An exhibition that entwines history, adventure, science and trade, human affairs and sublime art.
The thousand-year old relationship between Venice and Egypt narrated for the first time ever through more than 300 works.
In the same way that Cleopatra seduced Julius Caesar first and then, fatally, Marcus Antonius, so did the charm of Egypt conquer Rome first and then the entire West. The exhibition held in Venice from October 1st, 2011 to January 22nd, 2012 in the spectacular Sala dello Scrutinio of the Doge’s Palace – the heart and symbol of the Serenissima – illustrates the relationship between “Venice and Egypt” over almost two millennia. From the transfer of Saint Mark’s body from Alexandria in 828 to the 19th century adventures of explorers such as Giambattista Belzoni, from the vicissitudes of merchants and diplomats on the trail of goods, treasures and lands to oddities regarding humanists and scientists tackling the mysteries of hieroglyphs, of pyramids and of the ancient science of the pharaohs, all accompanied by precious finds, previously unseen texts and works of art which show how the great Venetian masters – from Giorgione to Titian, from Tintoretto to Tiepolo, from Amigoni to Strozzi, from Piranesi to Caffi – imagined Egypt.
A vivid picture of contiguity, familiarity and relations between different worlds emerges from the sections in which the exhibition is laid out: countries of “faraway” languages, traditions, customs and religions which, however, were capable of originating what may be defined as a “Mediterranean civilization”. Such strong relationships that Venice was the only European city that, from the year 1000, had an Arabic name that differed from its original one: “al-bunduqiyya”. A cultural affair that is therefore complex and multi-faceted, spoken of in an exhibition that will surprise the audience by the findings of the research conducted and by the over 300 exceptional works that were collected for this occasion.
A complex and multi-faceted cultural affair, represented in an exhibition that will surprise the audience by the findings of the research conducted and by the over 300 exceptional works that were collected for this occasion.
The scientific project – under the curatorship of Enrico Maria Dal Pozzolo (Università degli Studi of Verona), Rosella Dorigo and Maria Pia Pedani (Università Ca’ Foscari of Venice), and staging project by Michelangelo Lupo – involved almost 70 specialists including the scientific committee, cataloguers and experts involved in analyzing the material and the respective surveys.
A project promoted by the Comune di Venezia, the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and the city’s Port Authority, with an extended and prestigious promoting committee, which includes the Patriarchy of Venice, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, the Veneto Region and the Province of Venice, Università Ca’ Foscari of Venice, IUAV (Venice School of Architecture), Università degli Studi of Padua, Università degli Studi of Verona. Organized by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia in collaboration with Villaggio Globale International and catalogue published by Skira.
This exhibition is about history, culture, art, but also dreams.
GENERAL INFO
Venue: Palazzo Ducale, Piazza San Marco 1 – 30124, Venice
Date: from October 1st 2011 to January 22nd 2012
Opening hours: every day, from 8.30 am to 7 pm (ticket office 8.30 am – 6.00 pm), from November 1st , every day, from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm (ticket office 8.30 – 4.30 pm). Closed on December 25th and January 1st.
TICKET “ST. MARK’S SQUARE MUSEUMS”
A single ticket valid for the Doge’s Palace – Museo Correr – Museo Archeologico Nazionale – Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Full price: 16,00 euro
Reduced: 10,00 euro
Children aged from 6 to 14; students* aged from 15 to 25; escorts (max. 2) for groups of children or students (min. 10); citizens over 65; staff* of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali; holders of the “Rolling Venice Card”; F.A.I. members*
Free entrance: Venetian citizens and residents; I.C.O.M. members; children aged from 0 to 5; disabled people with escort; authorized guides*; interpreters accompanying groups; 1 free tickets every 15 tickets with prior bookings.
Family Offer: for families of two adults and at least one child (aged 6 to 18): one at ticket full price, the others at reduced tariff.
School Offer: 5,50 euro per person (valid from September 1st to March 15th): for students of all schools levels accompanied by their teachers; a list of the students’ names must be provided by the school
or VENICE and EGYPT exhibition only ticket
Full price: 10,00 euro
Reduced: 8,00 euro
INFO AND BOOKINGS
Telephone: call center 848082000 (from Italy); +39 041 42730892 (from abroad)
Online: BOOK NOW >