The Open Ateliers 2021 guide for the Santa Croce district
A characteristic of the Santa Croce district is its vitality combined with a convivial atmosphere. Often in the afternoon or on Sunday mornings in Campo San Giacomo de l’Orio, you can see children playing; people of all ages sit on benches to chat or read a book in relaxation. Around this square, there are several establishments where you can enjoy Venetian cuisine, vegetarian dishes, cicchetti, or a platter of local products accompanied by a good prosecco. Perhaps in the sunshine.
The Natural History Museum is worth a visit, offering workshops and educational programs while preserving evidence from Prehistory to the present day. It is the legacy of entrepreneur-paleontologist Giancarlo Ligabue. Thanks to this great Venetian, we can see up close the skeleton of a 7-meter dinosaur from over 100 million years ago, a 20-meter whale, and a crocodile, the Sarcosuchus imperator, one of the largest species ever to exist.
Many small alleyways branch out in this area, hosting boutiques, printing workshops, and craft ateliers. The CalleLonga District was born here: a network of various ateliers and shops that strengthen the discovery and promotion of Venetian craftsmanship. You can find the paper artist who creates jewelry and magical sculptures, the three-dimensional mirrors, radical fashion and the creative florist, and then the contemporary design carpentry workshop that explores the intersections between wood, glass, and sustainability, as well as artistic printing houses, museums, and many spaces for art.
The art of ancient crafts is always present in Venice. If we head toward the Grand Canal, in Campo San Stae there is the Scoletta dei Tiraoro e Battiloro, a small building from 1709 that recalls the precious work of the “tiraoro” who manufactured gold threads for textile manufacturing, clothing, and goldsmithing, and the “battiloro” who thinned gold into sheets for decorating works of art and architecture, an art in which we have excellence in the Cannaregio district with the atelier Mario Berta di Battiloro.
Overlooking the Grand Canal are two other cultural institutions of great importance: Ca’ Pesaro, the International Gallery of Modern Art, which houses 19th and 20th-century collections and works by Klimt, Rodin, Medardo Rosso, and the Fondazione Prada with its contemporary art exhibitions and events.
The entrance to the former Monastery of the Tolentini, now home to IUAV, the University of Architecture of Venice, is the door designed and built posthumously by Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, to whom we have dedicated an itinerary discovering his interventions in Venice.
Discover the workshops in the area and meet the artisans at work: book your atelier appointment by writing an email or calling the artisans directly.
The ateliers of Santa Croce
- DoppioFondo
Art printing workshop and independent publishing house, Lista Vecchia dei Bari 1256, Santa Croce
From students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice to professional printers: Tiziano Ciao, Nicolas Magnan, and Valeria Milan are three friends who, in their small printing workshop near Palazzo Mocenigo, create artist books by hand. The name DoppioFondo is also that of their cultural association, which organizes numerous workshops for adults and children, where you can learn the printer’s craft among matrices, inks, and practical techniques of this ancient and very manual art.
For those who want to try their hand at working like a printer, for information and reservations contact doppiofondofondo@gmail.com or the mobile number 340 2776813. And to discover more, follow their Instagram channel.
- Sartoria Dei Dogi
Calle del Tentor 1840, Santa Croce
Nearly a silver anniversary for Sartoria Dei Dogi, which cuts, sews, and tailors the famous Tabarri: circular men’s cloaks with ancient sartorial origins. Each garment is handmade using thick, heavy woolen fabrics in dark colors with the characteristic fastening point under the chin. To see and touch. And not only that: Sabrina Manuela Pigozzo, the designer who carries on the family’s sartorial mastery, keeps alive in Venice the art of embroidery with seed beads.
Follow Sartoria dei Dogi also on Instagram. Book your visit at 041 713838, 339 6302109, or by writing an email to store@sartoriadeidogi.it.
- Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua
Venice since 1499, Santa Croce 1320
Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua is a textile company that has existed since 1499. It creates fabric masterpieces: brocades, damasks, and velvets using original 18th-century looms. A historic enterprise and great example of living Venetian art that resists the changes of time, producing wearable jewels or furnishing pieces chosen by haute couture maisons such as recently by the Dolce & Gabbana brand, which used Bevilacqua fabrics for the new Luxury Living line, exhibited at the end of last August at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia.
To learn about the history of Venetian haute craftsmanship, visit the Instagram account or arrange an appointment for a visit by contacting via email bevilacqua@luigi-bevilacqua.com or by calling 041 721566.
- Lunardelli Venezia
Design woodwork, Calle Seconda del Cristo 2210/A, Santa Croce
Between the malleable and the living, especially if de paina, wood is the ideal companion for the design journey of Lunardelli Venezia, a historic company specializing in woodworking that produces objects inspired by Venice and Venetian culture.
