice itself.

Michael himself was modest about suchachievements. In many ways he was anundemonstrative man, but those who got toknow him quickly came to appreciate hislove of Italy, his enthusiasm for Mozart andItalian opera and his enjoyment of goodfood, fine wine and congenial company. Hewas extremely loyal and supportive tocolleagues, students and friends. Above all,he loved his family and his home. He wasdevoted to his wife Patricia. They metwhen she too was a student at the BritishSchool at Rome and they married in 1961.Latterly, he helped sustain her through adistressing and terminal illness. In thisdifficult time, he was closely supported byhis two sons, Luke and Alex. They haveclearly inherited his love of home and Italy,and they with the help of colleagues andfriends are determined to see their father’sunfinished work through to publication. ■

This piece was printed in the Order of Service

for Michael Mallett’s funeral, and was adapted

from the obituary printed in The Independent,

written by John and Maria Law.

ObituaryMichael Edward Mallett OBE, MA, DPhil, FRHistS, FRSL:Trustee of Venice in Peril(1932-2008)

Venice in Peril Newsletter10

Every January for the past 18 years,W.H.Patterson’s Gallery in 19 AlbemarleStreet hosts the popular ‘Venice in PerilExhibition’. A wide selection of evocativecontemporary paintings and watercolours,interspersed with some wonderful 19thcentury works, show Venice in its manyguises.

Jeffery Courtney and Bela Toth Padari aretwo of the artists exhibiting in theforthcoming 2009 exhibition and theirpaintings express two very personalinterpretations of Venice.

Jeffery CourtneyJeffery Courtney has exhibited at theannual Venice in Peril Exhibition on manyoccasions. He has also exhibited at theRoyal Academy, Mall Galleries, the NewGrafton Gallery and at the prestigious Artin Action Festival in Oxfordshire. His workis sought by private collectors and can nowalso be admired publicly at the RoyalChelsea and Westminster Hospital, wherehis large murals are on permanent display.

“When I think of England I am very

aware of just that, the land, the earth.

The landscape dominates. With Venice I

think of water and air, but not earth.

Venice seems to exist on light, air and

water. These three elements meeting in

a magical way. The earth –

the buildings – seem somehow hung,

suspended in the other elements,

giving the city a strange but beautiful

transience. And what wonderful shapes

everything has in Venice; chimneys,

poles, domes and towers, such visual

riches. But it is the unique meeting of

water, light and air that fascinates me

as an artist, how they interact and

change continually presenting the old

city in new ways, which is why I

can return to Venice as a subject again

and again.”

Jeffery Courtney

Bela Toth PadariBela Toth Padari was born andgrew up in the westernmountainous region ofHungary, which became themain source of inspiration forhis work as an artist.

His main interest now lies in thehistorical portrayal of importantEuropean towns and cities,especially in Italy, Holland andEngland.

“Venice continues to be a magical source

of inspiration for me. Wandering down

the enchanting passages, not knowing

what may greet me around the corner –

the City of Light is a place where

getting lost is a pleasure. It certainly

lives up to its name, the way the light

sparkles across the waterways, slides off

the buildings and illuminates treasures

hidden in its backstreets, Venice begs to

be captured.”

Bela Toth Padari

The Venice in Peril exhibition runs 14 January –

6 February 2009 and 10% of all proceeds are

donated to Venice in Peril.

Once again Kirker Holidays will be donating a

4 star holiday during the exhibition.

W H Patterson, 19 Albemarle Street,

London W1S 4BB

www.whpatterson.com

W.H. PattersonGallery’s AnnualExhibition

11

“Wai

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12 Venice in Peril Newsletter

Venice is threatened by crumblinginfrastructure and rising sea levels, and byinexorable growth in the number of visitors.With effective planning, one problem solvesthe other. Gates that let the tourists in payfor gates that keep the water out.

Left unmanaged, the sea of tourists may bemore threatening than the Adriatic.Currently, more than 15 million people visitVenice each year. Literacy and culturalawareness are growing, as is US populationgrowth; and incomes in India, China andEastern Europe are increasing rapidly. Thenumber of people who want to see Veniceand can afford to do so might expand by afactor of three or more in the next fewdecades.

