Celebrating the bicentenary of Robert Browning’s birth
The English poet and playwright Robert Browning was born in London in 1812 and died in 1889 in Venice. The bicentenary of his birth has been largely overlooked in his native Britain, but was celebrated with a festival in the town of Asolo, in the Venice region of Italy, on 8 September 2012. Asolo was … Continue reading
Venice’s ‘Baby MOSE’ dam completed
It is well-known that the biggest current infrastructure project in Italy is the ‘MOSE’ mobile dam system under construction to protect Venice from high flooding. Yet it is less well-known that a smaller dam has also been built to protect Chioggia, in the south of the Venetian lagoon. This dam, called ‘Baby MOSE’, was reported … Continue reading
Development Minister promises Venice high-speed train by end of 2013
Italy’s Minister of Development, Corrado Passera, on 10 July 2012 promised to complete vital high-speed train links to Venice before the end of 2013. This was reported in the local newspaper Corriere del Veneto on 10 July here: Passera: «Progetto Tav entro il 2013» The high-speed train will link Venice, Verona and Padua, with the … Continue reading
Reactions to the cancellation of Pierre Cardin’s Light Palace for Venice
French fashion designer Pierre Cardin had designed a Light Palace for Venice, which is close to where he was born. The Light Palace, or Palais Lumière, was planned to be constructed on the edge of the Marghera industrial areas bordering Venice’s lagoon. But on 28 June 2013, Cardin’s nephew, Rodrigo Basilicati, who is the CEO … Continue reading
Impressive Gustav Klimt and friends exhibition in Venice
I attended this exhibition on 26 May 2012 with my wife and our two sons at Venice’s Correr Museum, which has hosted the exhibition to celebrate 150 years since the birth of Klimt. Venice’s hosting of the exhibition is also important due to Klimt’s search for love in the city, where he pursued Alma Schindler … Continue reading
Tourism leads job growth in the Venice province
Despite the deepening Italian recession, the number of job opportunities is doubling in the province of Venice – mostly thanks to tourism. Italy has just experienced its third consecutive financial quarter of economic contraction after two consecutive quarters of recession in the second half of 2011. This confirms that Italy has moved beyond recession towards … Continue reading
Hit team to ‘educate’ tourists in Venice
Venice City Councillor Carla Rey held a press conference at 11 am on 11 May 2012 to inaugurate a team of 15 stewards and hostesses who will ‘educate’ tourists in and near St Mark’s Square. Although the City Council press release was careful to stress that they will educate tourists and citizens, its title focused … Continue reading
Venice threatened by ‘natural’ pollution: City Council requests urgent intervention
Over the last couple of days some Venetian waters have been turning green due to an invasion of algae, as can be seen in the picture below: Algae has affected the area near the Liberty Bridge, Venice’s internal canals (including parts of the Grand Canal) and islands, especially near the beach area of the Lido. … Continue reading
America’s Cup comes to Venice, environmental “miserablism” starts
The first America’s Cup event will be held in Venice between 12 and 20 May, 2012, with a repetition planned for 2013. This is an exciting event that will bring visitors and revenue to the city, but environmental campaigners have already started protesting about extra tourists and environmental impact. These claims run contrary to Venice’s … Continue reading
Investments agreed to transform Venice’s Marghera industries
A design image for the planned Palais Lumiere in Marghera: Investments totalling €5 billion have been earmarked to transform the Marghera industrial areas bordering Venice’s lagoon. The plan to change the industrial areas was announced on 16 April 2012 and was presented by Italy’s Environment Minister Corrado Clini, the Governor of the Veneto Region Luca … Continue reading
Dstandish's Weblog 