UNESCO and Venezia da Vivere present the Blue Guide to Venice’s Ateliers, promoting craftsmanship as a sustainable production model.
Explore Venice’s artisan workshops with the new Blue Guide produced by UNESCO and written by Venezia da Vivere. Our commitment is to promote Venetian talent, and today we do so with this guide, which will lead you through districts and trades.
We invite you to read it and create your own personal itinerary through the workshops, in the shade of the Venetian calli. Artisans are the city’s intangible heritage, and supporting them means valuing their uniqueness and reducing environmental impact, as theirs is an inherently sustainable production model that invests in quality and attention to detail, while healthily boosting the city’s economy.
Purchasing artisanal products means making a choice of conscious consumption. This guide promotes the “Fil Bleu” campaign and Ocean Literacy in Action, which began in Venice with the World Ocean Conference.
Why is craftsmanship sustainable?
Handmade and small-scale production reduces environmental impact and limits material waste. Artisans prefer local, often recycled materials, reducing the carbon footprint caused by transport.
The use of natural and durable materials gives products greater longevity, countering planned obsolescence and hyper-consumerism. Artisanal production takes place in local workshops, ensuring a short and transparent supply chain, which allows for better knowledge of product origins and working conditions, fostering fair and respectful practices.
For this reason, craftsmanship also represents an important factor for social cohesion and economic development for the community.
Finally, purchasing an artisanal product means developing a sentimental connection with it, leading us to pass it down to new generations.
Download the PDF of the Blue Guide in Italian.
Article by Laura Scarpa.
Photos by Marta Formentello.
