From November 16th 2011
Cini Foundation

On November 16th 2011, at the Giorgio Cini Foundation on the Island of San Giorgio (Venice), at 11.30 am, the new ELONORA DUSE ROOM was officially presented to the public, a new permanent space dedicated to the memory of the great Italian actress.

The project stems from the desire to turning the Eleonora Duse Archives of the Giorgio Cini Foundation into a “place” open to the public

From December 17th 2011 to April 1st 2012
Venetian Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts, Palazzo Franchetti

At Palazzo Franchetti, the seat of the Venetian Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts of Venice, an exhibition entitled “Photography in Japan (1860-1910) is being held since Saturday, December 17th 2011. Masterpieces”. It is the first retrospective ever organized in Italy dedicated to the great Japanese and European

From 26th December 2011 to 6th January 2012

A thick programme of theatre shows for everybody will entertain old and young, locals and tourists during the Christmas holidays and New Year’s Eve in Venice and Mestre.

The underlying theme will be the circus and clowns.

Until 30th April 2012
Murano Island, Venice

On 9th December 2011, on the Island of Murano, in the Museum of Glass, the exhibition “1861-2011: UN’ISOLA, UN’ARTE, UN MUSEO” [one island, one art, one museum] was inaugurated. It is a great retrospective exhibition on the art of glass-making, which allows visitors to learn about the history and life of this Venetian island, famous all over the world for its glass works of art. In 1861 an archive that held information on the long history of glass making in Murano was created. The

Open until 21st February 2012
Campo San Polo


On Wednesday 9th December, in Campo San Polo, the largest ice skating rink ever set up in Venice was inaugurated. It will be open to the public until Venice Carnival end, 21st February 2012.

There is a 450 square metre egg-shaped rink, surrounded by a ‘village of stalls’, a traditional Christmas market, with locally made arts-and-

Until 1st January 2012
Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Until 1st January 2012 the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice is the venue of the third edition of Massimo Barbero’s curated project “Themes&Variations”. It will be held in the halls of the Gallery dedicated to temporary exhibitions. The masterpieces of the museum are thematically and scientifically compared to pieces of art created by more modern artists from other collections. The aim is to guide visitors and help them fully understand the work of the

Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Venice is, without doubt, one of the most romantic ways to spend the last day of the year.

This year – like in the last few years – there will be a great Love Celebration in St Mark’s Square.

The arrival of the new year will be celebrated by a lovely, choral group kiss followed by a toast and fireworks, which will light up the Venice Lagoon and create a spectacular pattern of colours reflected in the water.

From 24th November 2011 to 26th February 2012
Gallerie dell’Accademia

The “Homage to Lorenzo Lotto” Exhibition in Venice will be open until 26th February 2012. The State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia) has lent the Accademia museum gallery in Venice two paintings that have rarely – if ever – been seen in Italy, “Husband and Wife” and “Madonna delle Grazie”.

From 27th November 2011
Ca’ Giustinian
Free entry

With the Finissage of the 54th International Art Exhibition, the VIDEO MEDIUM INTERMEDIUM, an exhibition of artist videos from the ASAC (Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts) collections, opened in Palazzo Giustinian, which confirms yet again that this is the venue of the permanent activities of the Venice Biennale.

23rd October 2011

One of the most important sports events in Italy, with a spectacular race track, is the Venice Marathon. Runners will start in Villa Pisani a Strà and reach Riva dei Sette Martiri in Venice. This year the race (held on 23rd October 2011) includes St. Mark’s Square. More than 7000 registered athletes will have the honour of running in front of the Correr Museum and St. Mark’s Basilica.