NewsHeritage
Only connect: Icomos and Europa Nostra join up to influence European Union’s one trillion euro Green Deal
Conservation experts and lobby group launch a Green Paper to put Europe’s heritage at the heart of the EU’s greening policy
NewsAcademic research
Six scholars fool the public with invented documents about the date Venice was founded
On 25 March, the city began celebrating 1,600 years of its history—but the date is somewhat fishy
NewsVenice
After long complaints about pollution and blocked views, Italy bans cruise ships in Venice’s historic centre
Decision will affect partying art collectors and redirect the mass tourism routed through the Giudecca Canal
InterviewVenice Biennale
‘Art suffers when money is scarce’: Venice Biennale’s new president on saving the city from economic devastation
Roberto Cicutto's plans range from encouraging collaboration between Venice's arts organisation to delving into the biennial's archives
NewsVenice
Billionaire collector Nicolas Berggruen takes steps to buy historic Venetian palace and turn it into a cultural thinktank
If the sale goes ahead, La Casa dei Tre Oci will be the Berggruen Institute's space for its European programming with plans to partner with major museums such as Tate and MoMA
NewsVenice
Culture war erupts over Venice mayor's closure of Doge's Palace and other civic museums until April
Luigi Brugnaro's "entrepreneurial" decision violates Venice's historic agreement with Italian state to keep the landmark open to the public
NewsVenice Biennale
Venice Biennale pleads with Christoph Büchel to return migrant boat to Sicily
Biennale officials and Sicilian town council call on artist to honour his commitment to return controversial Barca Nostra exhibit after one year
NewsVenice
Revealed: official plan to save Venice from flooding sacrifices St Mark’s basilica for Marghera, the industrial port of Venice
The mobile barriers have at last held back a flood, but they will not be raised to protect the low-lying parts of town
NewsVenice
Ocean art space in Venice church confronts city's perilous battle with climate change
Multimedia installation synthesises three years of scientific research into marine transformation across the planet
NewsVenice
New laser-scanning project will allow Venice to live on forever as a digital avatar
A team of scientists are digitally mapping the entire island of San Giorgio in a mission to preserve the sinking city as combinations of 0 and 1
CommentVenice
How to save Venice: a five-point plan by a leading citizen
Polls show that Venetians are about to re-elect a populist mayor who promises to bring back all the tourists—but none of the other eight candidates has presented a realistic alternative
Newsprizes and contests
Venice Biennale awards Golden Lions to the late curators Okwui Enwezor and Germano Celant
Honour bestowed on four previous artistic directors of the international exhibition
PreviewExhibitions
Star curators take on Henri Cartier-Bresson in Venice
Wim Wenders and Annie Leibovitz among those showing their unique interpretations of the French photographer’s own master collection at the Palazzo Grassi
FeatureBook Club
In Pictures | Can’t travel to Venice? Immerse yourself in a new book on Turner’s paintings of the watery city
Five paintings and sketches by the British artist selected from a new book
NewsClimate Change
Today, a live-streamed, UN-sponsored discussion about what culture can do in the face of sea-level rise
Send in your comments, to be presented to the UN General Assembly in September
Interviewcoronavirus
Putting our heads together: the three Guggenheim directors size up post-Covid challenges
With museums in Bilbao and Venice poised to reopen, while New York remains in lockdown, Richard Armstrong, Juan Ignacio Vidarte and Karole Vail talk about weathering the financial crisis
NewsBiennials & festivals
Venice Art Biennale delayed until 2022, now the same year as Documenta
Organisers say "it is impossible to move forward within the set time limits in the realisation of such a complex and worldwide exhibition"
NewsMuseums
Italian museums start to reopen from today after €55bn lifeline from government
National spending package includes emergency support for state museums, arts organisations and cultural businesses
NewsVenice
Explosion in chemicals factory threatens Venice with cloud of toxic smoke
The fire is now under control, but the mayor warns people to stay indoors and keep their windows closed
NewsConservation
Important underdrawings in 15th-century nativity triptych revealed in time for Easter
Restoration on the Bellini workshop piece at Venice studio was halted by coronavirus outbreak
NewsVenice
Venice cruise ship crash in 2019 was caused by captain’s incompetence
Contrary to assurances, the MSC Opera was sailing under its own power, reports the navy
NewsObituaries
Vittorio Gregotti, the last modern architect of Venice, dies of coronavirus aged 92
He designed many prestigious buildings in Italy and internationally and led the visual arts section of the Venice Biennale twice in the 1970s
Newscoronavirus
Venice canals appear cleaner amid coronavirus lockdown
Images of clearer water and returning wildlife to the Italian city are being posted on social media
NewsVenice Biennale 2021
Anish Kapoor to unveil world's 'blackest' sculptures during 2021 Venice Biennale
Exhibition at Galléria dell'Academia will be first time public can see artist's works using the controversial Vantablack material
Newscoronavirus
Coronavirus travel restrictions force Venice Architecture Biennale to postpone opening until August
The biennial's 17th edition will now only run for three months rather than six
Newscoronavirus
Mass museum shutdown in northern Italy—including Peggy Guggenheim Collection and Fondazione Prada—as coronavirus spreads
Public and private institutions in Venice, Milan and Turin will stay closed for at least a week as more than 200 cases of Covid-2019 are confirmed
NewsVenice Biennale
Sonia Boyce chosen as UK's first post-Brexit Venice Biennale artist
Selection committee says British Afro-Caribbean artist "has consistently probed one of society’s big questions: how do we live with difference?”
