A unique event that will celebrate Italian art and craftsmanship in the heart of the lagoon, cradle of ancient trades and know-how handed down over the centuries. Everything is ready for the second edition of the Salone dell'Alto Artigianato Italiano (High-end Italian Craftsmanship Fair), which will open its doors from Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 October at the Venice Arsenale. A fair strongly desired by the Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, to valorise and promote Italian master craftsmen and, at the same time, to open the Arsenale compendium more and more to a greater number of high-profile public events as required by the historical context.
Promoted by the City of Venice and organized by Vela Spa, the Salone dell’Alto Artigianato Italiano will be held in the Tese dell'Arsenale, which will be the setting for the works of art exhibited by master craftsmen from different regions.
If the first edition was a success with the public (more than 15,000 visitors over four days, of whom one in five were foreigners), this edition sees an increase in the number of exhibitors, which will rise from a hundred to more than 140. In addition to the Tese delle Nappe and the Tese di San Cristoforo, Tese 98 and 99 will also be available to the artisans who will bring their uniqueness, cultural identity, and regional tradition to the lagoon, for a total of approximately 7,000 square metres of exhibition space. In the autumn, the seven Tese will be the heart of the exhibition, an exciting and evocative experiential journey through different cultural expressions that will present a wide range of craftsmanship that has always been synonymous with Made in Italy in the world.
During the Fair, there will be the opportunity to discover the best of savoir-faire in the different categories: jewellery and accessories, sculptures and artistic works, furniture, bookbinding and paper processing, lighting and metal working, marble and stone working, glass art, lace and weaving, artistic restoration and conservation, artistic upholstery, violin making, haute couture, paper-mâché. And again, pianos, umbrellas, shoes, writing instruments, hats, artistic fireplaces and leather goods.
What was once the beating heart of the naval art and seafaring of the Serenissima will therefore become, for four days, a privileged showcase to admire and purchase a selection of high-quality artefacts of original design.
The Fair, which has been certified by the Veneto Region as a fair of national importance, has also received the ISO 20121:2012 certification from RINA since its first edition, attesting that the event is managed according to the principles of sustainability.
The event will also be an opportunity to meet the artisans, discover their history and the creative process behind the realisation of each object through more than 70 live demonstrations, events and conferences to delve into themes related to craftsmanship and art, to discover the latest trends and innovations in the sector. A great showcase, therefore, that highlights what is behind the craftsmanship, the passion and care for each object made, but also the path that leads a material - noble or not - to be transformed into an authentic masterpiece.
In the year marking the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death, the Salone dell'Alto Artigianato Italiano pays tribute to him through the exhibition, set up on the ground floor of the Torre di Porta Nuova, titled “The Knowledge of Marco Polo for the Safeguarding of Craft and Gastronomic Excellence Traditions”. This is part of a broader project, included in the official program of the Polo celebrations by the National Committee and curated by Wavents President Massimo Andreoli, which promotes the knowledge of the tangible and intangible heritage of the countries encountered by the Venetian merchant during his long journey to the East, described in the pages of “The Travels of Marco Polo.”
The exhibition includes several high-quality Chinese craft objects, mostly from cities once visited by Marco Polo, such as Suzhou, twinned with Venice since 1980, Hangzhou, and Yangzhou. Accompanying the exhibition will be a video showcasing the production processes of the various artefacts. The project will continue with three meetings dedicated to tea culture along Marco Polo’s route on October 17, November 29, and December 12 at the Ca’ di Dio Hotel in Venice.
During the opening days of the Show, the exhibitions ‘Waterproof Venice’ (Tesa 66), ‘Souvenir’ (Tesa 105) and ‘The Spirit and Colour of Matter’ (Tesa 92) will also be open to visitors.
Among the excellent presences in the Arsenale, space will also be given to traditional Venetian craftsmanship and the partnership with the Fondazione Musei Civici, which will be exhibiting ‘I mestieri dell'arte’ (Tesa 113), an initiative highlighting the importance of the Decorative Arts, a pillar of Italian creativity. The initiative not only celebrates craftsmanship but also addresses contemporary challenges, such as the transmission and protection of knowledge and made in Italy, promoting an active dialogue between schools, training centres and cultural heritage. Significant realities will participate, such as the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli, for lace the Murazzo Association of Pellestrina, the Marcello Association of Burano, the Il Merletto Di Chioggia Association, the Štěpán Zavřel International Exhibition of Children's Illustration Foundation of Sarmede (TV), the ‘Politecnico Calzaturiero del Brenta’, ITS Abate Zanetti for Murano artistic glass, the Liceo Artistico Statale Michelangelo Guggenheim of Venice for textiles and the Liceo Artistico ‘G. De Fabris' for ceramics from Nove (VI).
To celebrate Murano art glass, the Glass Bateo - which has been the protagonist of Glass Week in recent days - will be moored in front of Tesa 98. An exhibition event, organised by the Consorzio Promovetro Murano (in collaboration with the Venice City Council, Vela Spa, Actv, and with the support of the Veneto Region and the Chamber of Commerce of Venice Rovigo), which will host an extraordinary anthological exhibition of around fifty works, created by seventeen companies that are licensees of the Vetro Artistico Murano trademark.
OPENING HOURS
Every day from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM (last entry at 6:30 PM);
Saturday, October 5th, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM).
The Salone dell’Alto Artigianato Italiano is promoted by the Municipality of Venice and organized by Vela S.p.a. as part of the project “Venice and its Lagoon: management and Enhancement of tourist flows,” which is funded by the Ministry of Tourism. The project aims to enhance municipalities with a tourist-cultural vocation, particularly those in which UNESCO-recognized heritage sites are located.
Institutional Partners: Veneto Region, Chamber of Commerce of Venice and Rovigo, Venice World Sustainability Capital Foundation, Venice CNA, Confartigianato, Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia, beyond Venis, AVM Spa and Veritas.
Partner: Intesa San Paolo and American Express.
Technical Partners: Artemest and Henoto.
For more information and tickets, you can visit the webpage www.saloneartigianato.venezia.it.