There is little we can do to stop this growthof tourism: and we ought not to want tostop it. Venice is a crown jewel of WesternEuropean civilisation. If we take pride inthat civilisation, if we intend to promote itsvalues, we want as many people as possibleto come to Venice.

But the most widely circulated image ofVenice today is probably not a reproductionof a Canaletto, or even a postcard of theDoges’ Palace. It is a picture of a youngJapanese visitor standing in St Mark’sSquare surrounded by pigeons, snapped byan equally bewildered compatriot. Weshould burn with shame, because the fault iswith the host not the visitor. These peoplehave travelled across the world to beexposed to a culture they know isprofoundly influential, but know nothing of.What help do we give them?

When I talked of this once before, theEnglish writer A N Wilson commented thatthe phrase cultural tourism was anoxymoron. It was a remark of quiteexceptional stupidity. There is littleexaggeration in saying that the mutualunderstanding which cultural tourismpromotes is the most importantcontribution we can make to world peace:no exaggeration at all in saying that modernEurope can do more than any othercontinent to promote that understanding.The issue for Europeans is how not only to

accommodate, but to promote, such culturaltourism without letting the visitors destroywhat people go to visit. Nobody goes thereany more, it’s too crowded; anyone who hasbeen in Venice in August knows what sageand baseball player Yogi Berra meant.Imagine central Venice in August with threetimes as many people.

A somewhat different argument is that thepromotion and preservation of culture isincompatible with the practice ofmanagement – or the pursuit of profit.Those who say that have forgotten how theVenice we treasure came into being in thefirst place. In itsheyday, this citywas the posterchild ofglobalisation,and the centreof theinternationalfinancialsystem. Itssuccessfulmerchantsdisplayed their logos – somewhat discreetly,it should be said – on the artistic treasuresthey funded from their profits.

Profit is, in itself, neither good or bad: whatis done with profit may be good or bad.When I observe that Disney would runVenice better than it is run today, I seek toprovoke rather than to make a seriousproposal. But a sense that the primarymotive of those you meet is to relieve you ofyour cash is, if anything, more omnipresentfor the visitor to Venice than the visitor toDisneyland. Disney tries to offer value formoney: the company wants you to have agood time because it wants you to comeback. In Venice the postcard sellers and thetourist cafes do not expect you to come backand the residents mostly wish you wouldn’tcome back. And while the DisneyCorporation reinvests most of its revenuesin the maintenance and development of itsactivities, the sellers of tatty merchandisetake their money home on the evening train.

Venice needs management and Veniceshould generate profits: our concern should

not be to turn up our noses at managementand profits but to direct management andprofits to the order and preservation of thecity. Managing the tourist flow is thebeginning. This involves segregating, intime and space, people who want only to bephotographed in front of the Campanilefrom those who would dearly love to wanderthe streets as Ruskin did. Managing the flowof tourists gives day trippers a properopportunity to learn about the history andculture of what they see, with well designedexhibits and qualified guides. Managing theflow of tourists takes t-shirt sellers andvendors of fake antiques off the streets and

squares anddiverts revenuefrom rip-offmerchants tothe protectionand sustainabledevelopment ofthe city.

The objectiveof managedtourism would

be to allow as many visitors as possible toexperience their own personal Venice.Imagine that in the peak season, admissionto Venice were only be available as part of aguided tour. Imagine day tourists arriving bytrain in a modernised station, from whichthey would enter a visitor centre – majorcommercial and educational development –which would offer audio visual presentationsof the culture and history of Venice. Thevisitor centre might have lecture rooms andlibraries, a shopping mall focussed on Venicerelated material, and restaurants of all kindsand price brackets. Merchandising in thecity itself would be controlled, traditionalbut not kitsch. Imagine Ruskin weeks, inwhich no guided tours would be permitted,and numbers of visitors would be strictlylimited.

There are many successful examples of suchmanaged tourism. Yosemite succeeds inremaining a place of astounding naturalbeauty even though it is on the doorstep ofCalifornia’s densely populated coastal strip.People who want to stand in front of thewaterfall are bussed in and out: hikers and

Venice is a management challengeJohn Kay, winner of the new Istituto Veneto Prize for outstanding journalism, has a critical but helpful view of how the city can be saved.