NewsControversies
Embroiled in Palestine row, artist Zineb Sedira says she will not stand down as France’s representative at 2021 Venice Biennale
Pro-Israel arts group protested to French culture ministry about her appointment
NewsVenice
The cost of Venice's worst floods since 1966
We survey the multi-million-euro impact of the disaster on the city's cultural heritage sites—and the funds pledged for restoration so far
NewsVenice Biennale
Cecilia Alemani appointed artistic director of the 2021 Venice Biennale
The High Line and Art Basel Cities curator is the first Italian woman to hold the position
NewsVenice
Governing body of St Mark’s basilica wants to build a Perspex anti-flood wall
Officials warn cathedral cannot take any more damage after the record-breaking floods that hit Venice in November
CommentVenice
Italy should call in the Dutch to help finish the Venice flood barriers
Following years of corruption and issues with Italian administration, an independent expert is the best bet to rescue the city from peril
BlogIn the frame
Still a Sensation? Norman Rosenthal co-organises show of new Brit art in Venice
CommentVenice
Venice is in peril: Unesco should come to the aid of Venice as it did after the great flood of 1966
Its official international role, to which Italy signed up, enables it to mobilise world expertise and funds
NewsVenice
Works of art in Venice museums and the Biennale undamaged by floods, but major attrition to buildings with great loss of private property
Most cultural institutions open to the public again today
NewsVenice
Where are the flood barriers, cry the citizens of Venice after its second worst flood since records began
More evidence has emerged that the flood barriers have serious technical problems
FeatureObituaries
Obituary: Nathalie Brooke, a leading figure in the preservation of Venice
A remarkable cultural ambassador in London's art, political, and musical scene and on return visits to her native Russia. One of the founders of Venice in Peril
NewsExhibitions
David Bowie’s Tintoretto returns to Venice after more than 200 years
Belgian collector Marnix Neerman revealed as buyer as exhibition of masterpieces from Flemish collections opens at the Palazzo Ducale this week
CommentVenice
Don’t believe what you read in the papers: Venice won't lose its cruise ships any time soon
A lack of a long-term plan combined with the economic benefits brought by the luxury liners means a cruise ship ban will take long to implement
AnalysisClimate Change
Venice has no official plan for how to deal with climate change
A new report by Icomos details how the science/culture divide is stopping world heritage coming to the aid of climate change and urges speedy action
CommentUnesco
A former Unesco chief denounces its failure to protect Venice at Baku meeting
“Where have the ethics and sense of a global mandate to protect the world’s heritage gone?”, asks Francesco Bandarin
NewsVenice
Dramatic speech in Baku challenges Unesco’s support for damaging Venice cruise ship decision
The non-governmental organisation Europa Nostra recommends that the World Heritage Committee put the lagoon city on the endangered list
CommentVenice
The Turkish shareholders in the port of Venice want to keep cruise ships coming—and the mayor supports them
The World Heritage Committee is meeting in Baku and intends to dodge declaring Venice endangered for the third time
NewsVenice
Solid evidence that Venice's Mose mobile flood barriers have serious conservation faults
Repair work is estimated to take ten years, calling the operational date of 2021 into question
NewsVenice
Red Regatta: public art sets sail across Venice lagoon
Artist Melissa McGill teams up with Venetian sailors to celebrate maritime tradition in face of mass tourism and climate change
AnalysisVenice
Where does the cruise ship crash leave Venice?
The mayor demands that liners use other channels to enter the lagoon but this solution also poses problems
NewsVenice
'Bomb threat' at Lithuanian pavilion, Venice Biennale's Golden Lion winner, is declared false alarm
More than 100 people ordered to leave after queueing for hours in the rain for the show that won the top prize
NewsIndia
David Adjaye chosen to design 'game-changing' contemporary art museum in India
Planned Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in New Delhi will open up 6,000-strong collection to the public
ReviewVenice Biennale 2019
Venice Biennale 2019: the must-see pavilions around the city
An indoor beach, Mongolian throat singing and ceramic vaginas—where to go beyond the Arsenale and Giardini
NewsVenice
Giudecca contemporary art district launches in industrial area off Venice's beaten tourist track
Opening during the Venice Biennale, the new initiative includes project and exhibitions spaces and a foundation for young Polish art
ReviewVenice Biennale 2019
We've chosen the best of the art in Venice, now here's the worst
We’ve seen a lot of exhibitions in the city so you don’t have to
Podcast
Venice Biennale special: our review. Plus, how much longer will the city survive?
