La Biennale, Venice

Model of the Encyclopedia Palace

The Venice Biennale is one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. It began as an international art exhibition and has expanded to include festivals on art, music, cinema, theater, and architecture. Probably the two most famous exhibits linked to the Biennale are the Art and Architecture exhibitions, which alternate with each other so that they are bi-annual - usually, running from June to the end of November.

The cinema aspect of La Biennale takes place every year as the Venice Film Festival.  Music, theater and dance exhibitions are much smaller and don't last as long as the primary two. The festival also has kid and family friendly activities, so check the website for a calendar of events.

This year, 2013, is the International Art Exhibit - but what is it exactly you might ask? It is the most prestigious art exhibit in the world. You will find art from over 150 artists from 37 countries, as well as 88 national participants - meaning in addition to the individual artists,  88 countries have their own rooms or pavilions to display national offerings. It is spread in two main areas of Venice - the Giardini and the Arsenale.  The Giardini is in the eastern part of Venice and contains the main Central Pavilion showcasing individual artists as well as 29 national pavilions spread throughout the garden.  The Arsenale is a HUGE collection of buildings that date back to the 13th century where boats were built and armed for the military of the Serenissima. It was really the first assembly-type production center of the world. It's an interesting place to see in and of itself, and  now is used to host exhibits.

My Italian looks forward to this festival every year, whether art or architecture, he cannot wait to see what's on display. So, this past weekend we hopped on the train and headed to Venice to see what's what. There is so much to see that you can't do it all in one day; so the ticket you buy is good for two days - when you purchase the ticket make sure you get the right one, one is for 2 consecutive days, and another is for any 2 days be they consecutive or not.  We decided to see the Arsenale first as I had not seen the area since it was renovated.   It was very interesting - not only seeing the venue which consists of beautiful huge spaces, but also seeing the art. This year's theme is "Il Palazzo Enciclopedio" (The Encyclopedia Palace) which is based on an imaginary museum meant to hold all worldly knowledge. Marino Auriti had this dream and actually wanted to build a 136-story building in Washington that would take up over 16 blocks. While that building could not be built, the idea also correlates with the idea of "building" memory palaces, or memory maps, a technique used both in ancient times and today for remembering information. I don't know that much about art (especially modern art) or memory maps, but it did what art is supposed to do. It makes you think.

Sometimes the images are beautiful, sometimes they are scary. they are weird and creepy, maybe even smutty. you can get lost in the beauty of some detailed drawing and stare in awe at the talent of the artist. or you can avert your eyes from the creepy film clips of women with fluorescent makeup lounging in a disgustingly dirty space holding chickens. The art can be hauntingly beautiful or hauntingly grotesque (like the chickens. lol) but it all has the same purpose. It makes you feel and react. You don't always understand the underlying symbols or exactly what social point the artist is trying to make, but it does make you think. it makes you discuss possibilities, and it broadens your mind. We're only halfway through but I look forward to going back to see the exhibits in the Giardini. If you are going to Venice, you should try to catch La Biennale - it's really cool to share such an international experience.

Here are a few pics what we saw; click on my Instagram icon to see a few more.

More later...

A Honey of a Day

Well, I’ve just completed my first summer in Italy. It was hot, but thankfully we have air-conditioning (and my Italian is not afraid to use it!). It was also much, much quieter as a mass exodus occurs when Italians flee the cities for umbrellas on a sandy beach or hikes in the cool fresh mountain air. We worked, but did enjoy the slower pace of our city. Now the vacationers are back and the city is bustling once again.

It seems that the end of summer opens up a whole new universe of activities, many (or most) of which are around food. If you know anything about Italians, you know that they are passionate about their food. Every region, every city, has their own unique local products and cuisine that they like to celebrate. So from now until the Christmas markets start up, there are a million and one events available, from tiny to huge - to explore the people/culture and see parts of the country (or region in my case) that you won’t find in the travel guides.

Festa del Miele, Bosco Chiesanuova

Local vendor

My first exprience of the season was going to the “Festa del Miele” (Honey Festival) in the town of Bosco Chiesanuova, which is in the province of Verona (region – Veneto).  Bosco Chiesanuova is a small town in the “Pre-Alp” mountain area known as Lessinia, in the northwest corner of the Verona province.  I was very excited about the event because 1). I love honey and 2). my husband S. was not familiar with the area – so it would be an adventure for us both.

Evidently, honey is one of the "prodotti tipici" of the area and while it was a small event, it was charming! Full of locals and not so crowded that you couldn’t take your time wandering around looking and tasting the different products. Before I met S. I was unaware that honey came in different flavors and forms (growing up, my honey came out of a bear shaped bottle) – the flavors on display varied from a mild light honey collected from bees who flock to wild flowers (millefiori) to the medium taste/colored one from dandelions (tarassaco) to a strong dark honey from chestnut trees (castagno). There were also blended honey mixtures like the two that we bought - strawberry jam/honey and a spread made from ground hazelnuts and honey (which almost has a chocolately taste).  There were candies, candles, and various creams/lotions all produced from local bee keepers.

Another perk is trying dishes that are particular to that area/town.

Local gnocchi

Evidently, the population of the Lessinia area is Cimbri, so their culture, food, even language are unique.  While we didn’t have time that day to explore the history of the Cimbri in depth, we did get to taste some of the food. Our lunch was a bowl of delicious “Gnocchi Sbatui” – what? I know, S. had never heard of it either, but let me tell you – it was DELICIOUS. Instead of the gnocchi being soft little pillows, they were flatter and irregularly shaped – kind of like a cross between standard gnocchi and spaetzle – made from smoked ricotta cheese (I think, my Italian is not great yet), tossed in melted butter, then sprinkled with breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. YUM!!!  Talk about delicious! and it’s unlikely you would find it anywhere else in Italy. 

As we walked around we also saw that there was a film festival starting and while we didn’t stay to see any films, we did get to explore the theater and little book fair they were hosting. Italians are seriously creative and the event décor for the film festival was stylish and elegant - even a small local festival looks modern and cool. On our way out, we found a shop which sold Cimbri food and specialties so we decided to try some local cheese seasoned with chives and a pastry (can't remember the name) – which was a zabaglione-cream filled éclair type pastry. Both were very tasty, though only the cheese made it all the way home J

Before I close, let me just say that the Lessinia area is BEAUTIFUL. I fell in love with it. The mountains had wide expanses of green meadows and the towns were lovely – it is an area I look forward to further exploring and posting about.

More later…