THE ‘AQUA GRANDA 1966 - 2016’ EVENTS PRESENTED

The press conference (see photo) presenting the events that will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the 4 November 1966 flood was held today in Ca’ Farsetti at midday. ‘Aqua Granda 1966 – 2016’ is intended to keep alive the memory of that dramatic moment and the city of Venice is promoting a series of events in the metropolitan area to make the ‘Aqua Granda’ known to younger people, too. The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, opened the press conference recalling the numerous events that will be held in the region and wanted to thank all the institutions, corporations and associations that have worked to organise such a prestigious programme. Mayor Brugnaro also noted that the event should not only be a reminder of 1966 but also a reflection on today’s situation, and he took the opportunity of this appointment to attack Unesco, whose criticism is not in the interests of the city. The associations involved in ‘Aqua Granda 1966 – 2016’ include the Associazione Piazza San Marco, which was represented at the press conference by its deputy chair Claudio Vernier. In particular, FAI and the Associazione Piazza San Marco are taking part in the ‘L’acqua e la Piazza’ project. This is promoted and directed by the We Are Here Venice association and represents not a return to the dramatic days of the ‘Aqua Granda’, but a joint account on the relationship between the inhabitants, the water and the heart of Venice, St Mark’s Square. In particular, these are the events that will be held: RITORNO IN PIAZZA. PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION BY ANNA ZEMELLA The exhibition is not intended to be descriptive but an emotional pathway of reappropriating the city square. A St Mark’s Square rediscovered through an intimate conversation with the stones, the stories of the ancient figures, the spread of the tide, where water is perceived as an element tied to the life of the city with which to establish a relation of harmonious coexistence. The exhibition is in two parts: The water and the stones; The ancient figures. WATER IN THE SQUARE. MULTI-VENUE EXHIBITION BY WE ARE HERE VENICE AND ELEONORA SOVRANI The exhibition collects various testimonies and materials that recount the everyday relationship with the arrival of the tides in the business premises of Associazione Piazza San Marco (APSM) members. The exhibition places may be found by following the line of water on their windows marking the level reached on 4 November 1966. A small treasure hunt of little installations made up of memories and everyday situations. INTERDISCIPLINARY CONVERSATIONS Three meetings are planned with experts in various fields linked to the subject of the future of the Square. COLLECTION OF TESTIMONIES AT THE OLIVETTI SHOP On the occasion of the exhibition, a IUAV workshop conceived by the lecturer Monica Centanni, and in association with E. Venice, will be held in the Olivetti shop to gather testimonies and declarations about Venice and its waters: experiences and impressions that will be organised and put online. THE PUBLICATIONS Two books are being published by the Venetian publisher lineadacqua: the catalogue of the photography exhibition ‘Ritorno in Piazza’ by Anna Zemela, with essays by Monica Centanni and Paolo Coltro; the scientific-promotional publication ‘Acqua in Piazza’ on the trends of and adaptations to the water by Jane da Mosto and Giannandrea Mencini, for a better understanding of the phenomenon of the tides in Venice and the future prospects from the point of view of the Associazione Piazza San Marco.

All the events