The Venezia da Vivere guide for October 2025: new art openings, concerts, high craftsmanship with over forty Venetian masters and creatives, the first edition of the Venice Gardens Foundation Natura literary prize dedicated to young readers, and design and fashion weeks
October in Venice: design, music, fashion, and craftsmanship. Here are the month’s events:
- Salone dell’Alto Artigianato Italiano
Arsenale di Venezia, October 2–5
One hundred sixty artisans from across Italy gather at the Arsenale di Venezia for the third edition of the Salone dell’Alto Artigianato Italiano. Among the historic Tese di San Cristoforo and delle Nappe, over forty Venetian masters showcase the excellence of Italian craftsmanship through more than ninety live demonstrations.
This year sees the debut of new categories: custom motorcycle customizations with Murano glass tanks, longboard builders, typewriter restorers, and masters of willow and rattan weaving. The Consorzio Promovetro Venezia presents Murano glassmaking techniques, while impiraresse and lacemakers pass down centuries-old crafts.
Among the protagonists of Venetian craftsmanship is also the art of glass beads, recognized in December 2020 as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, a symbol of beauty, identity, and artisanship.
Institutional partners of the event are: Regione Veneto, Camera di Commercio Venezia e Rovigo, CNA Venezia, Confartigianato Venezia, Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia, as well as Venis, AVM Spa, and Gruppo Veritas.
Partners: Intesa San Paolo, Generali Italia, and Consorzio di Tutela della DOC Prosecco.
- Les Galeries Bartoux
Campo de la Carità, Ponte dell’Accademia, Dorsoduro
Les Galeries Bartoux opens its first Italian location in Venice, bringing back to life the former Cinema Accademia in Dorsoduro, at the beginning of the Art Mile.
A 1,200 sq m space transformed into a center dedicated to contemporary art, with exhibition halls, an immersive cinema, a Café des Arts, and a sculpture garden, in dialogue with the city. In this beloved Venetian venue, Galeries Bartoux inaugurates the new Bartoux Experience format, redefining the relationship between art, technology, and the public. The new location is directed by Venetian Lorenza Lain.
Among the scheduled events is Wednesday, October 22, during Venice Fashion Week with Le Mani Sapienti, the event celebrating conscious brands and young designers. Thanks to collaboration with Dalí Universe, Les Galeries Bartoux will present the exhibition Dalì è Venezia in December. A selection of sculptures by the master of Surrealism, along with paintings, sculptures, and lithographs.
- Venice Gardens Foundation Natura. Young Readers Literary Prize
Orto Giardino del Convento della Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore, Venice (Giudecca Island)
Wednesday, October 8 at 11:15 AM
For accreditation and further information: rachele.mannocchi@cominandpartners.com – giulia.prosperi@cominandpartners.com
Award ceremony for the first edition of Venice Gardens Foundation Natura. Young Readers Literary Prize, established by Venice Gardens Foundation and chaired by Adele Re Rebaudengo. The prize recognizes books that promote knowledge and respect for nature through works capable of conveying its essence, value, and meaning. During the ceremony, winners will be announced in the Fiction and Non-Fiction 6–8 years, Fiction and Non-Fiction 9–11 years, and Illustration categories, along with Special Prizes for Publishing House and Creativity.
- Casanova ½. Tribute to Federico Fellini
Sala del Portego at Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Rugagiuffa 4858
Friday, October 3 at 7 PM and 9 PM
Museum ticket: full price €12, reduced 18–25 years €2 (includes permanent collection and current exhibition)
Matteo Palazzo portrays Casanova in the debut of Casanova ½. Tribute to Federico Fellini, the show written and directed by Leonardo Petrillo celebrating three hundred years since the birth of the Venetian adventurer and anticipating the fiftieth anniversary of Fellini’s 1976 film.
The protagonist retraces the most famous events of his life alongside Carolina Sisto, who portrays the women in his journey: his love for Henriette, encounters with European dignitaries, escapes, and duels. The narrative interweaves Italian and Venetian dialect with original music by Vanessa Cremaschi performed live.
- Incroci in Musica
Teatro Goldoni, S. Marco 4650/B
Saturday, October 4, at 8 PM
Tickets available at Teatro Goldoni box office. Student rate €10
Jan Garbarek Group feat. Trilok Gurtu opens the Incroci in Musica series, organized by Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Fondazione di Venezia, and Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari in collaboration with Veneto Jazz.
Nordic atmospheres meet ethnic influences: the Norwegian saxophonist, one of the most recognizable voices in European jazz, brings to the stage fifty years of music blending spirituality and improvisation, joined by Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, a pioneer of world music. Artistic direction by Giovanni De Zorzi, Ca’ Foscari professor, musicologist, and musician.
- Venezia Sounds
Tese dell’Arsenale, Saturday, October 25
Doors open 6:30 PM with DJ set, concert 8 PM
Subsonica, Casino Royale, Planet Funk, Saturnino, and Mace live for Venezia Sounds, the music party combining rock, electronic music, and support for scientific research. Also on stage: Pisti in DJ set and The Originals, the project bringing together Africa Unite and The Bluebeaters.
The second edition of the event promoted by Fondazione Giancarlo Ligabue and Medicine Rocks arrives with expanded spaces and artistic direction by Samuel Romano. Marco Maccarini and Federico Russo host the evening supporting immunotherapy research at IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas, a laboratory led by Professor Antonio Sica, and keeping alive the memory of Tomaso Cavanna, a Venetian music manager who passed away in 2019.
Tickets available on vivaticket.com, donations via PayPal at bit.ly/MedicineRocks_Donate. Information at medicinerocks.it.
Design, fashion, and mixology: the Venetian Weeks
Venice Design Week opens from October 11–19 with installations and projects in dialogue with the city’s architecture, followed by Venice Fashion Week from October 20–26, bringing fashion, high craftsmanship, and presentations by young talents to palaces and cultural spaces. Venice Cocktail Week closes the trilogy from October 22–26 with international and local bartenders creating drinks inspired by Venetian tradition.
The overlapping dates enable concrete collaborations: venues host complementary events, professionals move between different events, and specialized audiences find a broad, integrated offering that transforms Venice into a widespread creative laboratory for several consecutive days.
The international guest of Venice Fashion Week 2025 is the City of Gdańsk
Relationships is the exhibition presenting a selection of finalist works from the Amberif Design Award 2025, an international contemporary jewelry design competition.
At Palazzo Pisani Santa Marina and the nearby Atelier Ponte de le Erbe, an exhibition, workshops to learn amber working, meetings, and the final fashion show explore the facets of amber through design, innovation, and artisan mastery, and the project connecting Venice and Gdańsk through the Amber Road, the ancient trade route linking the Baltic Sea to Venice.
Relationships< – The Amber Road
Palazzo Pisani Santa Marina, Calle delle Erbe, Cannaregio 6104
Free admission.
