Theater in the squares, cinema on the water, fashion shows, jazz festivals, sunset aperitifs with art and music: all the summer events in Venice
During the months of outdoor events, we gather together in squares and on terraces. Following Carmina Burana, the grand concert that brought major events back to St. Mark’s Square with the orchestra and choir of the Teatro La Fenice, summer appointments in Venice continue with music, the Biennale Danza, fashion shows, and film festivals, even by boat.
Procuratie Aperte
Forty-five creative Venetians experienced the new spaces of the Procuratie Vecchie in St. Mark’s Square. Renovated by Generali and opened for the first time in 500 years, the Procuratie house an immersive exhibition, an auditorium, coworking spaces, a bookshop, and a café, and are becoming a central hub for Venetian life.
Just as they were once the home of the Procurators of Saint Mark, today they are the headquarters of The Human Safety Net, the foundation that manages global projects to support vulnerable people and promotes team working to develop human potential.
Collaboration is the focus of the appointment with the creatives who participated in the interactive games of the A World of Potential exhibition, which offers visitors an interactive experience to connect with their own potential and learn to see the best qualities in others.
Protagonists of a series of photographic portraits by Marta Formentello and Settimo Cannatella, the creatives shared their projects with Venezia da Vivere. View and follow the entire story on the Instagram accounts of @veneziadavivere and @igersvenezia with the tag #procuratieaperte.
To book your visit to the Procuratie Vecchie, which is free for residents of the Municipality of Venice until August 31, 2022, please write to visit@thehumansafetynet.org.
Women for Freedom in Jazz
Every Thursday until September 10, Women for Freedom in Jazz returns with jazz concerts on the terrace of the Hotel Carlton on the Grand Canal.
The program:
July
14 Rita Bincoletto with Diego Vio, guitar, and Max Trabucco, percussion
21 Valentina Fin with Luca Zennaro, guitar, and Marco Centasso, double bass
28 Josmil Neri, vocals, and Diletta Bibbò, classical guitar
August
4 Camilla Ferrari Sinconauti with Giacomo Maria Naccari, guitar
11 Camilla Busetto with Luca Dalla Gasperina, piano, and Federico Lincetto, double bass
18 Chiara Pelloni with Francesco Zaccanti, double bass, and Lorenzo Mazzocchetti, piano, in collaboration with Caligola Music
25 Silvia Defend with Davide Palladin, guitar
September
1 Sara Fattoretto with Paolo Vianello, piano, Alberto Zuanon, double bass, and Stefano Cosi, drums
8 Francesca Tandoi with Stefano Senni, double bass, in collaboration with Caligola Music
Reservations are mandatory with dinner at 35 euros, available online or by writing to info@carltongrandcanal.com. In case of bad weather, concerts will be held at the Ristorante La Cupola on the ground floor of the hotel.
Venezia Jazz Festival
The 14th edition of the Venezia Jazz Festival (running until July 28), the music festival that enlivens the Venetian summer with live music. The July dates are:
July 13, 2022 at 8 PM with Richard Galliano, Hermeto Pascoal e grupo & Friends feat. Gabriele Mirabassi
July 15, 2022 at 8:45 PM with the duo Mediterranea
Download the event map.
The Feast of the Redentore
This is the quintessential Venetian summer event, a deeply felt tradition in Venice that dates back over 400 years. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of July, which this year falls between July 16 and 17. Midnight is the highlight, featuring a fireworks display that lights up the night sky and reflects on the lagoon of the St. Mark’s Basin.
To thank Christ for the end of the plague in 1575, the Venetians promised to build the Basilica del Redentore on Giudecca, commissioning Andrea Palladio for the project and establishing a pilgrimage. To allow Venetians to reach the church, a votive pedestrian bridge supported by boats has been constructed ever since. It opens on Friday the 15th at 8 PM and will remain open until Sunday, except during the fireworks display. Book to participate
Theater under the stars
Venice Open Stage presents the tenth edition of the international outdoor theater festival from July 18 to 30, 2022, in the arena of Campazzo San Sebastiano in Venice.
This year begins with the Feast of the Redentore on Saturday, July 16 at 9 PM, with a special preview featuring the Piccola Orchestra MDM and Space Barena.
The event promotes individual creativity and expression through the meeting of students, actors, theater professionals, and the public, with the aim of bringing new life to the cultural production of the city of Venice.
It is conceived and curated by members of the cultural association Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani in collaboration with the universities and the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, as well as the partnership of the Municipality of Venice.
The full 2022 Program is on the website; for more information, please contact veniceopenstage@gmail.com.
Venice Fashion Summer
Summer Venice Fashion Week returns on July 20 and 28, 2022, at the Hotel Excelsior. On July 20 and 28, 2022, Hotel Excelsior and Venezia da Vivere present Summer Venice Fashion Week, two appointments with international fashion, design, and craftsmanship.
