NAVIGATING THE VENICE ARCHIPELAGO. HISTORIES OF THE LAGOON TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

Navigating the Venice Archipelago. Histories of the Lagoon towards Sustainable Futures is a multimedia exhibition curated by the VeNiss team and promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in collaboration with the Venice International University (VIU), with Multimedia and Exhibition Design by camerAnebbia. Conceived as a travelling exhibition, it has been presented at leading Italian and international venues and will continue its journey through a number of major Italian Cultural Institutes abroad.

Through the use of advanced digital technologies, the exhibition offers a renewed reflection on the long-term history of the Venetian archipelago, retracing not only its transformations and historical trajectories, but also the traditions, memories, and cultural legacies that have too often remained overlooked. Structured into eight multimedia chapters, the installation interactively narrates the many stories of these “interrupted landscapes”: islands and marginal spaces that for centuries hosted religious communities and welfare institutions, agricultural settlements, hospitals and military facilities, while also embodying Venice’s long-standing vocation for welcoming foreign communities, aristocratic families, and minorities from across Europe.

The installation unfolds through two complementary elements, each representing a distinct interpretative layer of the lagoon environment, in a form of immersive “experiential zapping” where texts, images, sound, and moving visuals converge into a continuous narrative flow. At its centre is an interactive table equipped with a touchscreen interface through which visitors can explore the exhibition’s thematic chapters. Each selection activates a dual visual experience: on the monitor, archival documents, historical materials, short films, and concise critical texts guide the visitor through the narrative; simultaneously, a large-scale wall projection synchronises high-resolution imagery with an original soundtrack, transforming historical storytelling into a deeply immersive spatial experience.

FRANKFURTER BUCHMESSE 2024

Italian Pavilion, Frankfurt
16/10/2024 – 20/10/2024

In collaboration with the Venice International University (VIU) and the Iuav University of Venice, the multimedia exhibition was presented as part of Manutius and the Book Revolution at the Italian Pavilion, Guest of Honour at the 76th edition of the Frankfurt Buchmesse.
Inspired by the Pavilion’s motto, “Roots in the Future,” the interactive installation offered a profound reflection on the evocative power of storytelling and digital narration in bringing lost urban and territorial landscapes back into cultural imagination.

EXPO OSAKA 2025

Italian Pavilion, Osaka
13/04/2025 – 13/10/2025

In collaboration with the Venice International University (VIU), the multimedia exhibition was showcased within the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, designed by architect Mario Cucinella. Under the guidance of Commissioner General Mario Vattani, the Pavilion received international recognition, earning the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Gold Award for excellence in “Theme Development.”
The Expo’s theme, Designing Future Society for Our Lives, offered a compelling occasion to reflect upon a more equitable and sustainable future, one that places quality of life and the active participation of individuals at the very heart of societal transformation.

BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA 2025

Tesa dell’Isolotto, Darsena Grande dell’Arsenale, Venice
10/05/2025 – 23/11/2025

In collaboration with the Venice Sustainability Foundation (VSF), the multimedia exhibition was set up as part of the exhibition project “Intelligent Venice – The Oldest City of the Future” at the 2025 Architecture Biennale.

The interactive installation became the centrepiece of one of the five “Apses of Intelligence,” dedicated to Urban Form, allowing visitors to explore the centuries-old ontological relationship that the capital has maintained with its surrounding water landscape.

ISTITUTO VENETO DI SCIENZE, LETTERE ED ARTI

Palazzo Loredan, Campo Santo Stefano, Venice 01/07/2025 – 08/08/2025

In collaboration with the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (IVSLA), the multimedia installation was presented within the prestigious venue of Palazzo Loredan.
In the presence of the Institute’s President, Professor Andrea Rinaldo, the exhibition was inaugurated in the evocative setting of the Panteon Veneto, home to an extraordinary collection of marble busts honouring the leading figures of Venetian history and culture.

