[Ed. Note: This is the recent notice from the Rialto Project, whose earlier announcement was published a few months ago on this site. On a personal note I really support this kind of positive effort to present the extraordinary history of the city, the life inside the buildings, to the public. In this particular case the presentation looks to be of the highest level, an appearance that is confirmed by the series being held at – and presented in conjunction with – the Accademia Gallery.]
The Rialto Project The Lessons of History
Lecture Series Presented by the Rialto Project Association
With the collaboration of the Accademia Gallery of Venice
The Rialto market has more than a thousand years of history. The origins of the city recounted in the ancient chronicles merge with those of the market. However, today the stories of Venetian commerce and industry (merchants, businessmen, ships, routes, institutions), summarized effectively in the painting Miracolo della croce by Vettor Carpaccio, are barely known by the many visitors who come to the city, and even by its citizens.
Beyond the myth, the lecture series which we offer here is meant to narrate the material history of the places, the mercantile buildings, the geography of traffic and bankers, the production of jewelry and fabrics, the exchange of precious stones, spices, goods and technical knowledge.
Ultimately, we propose to bring to light the role and importance that the insula realtina has taken on over the centuries both for Venice and for its relations with the entire world, and to reflect on what an important historic market can be today in a tourist city.
Accademia Gallery of Venice: Conference Hall, 17:00
Calendar of Events January – May 2020
Thursday January 30
Donatella Calabi (IUAV)
The richest part of the world: the insula realtina in the modern age
Thursday February 6
Maurice Aymard (EHESS Paris)
Venice: a challenge for the tourism economy?
Thursday February 13
Deborah Howard (Università di Cambridge)
Venice and its relations with the Islamic world
Thursday February 27
Lorenzo Lazzarini (IUAV)
The stones of Venetian monuments
Thursday March 12
Gian Maria Varanini (Università di Verona)
The Rialto Market: a resource or an obstacle for mainland crafts?
Thursday March 26
Wolfgang Wolters (Technische Universität di Berlino)
Understand the place. Tools and strategies. Recollections of an art historian.
Thursday April 9
Anna Bellavitis (Università di Rouen)
A Carnevale pig or a husband for life? Women work economy in Venice
Thursday April 16
Elena Svalduz (Università di Padova)
Rialto in cartography
Thursday April 23
Mauro Bondioli (Ars Nautica – Institute for Maritime Heritage – Croazia)
God save her. Archaeology and Venetian maritime commerce in the Renaissance
Thursday May 7
Luciano Pezzolo (Università Ca’ Foscari)
A world of spices. Venice and exotic goods
Thursday May 21
Luca Molà (Università di Warwick)
The art of luxury in Venice. Production, imitation, innovation
Entrance is free with presentation of this invitation (on paper or on your smartphone) starting at 16:30, until no more seats are available.
Progetto Rialto is an Association with purposes of cultural and social value through the study, presentation and recovery of the historic and artistic heritage of the Rialto market and of Venice in international commerce.