In the spectacular Sala degli Stucchi, where one of the scenes from the film Once Upon a Time in America was set, on July 20 and 28, 2022, Hotel Excelsior celebrates the return of high fashion to Venice by pairing six artisanal brands from the Veneto region with the New York lifestyle brand Là Fuori, which is dedicated to promoting artisanal textile cultures from around the world.
In the year of Homo Faber, the major event dedicated to European craftsmanship, the General Manager of Hotel Excelsior, Alessio Lazazzera, stated that the hotel has chosen to promote fine craftsmanship and the key values of sustainability with a rich program of cultural activities and events.
Sunset in Lisbon
On Wednesday, July 20, 2022, starting at 7 PM, Là Fuori arrives in Venice from Los Angeles. This lifestyle brand, founded in 2019 in New York, represents a community of “nomadic and creative hearts” committed to the promotion and inclusion of artisanal textile cultures worldwide.
On Wednesday, July 20, Là Fuori presents Sunset in Lisbon, the new Spring Summer 2023 collection. Soft, colorful garments that soothe the soul with joyful floral sensations, shimmering atmospheres at sunset, and patterns found in the monasteries of the Portuguese capital.
The philosophy of Là Fuori is sustainable and ethical fashion that chooses organic fabrics and dyes, handcrafted by a magical team of “tailors of beauty.” “The goal is to give a face to the garments we create through a narrative that celebrates the artisan as the true protagonist of all our collections,” says Vidur Adlakha, founder and CEO of the company.
This year’s innovation is the dialogue between precious silk and chiffon fabrics and elements of feathers and crystals created using 3D design techniques.
Là Fuori presents Sunset in Lisbon
Wednesday, July 20, 2022, from 7 PM
Sala degli Stucchi
Hotel Excelsior, Venice Lido
The Skilled Hands
On Thursday, July 28, 2022, from 7 PM, works of art born from the skilled hands of artisans will be on the runway.
Exquisite decorations, precious fabrics, hand-folded silks, embroidery, and feathers applied one by one for six Veneto brands: Beniamina Zecchin, épaule 6419, Gaiofatto, mine de rien, MyssDuvall, and Teo d’amar present unique tailoring and design collections whose common thread is the patient work of master artisans.
The Skilled Hands
Thursday, July 28, 2022, from 7 PM
Sala degli Stucchi
Hotel Excelsior, Venice Lido
Events by invitation only. For info and details, please contact hello@veneziadavivere.com. Confirmation is required. The events will be streamed live on the social media channels of @veneziadavivere and @venicefashionweek.
Biennale Danza 2022
From July 22 to 31, the Biennale Danza Festival, directed by choreographer and director Wayne McGregor, offers the opportunity to discover not only a rich daily program of performances with international soloists and companies but also the evocative spaces and extraordinary Byzantine architecture of the Venice Arsenale, which are normally closed to the public.
Read the PDF of the program for the 16th International Festival of Contemporary Dance. Purchase your ticket
The drive-in by boat!
Cinema Barch-in returns to the Venice Arsenale from July 27 to 31, 2022, and this year with a new formula: entry to the outdoor film screening, to be viewed from a boat, will be in the form of a donation.
A simple donation through the crowdfunding platform Eppela in support of the initiative and those who work on it guarantees access to the event area and reserves your boat or seating spot in advance for one of the scheduled evenings (yet to be defined). Free donations can be made, with a Barch-in themed gadget as a gift.
The event is made possible thanks to the support of the Municipality of Venice and the Italian Navy, in collaboration with Campari and Prosecco DOC, which will accompany the sunset aperitif and the start of the screening, and is produced by the FEMS du Cinéma Association.
Book now and stay tuned!
Cinema returns to Campo San Polo
The unmissable appointment with Cinema in Campo San Polo, one of Venice’s largest and most central squares, returns from August 13 to 31 and from September 2 to 5, 2022.
This year, the film festival will feature only movies from the CineMoving touring circuit, while films from the Lido Film Festival will be screened at the Cinema Sotto le Stelle festival in Piazza Mercato, Marghera.
The Program
Thursday, August 20: Please Stand By by Ben Lewin.
Friday, August 21: The Martian by Ridley Scott.
Saturday, August 22: Inside Out. Animated film by Ronnie Del Carmen and Pete Docter.
Sunday, August 23: Tintoretto: The Artist Who Killed Painting by Erminio Perocco.
Monday, August 24: Thelma, Louise and Chantal by Benoît Pétré.
Tuesday, August 25: Rara by Pepa San Martin.
Wednesday, August 26: If Life Gives You Lemons by Ciro D’Emilio.
Thursday, August 27: 10 Items or Less by Brad Silberling.
Friday, August 28: The Bookshop by Isabel Coixet.
Saturday, August 29: The Man Who Knew Too Much by Alfred Hitchcock.