EXHIBITION CREDITS
Navigating the Venice Archipelago. Histories of the Lagoon towards Sustainable Futures

PROJECT OF
Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

IN COLLABORATION WITH
Department of Cultural Heritage: Archaeology, History of Art, Cinema and Music (DBC), Università degli Studi di Padova
Venice International University

EXHIBITION CURATED BY
Ludovica Galeazzo (Università degli Studi di Padova; I Tatti – The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies)
Principal Investigator of the VeNiss project (ERC-2021-StG, G.A. n. 101040474)

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Coordination
Umberto Vattani (Venice International University)
Donatella Calabi (Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti)
Carmelo Marabello (Venice International University; Università Iuav di Venezia)
with
Jacopo Bonetto (Università degli Studi di Padova)
Giovanni Caniato (formerly Archivio di Stato di Venezia)
Gianmario Guidarelli (Università degli Studi di Padova)
Deborah Howard (University of Cambridge)
Alina Payne (I Tatti – The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies)
Andrea Rinaldo (Università degli Studi di Padova; Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti)
Elena Svalduz (Università degli Studi di Padova)
Francesco Vallerani (Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia)
Stefano Zaggia (Università degli Studi di Padova)

RESEARCH GROUP AT THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE (DBC), UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA

Gianlorenzo Dellabartola
Simone Fatuzzo
Martina Massaro
Federico Panarotto

RESEARCH GROUP AT VENICE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Ilda Mannino

MULTIMEDIA AND EXHIBITION DESIGN

by camerAnebbia

Marco Barsottini
Lorenzo Sarti
Matteo Tora Cellini
with
Paolo Baschera
Giorgia Caiozzo
Federico Campagnello
Giacomo Colombo
Matteo Crotta
Andrea Martinelli
Filippo Morawetz
Michelle Pan
Mirco Sturlese

PHOTOGRAPHIC DESIGN

Roberta Orio

WITH THE CONTRIBUTION OF

Abbazia di Santa Giustina a Padova

Abbot father Giulio Pagnoni

Abbot Emeritus father Francesco Giovanni Battista Trolese

Agenzia del Demanio – Direzione Regionale Veneto

Massimo Gambardella – Director

Marco Benedetti

Archivio di Stato di Venezia

Stefania Piersanti – Director

Salvatore Alongi

Pier Paolo De Minicis

Ecomuseo dei Lazzaretti Veneziani

Gerolamo Fazzini

Giorgia Fazzini

Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia

Chiara Squarcina – Director

Andrea Bellieni

Valeria Cafà

Dennis Cecchin

Monica Viero

Fondazione Querini Stampalia Onlus

Marigusta Lazzari – Direttrice

Angela Munari

Mic – Direzione regionale Musei Veneto

Letizia Pulcini – Director

Giulia Passante

Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia

Luca Mizzan – Director

Mauro Bon

San Servolo srl. Museo del Manicomio di San Servolo – La follia reclusa

Luigi Armiato – Director

Fiora Gaspari

Università Iuav di Venezia

Ludovico Centis

Carlo Federico Dall’Omo

Lorenzo Fabian

Maria Chiara Tosi

Venice International University

Igor Nash

Alessandro Spezzamonte

Francesca Zennaro

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Matteo Bigongiari (Università degli Studi di Firenze)

Davide Busato (Arcomai Studio Associato)

Giovanni Cecconi (VeniceLab)

Father Carlo Cavallari (Ordine Frati Minori di San Francesco del Deserto)

Anna Dell’Amico (Università degli Studi di Pavia)

Aldo Izzo (Comunità ebraica di Venezia – Cimitero antico)

Marcello Masiero (Photographer)

Pierandrea Moro (Scuola Grande di San Marco)

Sandro Parrinello (Università degli Studi di Firenze)

Alberto Sonino (Vento di Venezia S.r.l. – Isola della Certosa)

Giacomo Streliotto (Photography and graphic design)

PHOTOGRAPHIC AND DOCUMENTARY CREDITS

Abbazia di Santa Giustina a Padova

Archivio di Stato di Venezia

Archivio storico ENI

Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Settentrionale

project “Museo virtuale dei Porti di Venezia e Chioggia”

project “Port educational”

Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana

Cameraphoto Arte snc

Comune di Venezia, Fondo Giacomelli

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Istituto di Scienze Marine – CNR ISMAR

Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia

Fondazione Querini Stampalia Onlus

Istituto Storico di Cultura dell’Arma del Genio, Roma

Musei Vaticani, Archivio fotografico

San Servolo srl. Museo del Manicomio di San Servolo – La follia reclusa

The Albertina Museum, Vienna

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Royal Collection, London

Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge all sources correctly. The curator apologises for any inadvertent omissions or inaccuracies and will be pleased to make the necessary corrections in future editions.