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| Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, Venice - Photo courtesy Gioielli Nascosti di Venezia |
(Venice, Italy) One of the most unique and beautiful palaces in Venice is
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, with its circular staircase that spirals up to
spectacular view of the rooftops of the city, the bell tower in Piazza San Marco on the horizon. Built in the 15th century, "bovolo" is the Venetian word for snail.
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| Tintoretto Paradise sketch & Presenze/Assenze by Alberto Pasqual - Photo: Cat Bauer |
A few years back, I featured the Tintoretto Room in Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo for Luxos Magazine. The palace had been closed for a long time, and had recently reopened. They wanted to publicize the room in which they claimed to have Tintoretto's sketch for the 1582 public competition to replace the Coronation of the Virgin aka Il Paradiso, a 14th century fresco painted by Guariento around 1365 that was destroyed in the 1577 fire which had devastated part of Palazzo Ducale.
Tintoretto actually did not win that competition -- Paolo Veronese did, backed up by Francesco Bassano, but Veronese died before he could start and Tintoretto then got the job. The result was Il Paradiso in the Doge's Palace, the largest canvas in the world.
I did some research, and could only find two sketches for Tintoretto's Il Paradiso, one at the Louvre in Paris and one at the Thyssen in Madrid. Where had this sketch been for more than 400 years? I was told that someone on the jury of the public competition -- centuries ago -- was connected to the organization that manages the palace today, who thought it would be a good idea to put the sketch on display for the public. (Venetians have got all sorts of stuff stashed in their cupboards:-)
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| Laguna (dittico) by Mara Fabbro - Photo: Cat Bauer |
Now Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo has reopened with a contemporary art exhibition in the Tintoretto Room entitled 'E Per Sempre or It's Forever, featuring the work of Friulian painter Mara Fabbro and Veneto sculptor Alberto Pasqual, curated by Alessandra Santin.
Santin says:
The artists... document the existential void of today's man and the substantial fullness of natural space, now saturated with the remains of plastic materials that our consumer society has used and dispersed in a completely irresponsible way. This current drama, the accumulation of indestructible waste and the irreversible damage it causes to Nature, leaves indelible, permanent marks both in the environment and in the conscience of today's man....Nothing lasts today, not knowledge, not feelings, not health, not faith, not relationships... Plastic, on the other hand, remains forever ...
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| Origine by Alberto Pasqual - Photo: Cat Bauer |
'E Per Sempre runs until August 31, 2021. There is a €7 charge to climb to the top of the Scala del Bovolo to see the view and visit the exhibition in the Tintoretto Room -- unless you are a resident of Venice. Then it is free.
Go to Gioielli Nascosti di Venezia for more information.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
One of the most unique and beautiful palaces in Venice is Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, with its circular staircase that spirals up to spectacular view of the rooftops of the city, the bell tower in Piazza San Marco on the horizon. Built in the 15th century, "bovolo" is the Venetian word for snail.
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