While the Disney Corporation reinvestsmost of its revenues in the maintenanceand development of its activities, theVenetian sellers of tatty merchandise take their money home on the evening train.

13

campers can find unspoiled territory.Yosemite is managed to allow large numbersof people to visit and while sustaining theenvironmental attractions that make themwant to come in the first place.

Yosemite is preserved successfully becauseYosemite is managed as a National Park.When Ulysses S Grant, an unlikely hero,created the first national park in America –or anywhere – he emphasised that America’snatural wonders belonged, not just to thepeople who lived nearby, but to the nationas a whole. The implication was that thenation as a whole had both rights of accessand responsibilities of management.Europe’s man-made wonders belong, notjust to the people who live near them, but tothe inheritors of European civilisation.Europe as a whole has both rights of accessand responsibilities of management.

I hear the cry: ‘we don’t want to turn Veniceinto a park’. But Venice is already a park. Asa business centre, as a political force, as apioneer of new cultural ideas rather than ashowcase for older ones, the city diedcenturies ago, and only the flow of visitorsbrought Venice back to life. Today, mostpeople in the city are tourists, and mostpeople who work there have come for theday to service the needs of tourists. No-onegoes to Venice to have their hair cut or buytheir groceries. An inescapable economiclogic means that many normal activities ofcity life will be unviable at the prices ofproperty, goods and labour in Venice.

That doesn’t mean that the only economicactivities in Venice will be changing thesheets of tourists and serving them bowls ofpasta. It means that the activities likely to beeconomically sustainable in Venice are onesassociated in one way or another with thedistinctive character of the City – thoseassociated with education, history art andarchitecture. Looking forward, we shouldsee not just Venice and its educationalinstitutions but the Veneto region as a wholeas a centre of European culture not just forEurope but for the world.

As a business economist, I have learnt thatshortage of money is generally the

manifestation of a problem rather than theproblem itself. Lehman failed, as Alitaliafailed, because it ran out of money: butrunning out of money was only theproximate cause of its failure. Lehman failedbecause an organisation composed only ofcompetitive, greedy people lacked theinternal resources or external support tosurvive a crisis. Alitalia became a companyrun for the benefit of its employees ratherthan its passengers, and so acquired toomany of the former and not enough of thelatter. For Venice, there are parallels, andlessons, in both the rapacity and short-timehorizons of its private sector and theindolence and disdain of its public sector.

The proposition that shortage of money isthe measure of the problem not the problemitself is equally true of non-profitorganisations. At Oxford I would frequentlyhear ‘if only we had as much money asHarvard we wouldn’t be in such a mess’which got it just the wrong way round. Tohave the best educational brand in the worldand not enough money is a managementproblem, not a financial problem. The mostbeautiful city in Europe is visited each yearby fifteen million people with open wallets.To find it in danger of physical andeconomic collapse is a managementproblem, not a financial problem. A problemwe have a collective responsibility, asEuropeans, to solve. ■

John Kay is a visiting professor of economics at the

London School of Economics and a Fellow of St John’s

College, Oxford. He has been Professor of Management

at Oxford University and Professor of Economics at the

London Business School, Director of a think tank, the

Institute for Fiscal Studies, and founder and executive

chairman of the consultancy London Economics. He

has been a non-executive director of several public

companies, and has acted as consultant for many

companies.

His principal activity today is writing, and he commutes

between London, Oxfordshire and the south of France.

He contributes a weekly column to the Financial

Times. His most recent books are The Truth about

Markets (2003), Everlasting Light Bulbs (2004) and

The Hare & the Tortoise (2006). His next book, the

Long and the Short of It: finance and investment

for normally intelligent people who are not in the

industry, will be published in January 2009.

Mirco Ceci,born in 1988 inBari Italy,began studyingthe piano whenhe was eightyears old andperformed hisfirst concert at13 years. He isstudying at theprestigiousAccademiaPianistica

Internazionale of Imola under LeonidMargarius. In 2006 Mirco won theinternational piano competition ‘PietroArgento’ followed in 2007 by the first prizein the Premio Venezia Piano competitionorganized by the friends of La Fenice.