Sunday, August 30: The Other Side of Hope by Aki Kaurismäki.
Full price tickets are €6 and reduced price €5. Contact circuitocinema@comune.venezia.it.
The Premio Campiello
In July, the first series of meetings leading up to the 60th edition of the Premio Campiello: on July 27 at 7 PM on the fourth floor, at the panoramic terrace of T Fondaco dei Tedeschi for the presentation with Emanuele Zinato of the 2022 Premio Campiello Opera Prima (to book, contact fondaco.culture@dfs.com) and on Thursday, July 28 at 6:30 PM at the Hotel Ausonia & Hungaria on the Venice Lido with the authors of the five finalists (info@ausoniahungaria.com).
The awards ceremony will return to its historic venue at Teatro La Fenice on September 3, 2022, with a new feature for next year: an award for works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry that are “connected to nature intended as a living entity in harmony with the whole,” supported by the Venice Gardens Foundation.
Waiting for the next Venice Film Festival
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro, Wes Anderson, Luca Guadagnino, and Rocío Muñoz Morales (the godmother) are some of the international film stars we will meet at the next Venice Film Festival. Among the films, it is rumored that we will likely see Master Gardener by Paul Schrader screened Out of Competition; he will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement this year along with Catherine Deneuve.
The immortal stars of Riccardo Ghilardi
The Hotel Excelsior on the Venice Lido, which hosted the first event dedicated to Venice Cinema in 1932, will host the exhibition Three Minutes at the Excelsior by photographer Riccardo Ghilardi from August 31 to October 23, 2022, featuring portraits of artists photographed during the world’s most important film festivals.
Throughout the 79th Venice International Film Festival of the Biennale di Venezia, from August 31 to September 10, 2022, we will bring you backstage and Red Carpet coverage, featuring the stars and behind-the-scenes stories of the world’s oldest festival.
Stay connected with us for live broadcasts from the Festival, Coffee with Venezia da Vivere, and Before the Red Carpet appointments: this year, our coverage will once again be at the Excelsior Lounge, the space dedicated to interviews, shoots, and Instagram live sessions envisioned by Venezia da Vivere for Hotel Excelsior.
The 2022 Historical Regatta
The Historical Regatta is the main event in the annual calendar of Voga alla Veneta races, a discipline unique in the world practiced for millennia in the Venice lagoon, which this year falls on Sunday, September 4.
The full program is on the official website.
Current exhibitions
François Xavier Saint Pierre
Fondazione Giorgio e Armanda Marchesani (Fondamenta Rossa, Dorsoduro 2525) presents The Spiders and the Bees, a solo exhibition of paintings by François Xavier Saint Pierre, a Canadian and Venetian artist, until July 31, 2022.
The space is open Monday to Thursday from 3 PM to 7 PM and Friday to Sunday from 11 AM to 7 PM.
Glass and Opera
During the International Year of Glass, from July 1 to November 27, 2022, the Casa di Carlo Goldoni hosts the traveling exhibition Glass and Opera, curated by Sandro Pezzoli and Chiara Squarcina.
Born from the union of two art forms linked to Venice—the art of Murano blown glass and opera, which came to life in Venice in 1637 with the opening of the ancient Teatro San Cassiano—the project will be presented in Milan, Naples, Madrid-Alcorcón, and Segovia after its Venice debut.
The new itineraries at the Royal Palace of Venice
The journey to discover the Museo Correr in St. Mark’s Square expands by twenty beautifully decorated and furnished rooms starting July 15. These are part of the private spaces of the historic Royal Palace overlooking the Royal Gardens, which have been brought back to life through historical research and restoration work. The original decorations, tapestries, furniture, and furnishings belonging to illustrious inhabitants have been recovered: Eugène de Beauharnais – Napoleon’s godson, Empress Sissi, Maximilian of Habsburg, King Victor Emmanuel II, and Queen Margherita of Savoy.
Lorenzo Quinn’s Baby 3.0
Venice is preparing to host the new giant work of art by Lorenzo Quinn. From the “large hands” at Palazzo Ca’ Sagredo in 2017 to those titled Building Bridges present at the Arsenale since 2019, from July 15 to October 31, 2022, in the garden of Palazzo Ca’ Corner la Ca’ Granda in St. Mark’s—a splendid building on the Grand Canal designed by Jacopo Sansovino and home to the Municipality of Venice and the Prefecture—we can admire Baby 3.0, the monumental creation curated by Amira Gad.
The article is by Lucia Pecoraro.
We thank the press offices of Teatro La Fenice, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Lorenzo Quinn, La Biennale Danza, Barch-in, Venezia Jazz Festival, and MUVE for Glass and Opera for providing the photographic material.
The other photographs are by Giuseppe Rutigliano for the cover and Rossana Viola, Massimo Peca, Jacopo de Michelis, and Marta Formentello for Venezia da Vivere and Venice Fashion Week.
