Venice is usually considered a city without gardens, in reality. The city has many gardens, but they are not large and usually private, so it’s difficult to visit them.
There are, however, some unusual gardens in Venice, where you can find shelter on a sunny afternoon in the interior of private museums, and I would like to tell you about them.
The garden of the Querini Stampalia Foundation
The most unusual garden in Venice
The garden of the Querini Stampalia Foundation is part of the itinerary of this unique Venetian house-museum.
It is not a traditional garden, where flowerbeds, flowers, trees, and shrubs dominate the space, but one of the most beautiful works of contemporary Venetian architecture and, without a doubt, one of the most fascinating spaces designed by the Italian architect Carlo Scarpa in Venice.
Between 1959 and 1963, Carlo Scarpa redesigned the garden, the courtyard and the entrance. He also created a place for meetings and exhibitions.
During 1949, the Council of the Foundation decided to begin the restoration of some areas of the Palazzo.
Manlio Dazzi, the director at the time, entrusted Carlo Scarpa with the restoration of part of the ground floor, which had been rendered unusable by frequent flooding, and the garden. The restoration work began only ten years later, under the direction of Giuseppe Mazzariol, a friend and supporter of Scarpa’s, and was completed in 1963.
The intervention, which involved the removal of the nineteenth-century works and the restoration of the palace, was divided into four themes: the new bridge leading to the Palazzo, the entrance with barriers to prevent flooding, the portego designed to provide a space for exhibitions and conferences, and the garden.
Carlo Scarpa created a unique space by mixing modern and antique elements and using some typical materials of his work, such as concrete and metal, and making the garden a corner of absolute peace in a chaotic city like Venice is today. This is one of the most unusual gardens of Venice.
Branco Office for Architecture
The space beyond the Threshold
The exhibition The space beyond the Thereshold show the result of the architecture international contest DoorScape organized by the Fondazione Querini Stampalia.
The contest was made to value the entrance space in many connections, meanings and functions.
The jury, composed by: Michele De Lucchi (AMDL Circle), Donatella Calabi, Alessandra Chemollo, E. Coccia, L. Giubbilei, E. Morpugo chose ten models, that are exposed in the room Luzzato created by Carlo Scarpa.
The winner was the project presented by Branko Office of Architecture.
The team of architects designed a portal, a traditional architecture that can be an entry threshold into a private house, but also a third place where neighbors meet.
The other projects are exposed in the room Luzzato created by Carlo Scarpa.
During my last visit I had fun drawing the entrance to Scarpa’s garden, I don’t know if you will like the drawing, I hadn’t picked up a pencil and ruler for a long time.
Maybe I am better as an Art historian and tourist guide than a designer. 😊
I am waiting for you to discover together Carlo Scarpa, his garden and the Fondazione Querini Stampalia.
Fiorella Pagotto — I am an art historian and a writer, author of essays on Venetian art history, biographies of artists and an official guide to the city of Venice.