The high artisanal quality makes Lunardelli a carpentry workshop and contemporary design exhibition space that produces collaborations with young designers and smart innovations thanks to the use of numerically controlled machinery with digital functionality, such as the NFC tag inserted in each piece to guarantee its authenticity and tell the story of the piece and the element of Venice that inspired it.
You can visit the Lunardelli Venezia workshop and showroom by booking a visit at 0421 67222 or via email at info@lunardellivenezia.net. For a photographic preview of the company’s unique pieces, follow the account on Instagram.
- Paperoowl
The art of paper, Fondamenta Rio Marin, 821, Santa Croce
Paper is a precious material. And Stefania Giannici, in her workshop, draws inspiration from her travels, creating art objects in paper with her own hands. Jewelry, home decorations, notebooks, and boxes, also custom-made, created using Venetian, European, and Oriental crafting techniques and with papers from around the world. The Tivitti (I saw you!) collection, born from memories and suggestions of her Sicily, its colors and the suits of playing cards, from which individual creations take their names: 10 of cups for the blue, white, and red jewel, 7 of swords for the one in yellow, white, blue, and aqua green, and 2 of coins for the creation with a winter flavor in black, red, and blue.
Curious to meet Stefania? Book your visit at 392 610 4919, via email at info@paperoowl.com, or follow her account on Instagram.
- Slash
Radical fashion boutique, Calle Longa 2156, Santa Croce
Essential and geometric lines that make this style cosmopolitan. Slash is a space created for a contemporary and innovative glam proposal thanks to collaboration with young international designers who create for a nonconformist target outside common dictates.
To book your visit to the Venetian store, call 0418224399 or send an email to venezia@slashtreviso.com. Discover the models in the boutique from the Instagram account of Slash Venezia.
- Psyche di Caterina Barbini & C
Calle Longa 2135, Santa Croce
It is the desire of Venetian Caterina Barbini to enhance the art of Murano glass, wisely preserved by her family for generations. Hers is a historic company specializing in glass engraving and the production of mirrors, particularly those from the collection designed by Edoardo Brunello, with three-dimensional forms. In her atelier, you will also find vintage jewelry and objects blown and semi-transparent, the result of a constant dialogue between designers and artisan mastery.
- Bottega 2137 – homeflowers and events
Calle Longa, Santa Croce 2137
The magic of flowers that rebalance the soul, minimal and contemporary design for plants, flowers, fragrances, candles, vases, tableware. An unstoppable search for unique products, expertise, and love for people: these are the florists of Bottega 2137. Beautiful is the gift idea of floral compositions with vases in innovative materials, exciting are the home objects from all over Europe. Manuela and Paola are also highly sought after for creating party decorations and event arrangements. The cover photo is one of their compositions and is by Marco París.
- Venezia Stampa
Santa Croce 2173
Glass, wood, paper, lead, and ink. Everything will help us understand the composition of movable type letterpress printing, which since 1989 the artistic printing house in Campo Santa Maria Mater Domini has preserved with passion, proud of its two original Heidelberg printing presses.
Contact Michele Costantini and Luca Valonta to announce your presence at the printing house. You can call them at 041 715455 or by writing an email to info@veneziastampa.com. If you are curious, Venezia Stampa is also on Instagram.
Appointment with art
- Fondation Valmont
Palazzo Bonvicini, Calle Agnello 2161/A, Santa Croce
When Art meets Beauty is the claim of La Maison Valmont, a family business and world leader in cosmetics, which at Palazzo Bonvicini has founded its art center. Entrepreneur Didier Guillon is also a curator, philanthropist, art collector, and artist. We meet him in this capacity in the current exhibition Alice in Doomedland, open to the public until February 27, 2022, curated by Luca Berta and Francesca Giubilei.
For a guided tour of the exhibition, book via email at info@evalmont.com or call 041 8050002.
News and previews on the Instagram account.
Where to stop
- Al Prosecco
Campo San Giacomo da l’Orio 1503, Santa Croce
For 22 years in Campo San Giacomo da l’Orio, the Enoteca Al Prosecco has delighted us with a wide selection of Veneto biodynamic wines to try and taste. Here Davide takes care of preparing the cicchetti, his wife Eleonora is at the coffee bar, Stefano and Beatrice are always ready to guide you in tasting local products and pairings, preferably with bubbles. To book your table, send an email to info@alprosecco.com.
The ecosystem of creativity
Atelier Aperti is an initiative to promote Venetian craftsmanship. It is a project by Venezia da Vivere, like Venice Fashion Week, the event that promotes Venice as a center of production and creativity, presenting fashion in Venice with fashion shows and events.
The next edition of Atelier Aperti is from April 12 to 30, 2022, as part of the Homo Faber program.
Do you want to be part of Atelier Aperti? Contact us via email at hello@veneziadavivere.com.
The photos: on the cover Marco Paris, then Marta Formentello and Igor Serdykov for Venezia da Vivere. The photos of Fondation Valmont were kindly provided on the occasion of the Alice in Doomedland exhibition.
