Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Biennale retained strict control, removing a provocative Picasso from the Spanish pa-
vilion in 1910, but after WWII, national pavilions asserted their autonomy and the Bien-
nale became an international avant-garde showcase.
Today international relations never looked better than in Venice's Giardini Pubblici,
where Biennale pavilions are purpose-built to reflect national architectural identities
from Hungary (futuristic folklore hut) to Canada (ski-lodge cathedral). Inevitably, Vene-
tian modernist Carlo Scarpa steals the show with his cricket-shaped ticket booth.
But the Biennale doesn't stop there. The city-backed organisation also runs the
Venice International Film Festival each September and organises an International
Festival of Contemporary Dance and concert series every summer. The Biennale
hosts experimental theatre and dance performances year-round, sometimes inside
historical Arsenale shipyards.
For upcoming event listings, venues and tickets, check the Biennale website. To de-
fray substantial costs to the city, there's an entry fee to the main art and architecture
Biennale shows and Venice Film Festival premieres - but many ancillary arts pro-
grams are free. When the art biennale's in town, book two months ahead for accom-
modation, openings and premieres, and at least a week ahead at popular Castello eat-
eries near the Biennale pavilions.
Eating
11
Osteria alla Staffa
$$
MODERN VENETIAN
With fish fresh from the Pescaria, organic produce and artisan cheese, this tiny
restaurant offers Venetian classics with a twist. Seafood looks like modernist mas-
terpieces: creamy
baccalà
(cod) graces red radicchio leaves and baby octopi bloom
like flowers from a bed of salmon. Reserve ahead, and if you can't find a seat, grab
cicheti
(Venetian tapas) at the bar. (
041 523 91 60; Calle dell'Ospedale 6397a; meals
€20-35;
11.30am-3pm & 6-11pm;
Ospedale)
