Venice Carnival 2016 Opens - Photo: Cat Bauer |
The date depends on Easter, which is a moveable feast, celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs on or after the March Equinox. This year, that full moon is on March 23, so it means Easter will be on Sunday, March 27. Ash Wednesday occurs exactly 46 days before Easter -- 40 fasting days not counting Sundays -- which will be February 10th this year. Which means that Mardi Gras, the last night to get crazy before the fasting begins, is on February 9th. Got all that?
Journalists were flying all around Venice yesterday on their magic carpets, since there were four press conferences scheduled at the same time:
1. VENICE BIENNALE 7TH INTERNATIONAL KID'S CARNIVAL
Venice Biennale 7th International Kid's Carnival |
2. MURANO GLASS MUSEUM
A Light for Emilia-Romagna - Photo: Consorzio Promovetro Murano |
The Consorzio Promovetro of Murano decided to use their expertise to help their friends in the neighboring region, and transferred the chandeliers from Ferrara to Murano (with a lot of help from all sorts of Italian powers), where they have been lovingly restored over the last three years. Luciano Gambaro, President of the Murano Glass Promotion Consortium Promoverto said, "It is a great joy for us to use our professionalism to help the population of Emilia-Romagna that has suffered so much. These chandeliers have become a symbol to them because they survived the earthquake despite their fragility." Teatro La Fenice curated the design, and Venetian author Alberto Toso Fei curated the book that accompanies the exhibition.
3. CASA DEI TRE OCI
Alice's Looking Glass - Maurizio Trifilidis |
Next, on the first floor, are 75 images of Venice by Roberto Polillo, and on the second floor is Giulio Obici's Il Flâneur Detective. A flâneur is someone who walks the streets, observing the life around him. Giulio Obici (1934-2011) was a columnist and special correspondent who investigated terrorism in Italy, whose short novels were published posthumously in 2015. The photos on display are sort of like an author's notes which were photographed instead of written.
4. PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION
Portrait of Zoe Sharkey by Jack Tworkov (1948) |
I fell in love with Claire Falkenstein (1908-1997), an American artist who created esoteric structures that seemed to be born in outer space. Anyone who has entered the Peggy Guggenheim Collection from the side gate already knows her work, The New Gates of Paradise, made from welded iron rods and colorful chunks of Venetian glass.
The New Gates of Paradise by Claire Falkenstein (1980-97) Photo: Cat Bauer |
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
The 2016 Carnival of Venice is early this year, starting today, January 23, the Eve of the Full Moon, and running through February 7, Mardi Gras -- French for "Fat Tuesday," the day before Lent begins. Why is it so early?
ReplyDeleteYou have a typo in both places where you give Claire Falkenstein's years of birth and death. She was born in 1908 and she died in 1997. If you correct them, you can delete this comment. If you don't, you may as well delete this comment anyway.
ReplyDeleteDear Bert - thank you for catching that typo. While I try to emulate Mary Poppins, and be Practically Perfect in Every Way, I discover that too often that I am only human, and make human errors.
ReplyDeleteI have corrected the year 1977 to 1997 in the text. Here is the original:
"I fell in love with Claire Falkenstein (1908-1977), an American artist who created esoteric structures that seemed to be born in outer space. Anyone who has entered the Peggy Guggenheim Collection from the side gate already knows her work, The New Gates of Paradise, made from welded iron rods and colorful chunks of Venetian glass."
However, you say BOTH places. The only other place I see where I have written Claire Falkenstein's birth and death years is in the photo caption:
"The New Gates of Paradise by Claire Falkenstein (1980-97) Photo: Cat Bauer"
There is no typo there. Am I missing something? Please advise.