Venice is one of those destinations that keeps surprising you. Even if you’ve been to the city of doges many times before, you’ll keep on stumbling across hidden gems time and time again. At least, if you take the effort of straying away from the beaten path, that is. In the centuries-old floating city, every street corner, every little square, every house even has its own secrets, just waiting for you to discover them. And even though some of those are as old as the city itself, others are brand new. As is the case for Le Stanze della Fotografia.
If you, just like us, have the habit of mainly getting around Venice by foot (because those vaporettos are not only expensive but they’re also not very quick), we have to disappoint you. Venice’s brand-new photography museum Le Stanze della Fotografia is located on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, an independent isle just in front of St Mark’s square and only accessible per boat. Whether you opt for a standard vaporetto or a water taxi is up to you of course but walking there is just impossible and we wouldn’t recommend going for a swim either.
Anyway, Le Stanze della Fotografia opened its doors on March 29th and is the newest addition to Venice’s already renowned museum collection. It’s a joined effort by Fondazione Giorgio Cini and Marsilio Arte located in what used to be a customs warehouse on San Giorgio Maggiore, even though starting from the fifties it had a brief history as a boarding school. The building has now been entirely restored and the idea behind the lay-out is quite unique. Set designers who are also in charge of the Teatro Fenice designed removable objects to shape the building, which can be adapted to each and every new exhibition, giving visitors an entirely different experience each time.
Speaking about exhibitions, the museum started off with the exhibition Ugo Mulas, on show until August 6th. The project coincides with the 50th anniversary of the death of the author on 2 March 1973 and shows, amongst others, 30 photographs that have never been revealed until now. Meanwhile, there will also be a part of the museum dedicated to photographer Alessandra Chemollo. The biggest scheduled exhibition, however, is without doubt one centred around Helmut Newton, which will be on show in the spring of 2024.
Full price tickets for Le Stanze della Fotografia cost 14 euros, reduced fares are available.
