Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
welcoming gallery displays (and sells) a wide range of works by both established and
young artists, most of whom have a strong connection with Venice itself.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
ORGANIC PRISON MARKET
Every Thursday morning, locals jostle for the best of the organic produce available at this unusual twist on a
case, the farmers happen also to be prisoners of the adjacent women's correctional facility. Proceeds help pay for
job retraining and postrelease reintegration.
Lido di Venezia
There's no doubt that the Lido is no longer the unspoilt natural haven that Lord Byron
used to gallop across in the 19th century, nor the glamorous summer bolt-hole of Holly-
wood starlets and European aristocracy, but neither is it the vulgar, unremarkable tourist
resort that many detractors would have us believe. In fact, with its groomed shellac
beaches, bronzed lifeguards and old ladies sipping
prosecco
beneath candy-striped awn-
ings, the Lido is a rather diverting seaside escape.
TOP SIGHT
FONDAZIONE GIORGIO CINI
In 1951, industrialist and art patron Vittorio Cini - a survivor of Dachau - acquired the monastery of San Giorgio
and lovingly restored it in memory of his son, Giorgio Cini. The rehabilitated complex, now home to Cini's cul-
tural foundation, is an architectural treasure incorporating a
refectory
and
cloister
by Palladio, and Baldassare
Longhena's
monumental staircase
and 17th-century
library
. Palladio's impressive refectory, refurbished in
2011-12, now features a glorious video projection of Paolo Veronese's
Nozze di Cana
(Wedding at Cana), which
once hung on the end wall until Napoleon transplanted it to the Louvre in 1797.
The foundation continues the tradition of scholarship that the Benedictines became renowned for during the
Renaissance, when Cosimo de' Medici was exiled here from Florence and funded the creation of a library. Two
are still open to the public.
Weekend tours allow you to stroll through the
Borges Labyrinth
and contemplate the tranquil
Chiostro dei
Cipressi
, the oldest extant part of the complex, completed in 1526 by Andrea Buora. Check the website for other
exhibitions as well as performances in the open-air
Teatro Verde
.
