A Garden of Glass Flowers
Venice is home to many things; Piazza San Marco with its famous pigeons, Rialto Bridge, and of course Gondolas. But if you venture out to the island of Murano you will find the famous colored Murano Glass and the many factories that produce it by hand even today.
On the island of Murano you will find the Murano glass museum which chronicles the history and heritage of this age old tradition and has an impressive collection of some of the most marvelous pieces of Murano glass I've ever seen...including the pieces that are on display at the many factories on the island.
From now until the 30th of September, FareVetro brings together 11 companies that produce the famous glass on the island for a wonderful exposition that is a must for any lover of Murano glass or for those who want to see a true craft still in existence. This exposition brings hundreds of examples of the glass maker's art, some of them created specifically for the event while others focus more on the historical traditions of the 11 companies involved and demonstrate how design and techniques have developed over time.
The exhibition is held in the various spaces of the museum: the garden with hundreds of small flowers in the ground, the monumental entrance hall and the piano nobile. In this latter space, the work of Daniela Ferretti has been laid out in a single room and is absolutely unbelievable.
How to get there.
Take the DM (Diretto Murano) Vaporetto (water bus) from the main train station. When you arrive on the island, continue up the main street to the right of the Vaporetto stop until you come to the very end. Turn right and continue along the canal. When you come to the next canal, turn left (it should look like a T intersection of water). The glass museum is located on the corner and the front entrance is 20-30 feet down the second canal.
The Hot 100 Hits of the 17th Century
This week the weather has been absolutely terrible. A solid week of being inside was just about to drive me crazy, so last Friday night I decided I was going to go out. Since the weather was terrible, I thought that I could enrich my sense of culture by attending a concert that I had heard about through small conversations on the street. I knew that the concerts were limited as far as actual concert dates go, so I bought my ticket for La Musica ai Tempi di Goldoni "Music From the Times of Goldoni" in Piazza San Marco a couple days early.
The concert has two concert dates a month and focuses on the music composed at the time of Carlo Goldoni, which is the 17th century. The concert is like that of a greatest hits concert of today. There were a number of different composers represented by the program from Vivaldi, Handel, and Mozart. However, some of the music from Mozart was specific excerpts from his operas. This type of selection also held true for a couple of selections from Galuppi and Haydn, but still good selections.
There is also a short narration before each selection to help the audience understand something more about the piece and the composer. The pieces that were presented on the night that I attended were not well-known by me, but were rather different from the usual, mainstream, classical selections that can be found on every CD in every record store. As a fellow musician I found it refreshing and entertaining.
The price is a bit high for the minimalism of the concert but not a bad deal considering it's a cultured evening out in Venice.
Where: Carlo Goldoni's House
San Polo 2794,
30125 Venezia
Tel. +39 (041) 275-9325
Fax +39 (041) 244-0081
Email: mkt.musei@comune.venezia.it
Tickets: General Admission €20, Reduced €15 (students under 29, and Senior Citizens over 65)
You can buy tickets at the Goldoni House or The Vivaldi Store, located at San Marco 5537. Tickets can be bought during the hours of operation until the day of the concert when ticket sales end at 6pm.
Concert Dates (as of Today): April 25, May 16 and 30, June 6 and 27
All concerts are at 6pm.
An Afternoon with Leonardo
Venice boasts many exhibitions throughout the summer varying from art and music, to the world of invention. For many weeks I’ve been planning on visiting the exhibit of the interactive machines of Leonardo reproduced from his drawings. If you’re a movie buff, you’ll find this exhibition in the church that was featured in the third Indiana Jones film in Campo San Barnaba.
The exhibit presents over 30 models of mechanical, building, flying and war machines. The “machines” have been made of wood, metal, and fabric on a scaled down version for things like flying machines and boats for war to life size exhibits that deal with light, all produced by skilled and qualified Florentine artisans under expert engineer’s supervision. Some of the models are interactive and can be handled by the public, others that are more fragile have a strict “Do Not Touch” policy, but for the engineer in all of us it becomes an interesting walk through the pages of Leonardo’s notebook, but may not be perfect for younger children. You don’t need very much time to visit the exhibition, maximum of an hour. The information for each model is presented in Italian, English, and French.
Some of the models include The Glider, Cam Hammer, Air Screw (forerunner of the helicopter), Helical Gear, The Bicycle, and Archimede’s Screw for lifting water.
Where: Chiesa di San Barnaba
Campo San Barnaba
Cost: Aduts €6,00
Reduced €4,00
Schools €2,50
When: Open everyday from 9:30am – 7:30pm
From Now until December 30, 2008
Public Transport: Vaporetto Line #1, Ca’ Rezzonico Stop
Info: Gianni Tarchiani
Via Pescine, 39
50010 S. Donato in Collina (Firenze)
Cell: 335-537-9071
Email: giannitarchiani@virgilio.it