Mirco gave a spectacular concert in aid ofVenice in Peril in November and we areespecially grateful to him; to Bob andElisabeth Boas for hosting the event andMarina Morrisson Atwater for sponsoringthe whole evening. We are also extremelygrateful to Luciana Malgara, FrancescaRadcliffe and Luciana Moretti Forti fortheir help. ■

Premio VeneziaConcert 2008

Mirco Ceci

Ian Fraser has produced four, new, limitededition, contemporary architecturalprints of Venice for Virtual Archive.

As a lover of Venice and its architecturehe is pleased to support the Venice inPeril fund by donating 10% of each printsold through the web site www.virtual-archive.co.uk/venice.html

14 Venice in Peril Newsletter

The Leading TravelCompanies ConservationFoundation has announcedit will commit US$150,000in 2008 to fund researchand restoration in Veniceas part of its inauguralsustainable tourism grantprogram.

The grant has beenawarded to Venice in Peril.Part of this grant will beallocated to the publicationof the forthcoming ‘Venice Report’ beingproduced in conjunction with CambridgeUniversity. A restoration project will alsobe undertaken to preserve one of the city’smost precious monuments.

The Leading Travel CompaniesConservation Foundation has committedto contributing $US1 million every year to

projects around the worldbased on their ability tofoster sustainable tourism,through the conservationand protection of theenvironment, wildlife andcultural heritage sites.

The Leading TravelCompanies ConservationFoundation was establishedin 2008 to make a positivecontribution toconservation and

sustainability and is supported by TrafalgarTours, Insight Vacations, BrendanWorldwide Vacations, Contiki Holidays,AAT Kings, Evan Evans, Busabout, HaggisAdventures, Shamrocker Adventures, andEastern Trekker. ■

www.tltc.com/foundation

The Leading Travel CompaniesConservation Foundation commits to research and restoration in Venice

Exclusive Kirker Lecture Weekend in Venice with John Julius Norwich

A weekend of lectures and visits in the company of renowned historian and Honorary Chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund, John Julius Norwich.

CULTURAL TOURS & MUSIC HOLIDAYSf o r d i s c e r n i n g t r a v e l l e r s

For further details please call us on 020 7593 2284 please quote source code MVP

www.kirkerholidays.com

Join us on an enlightening 3 night holiday departing 6th November 2009 and staying at Venice’s celebrated 5 star Hotel Danieli

Venice in Peril issad to announcethe unexpecteddeath of Jonathan Raimesof FoundationPublishing.

Over the pastthree yearsJonathandedicated a great deal of his time andexpertise to designing and producing ournewsletter and other publications.

He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Diary Dates 2009

Venice in Peril Exhibition 14 January –

WH Patterson Gallery 6 February

Sickert in Venice, Private View

Dulwich Picture Gallery 4 March

La Dolce Vita Gala Dinner, Olympia 25 March

La Dolce Vita, Olympia 26 – 29 March

Venice in Peril Summer lecture

Royal Geographical Society 24 June

15

The Directors of W.H.Patterson

cordially invite you to view our 18th Annual

Venice In Peril Exhibition

Wednesday 14 January 2009

to

Friday 6 February 2009

at

19, Albemarle Street, London. W1S 4BB.

Tel 0207 248 3824 Fax 0207 499 0119

Email – info@whpatterson.com

The exhibition can be previewed on our website

www.whpatterson.com/preview

On display will be the finest selection of work by our

contemporary artists and a wonderful array of 19th and

20th Century paintings.

During the exhibition, we will be giving away a

4* holiday to Venice sponsored by Kirker Holidays.

Kirker Holidays specialises in holidays for discerning travellersand is delighted to offer this prize to help the Venice in Perilfund raising. Kirker has been arranging holidays to Venice since1986 and now offers a selection of over 30 hotels; all holidaysincluding flights, water taxi transfers, hotel accommodationincluding breakfast and a complimentary entrance ticket forthe Doge’s Palace.

