CARLO SCARPA IN VENICE
CARLO SCARPA IN VENICE
“Carlo Scarpa in Venice” is designed for those who are interested in the relationship between Venice and Modern architecture, which became part of a millenary heritage and a hallmark in the city.
He was one of the leading Italian architects of the XXth century. Scarpa was born in Vicenza, although his education and early career took place in Venice, which deeply influenced his unique style.
He showed how contemporary design could match historical legacy, without giving up functionality.
“Carlo Scarpa in Venice” begins in St Mark Square, an absolute highlight for both regular tourists and passionate scholars.
Over the centuries, acclaimed architects dealt with “la Piazza” as a stunning source of inspiration and a meaningful setting praised in the entire known world.
In 1957 Carlo Scarpa was honored to renovate the Olivetti store located on the ground floor of the Procuratie Vecchie, a commission supposedly unrelated to the grand context.
The “Cavaliere” Adriano Olivetti was an enlightened entrepreneur known for his interest in innovative typewriters and high-tech calculators with a modern design.
Therefore he needed a specialist who could epitomize his futuristic spirit and enhance the distinctive features of the displayed products.
It took Scarpa a couple of years to make a dark rectangular showroom into a bright and spacious boutique, by adding large windows that showed the articulated interior.
He succeeded in creating a consistent visual impact, through the accuracy of refined materials, the subtle control of light, and the use of different colors.
The prestigious location of the store affected the interior decoration: next to the front door is “Nudo al sole”, a sculpture designed by the local artist Alberto Viani, standing right in the middle of a black marble base filled with water, like a sea wave or a Lagoon mermaid.
The multicolored glass mosaic floor marks the areas for different purposes, as a tribute to the nearby St.Mark Basilica.
The Olivetti store was closed in 1997, and in early 2011 was entrusted to FAI, the Italian Environmental Foundation, which completed the necessary restoration works before the re-opening.
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Our tour “Carlo Scarpa in Venice” continues with the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Campo Santa Maria Formosa.
Once the home of a prominent aristocratic family, Count Giovanni Querini bequeathed his property to Venice Municipality in 1869.
He was the last descendant of a noble line that dates back to the Medieval Age, boasting distinguished diplomats, bold admirals, skilled commanders in chief, humanists, and esteemed politicians.
Since then, the Foundation has constantly preserved the historical heritage and supported avant-garde contemporary projects.
The most relevant years were the 1950s-60s, due to the presidency of Giuseppe Mazzariol, a Modern Art Professor at Ca’ Foscari Venice University, who commissioned Carlo Scarpa the renovation of the ground level often flooded by high tide and the garden.
Scarpa engaged fully in this project from 1959 through 1963 and converted a former storage area into a large room for temporary exhibitions.
On one side, a stylish gate overlooks the canal, opposite a Japanese-oriented garden, a true oasis of delights.
Scarpa showed how traditional crafts, modern planning, and old contexts could complement one another.
His work was a prime example for the masters Valeriano Pastor and Mario Botta, who carried out substantial interventions of the Palazzo Querini in the recent decades.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Negozio Olivetti in St.Mark Square
- Querini Stampalia Foundation
MORE ABOUT
THIS TOUR
When Carlo Scarpa passed away in 1978 at the age of 72 y.o., he was at the peak of his career and fame.
His style was already a model for architects throughout the world, although he never completed a full-scale university education and was not identified as a professional. Yet at work, everybody called him “Professor”.
Scarpa was born in Vicenza in 1906, and after the premature death of his mother, he moved to Venice in 1919.
A few years later he graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts with the qualification of “Professor of Architecture”.
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In his late 1920s, he started to work for the artistic glass furnace MVM Cappellin & Co., and in 1932 he became Art director of Paolo Venini glass factory until the mid-1940s. The daily relationship with talented glass masters increased his skills and knowledge as a designer.
Eventually, his glass works were successfully displayed at the Venice Biennale and Milan Triennale and today are auctioned as collection pieces.
It was the beginning of an academic career. Afterwords Scarpa started teaching “Design and interior decoration” at the Venice Department of Architecture.
In the same years, he worked at the upgrading of Ca’ Foscari Conference Hall, Venice University headquarters.
The end of World War II marked another turning point in his work history.
He traveled a lot outside his native region, as a specialist in the renovation of historical buildings and landmarks.
In Venice, his donors were private and public: Querini Stampalia Foundation, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Olivetti store, Department of Architecture and Foreign Languages.
He also operated in the Veneto, with two relevant restoration works at the Museo di Castelvecchio in Verona, the Museo Canova at Possagno, and Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo, Sicily.
His fame led to a series of projects commissioned by local businessmen, among which the Brion Cemetery at San Vito d’Altivole.
Scarpa started the project in the late 1960s for Onorina Tomasi Brion, widow of the Brionvega Electronics Company founder, as a tribute to her husband and her family.
This last work is regarded as one of his most outstanding masterpieces, and for this reason, the family asked to reserve a burial place for him in 1978.
DRESS CODE AND ADVICE
- No dress code is required
COST
- Museum fees per person:
- Negozio Olivetti 8 euros full rate
- Querini Stampalia 10 euros full rate
- This tour is not available on Mondays.
This tour lasts three hours and costs 280 euros up to six people.
CONTACT US
WALKS INSIDE ITALY
ART CITY WALKS aff. Network Giv
San Polo 1541 30125 VENICE, ITALY
C.F. e P. Iva 04331170276
Prot. 2016/16140 del 25-2-2016
Polizza Europ Assistance 8957877