The Venice in Peril prize being offered at the forthcomingExhibition at WH Patterson Fine Art includes:

• Return schedule flights to Venice

• Return private water taxi transfers from airport tohotel

• 2 nights’ accommodation plus breakfast at a 4* deluxehotel

• Entrance ticket to Doge’s Palace

• Kirker Guide Notes to restaurants, museums andsightseeing

All purchasers of paintings sold throughout this exhibition willautomatically be entered into a draw for this wonderful prize.

16 Venice in Peril Newsletter

First love, 1971 The opening sceneof Visconti’s Death in Venice.Aschenbach sails from the Adriatic

into the lagoon and city on board a steamer.

Second love, 2003 Thirty years later, I sail from theAdriatic into the lagoon and city on board a yacht.

Third love, 2008 To travel down the Grand Canal in awater taxi and land at the mooring to receive the IstitutoVeneto’s prize.

First hate, 2008 Tourists covered with pigeons in St Mark’sSquare

Second hate, 2008 Large boats and tankers sailing fromthe Adriatic into the lagoon and city

Third hate, 2008 The municipality of Venice and Mestre

Love, 2028 Arriving by train at the visitor centre at thesouthern end of the causeway amidst excited touristslearning what they are about to see and why.

Love, 2028 Visiting the city in a Ruskin week when daytrippers are excluded from the city and it can be seen asRuskin did.

Love, 2008 and 2028 Walking round the canals ofCanareggio in the early morning.

Love, 2008 and 2028 Cichetti and a glass of wine in abacaro

Love, 2008 and 2028 The Tintorettos of the Scuola di SanRocco

Love, 2008 and 2028 Jumping on any vaporetto that isn’tgoing up the Grand Canal.

My Venetian Dozen by John Kay

PresidentsMrs Humphrey BrookeLady Clarke CBE

Hon ChairmanThe Viscount Norwich CVO

ChairmanThe Hon Anna Somers Cocks

Hon TreasurerDr David Landau

Hon. Secretary Dr Paul Holberton

MembersLady Emily FitzRoyMrs Andrew GrahamSir Ronald GriersonLady HaleRichard Haslam Esq John Millerchip EsqMrs Marina Morrisson AtwaterThe Lord PhillimoreLibby PurvesSarah Quill

Development Director Nicky Baly

PR & Marketing Emma Drew

Accountant Christine Freshwater

Administrator Caroline Ainley

Art Pursuits Limited

Bob and Elisabeth Boas

Peter Boizot

Jane Botros of PizzaExpress

Mirco Ceci

The Estate of Muriel Durie Clarke

Peter and Joyce Clarke

Context Foundation for Sustainable Travel

Fondation Jean-Barthelemy

Mrs Jane Gorlin

John Hall and the John Hall Venice Course

Katherine Hardy and Sara Ekholm

John Harris

Charlotte Heber Percy

Iain Henderson Russell of HRW Antiques

Kirker Holidays

John Kay

Francis Kyle Gallery

The Leading Travel CompaniesConservation Foundation

Luciana Malgara

Luciana Moretti Forti

Mrs Marina Morrisson Atwater

Melissa Ormiston of Brand Events

W.H. Patterson Fine Art

The Lord and Lady Phillimore

The Estate of Eunice Freda Phillips

PizzaExpress, the Veneziana Fund and allconsumers of Pizza Veneziana

Francesca Radcliffe

The late Jonathan Raimes

Martin Randall

UNESCO

Venetian Apartments and Venice Estates

Venice Simplon – Orient-Express

Salley Vickers

Virtual Archive (UK) Ltd

And all those who continue to supportthe work of the Fund through theirgenerous donations

We would like to thankTrustees

AccountsA copy of the accounts can be obtained on request from theoffice or they can be found on the Charity Commissionwebsite www.charity-commission.gov.uk.

Unit 4, Hurlingham StudiosRanelagh Gardens, London SW6 3PATel: +44 (0)20 7736 6891 Fax: +44 (0)20 7751 0738email: info@veniceinperil.orgwebsite: www.veniceinperil.org

Registered Charity No 262146