Ben Luke and Jane Morris review the main exhibition and we speak to the artists Laure Prouvost and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster about their works in the show. Plus, we talk about climate change and the challenges Venice is facing as the surrounding waters rise. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in Venice this weekend
From Tuymans's Third Reich paintings, to Kounellis's poor materials, there's more to see in the city than the Venice Biennale
PreviewJannis Kounellis
Arte Povera at Prada: first major survey of Jannis Kounellis since his death opens in Venice
The Fondazione Prada exhibition of the Greek-Italian artist has been organised by veteran curator Germano Celant
ReviewVenice Biennale 2019
Screen time: digital art eclipses painting in Ralph Rugoff's 'mightily impressive' Venice Biennale show
With multi-artist spaces and the split between the Arsenale and Giardini, May You Live in Interesting Times offers a new way of looking at a biennial exhibition
NewsVenice Biennale 2019
US pavilion artists at Venice Biennale quietly reach out to local charities
Martin Puryear’s work is the springboard for a youth outreach programme while Mark Bradford continues prison rehabilitation programme
NewsEdmund de Waal
Edmund de Waal’s 2,000-book installation of exiled writers will tour to the British Museum
Ceramicist’s installation The library of exile, currently on show in Venice, will also travel to the Japanisches Palais in Dresden
ReviewVenice Biennale 2019
Venice Biennale 2019: the must-see pavilions in the Giardini
From an aquatic odyssey to a guerrilla dance performance, here are the exhibitions we loved at the heart of the big event
InterviewAdrian Ghenie
Painting is more important than politics: Adrian Ghenie on his Trump-inspired portraits in Venice
Romanian artist, whose show is open at the Palazzo Cini during the Biennale, compares his art market ascendancy to working in porn
PreviewVenice Biennale 2019
Made in Britain: what to expect from the British, Scottish and Welsh Pavilions
Cathy Wilkes, Charlotte Prodger and Sean Edwards are all showing new work at the 2019 Venice Biennale
PreviewVenice Biennale 2019
Exhibitions during the Venice Biennale: a festival of painting
Among the many official “collateral” exhibitions connected to the Biennale and independently organised shows, painting is noticeably abundant
FeatureVenice Biennale 2019
How to survive the Venice Biennale, according to the art world
It may be the most prestigious art event in the world, but be warned—it is also the most gruelling
AnalysisVenice Biennale 2019
National pride, national shame and the ‘post-national’: the question of identity at the Venice Biennale
National pavilions in Venice have long been criticised as anachronistic. But for nations newer to the event, such quibbling can seem like a luxury
PreviewVenice Biennale 2019
Five of the weirdest pavilions and shows at the 2019 Venice Biennale
From Hillary Clinton’s emails in a supermarket and a beach of opera singers, to the world’s largest plane carrying “all of Ukraine’s artists”
CommentVenice Biennale 2019
Why is the Venice Biennale still so important?
Historical importance, glamour, big spenders—it continues to be an art festival like no other
InterviewLuc Tuymans
Luc Tuymans: ‘People are becoming more and more stupid, insanely stupid’
As a major new exhibition of his work opens in Venice, the Belgian painter explains how painting can help us confront our own ignorance
NewsArt market
Getting Old Masters' sexy back: Colnaghi to take over Venetian abbey for Biennale show
London-based gallery will team up with interior designer Chahan to create "home of a 21st-century Grand Tourist" in the medieval Abbazia di San Gregorio
NewsVenice Biennale 2019
David Adjaye to design Ghana’s first ever pavilion at the Venice Biennale
Artists on show will include John Akomfrah, El Anatsui and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
NewsVenice
Venice authorities introduce day-trippers charge on eve of the Biennale
Officials finally implement fee designed to control tourist numbers
ReviewBooks
The extraordinary cultural energy of 18th-century Venice
Art, music and architecture flourished in the Republic for the last time
NewsVenice
St Mark’s administrators accuse Italian government of failing to protect Basilica
Procuratori say October flood waters caused the church to age “20 years in one day”
NewsDisasters & destruction
Flood-damaged tapestries by Miro return to Venice museum in time for exhibition opening
The two works at Palazzo Zaguri were found submerged in water on Monday night
NewsDisasters & destruction
Venice museums reopen after worst floods in 10 years
High tide may have been prevented by barrier that is still under construction
Comment
The next chapter of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is off to a strong start
One year after Karole Vail took over the Venice museum, major exhibitions and rehangs are in the works
PreviewArt market
Object Lessons: from a Venetian glass bowl to an ancient Chinese ritual vessel
Our pick from this week's auctions and exhibitions
PreviewVenice Glass Week
Venice rallies to save its ancient glass-blowing industry from Chinese competition
Venice Glass Week is a city-wide collaboration between museums, commercial galleries and artisans of Murano
PreviewExhibitions
Tintoretto’s 500th anniversary takes over Venice
The “avant-garde superstar” of the Renaissance is celebrated in his home city before works make rare trip to the US
ReviewBooks
Telling us why and how: a groundbreaking study of Veronese’s techniques and paintings
These two books—very different in approach—analyse the process and works of the Italian Renaissance painter
BlogIn the frame
Thou shalt not picnic: ten commandments for visitors to Venice
AnalysisVenice
Venice: a city at a cultural crossroads
As the Venice Architecture Biennale opens, the Venetian journalist Enrico Tantucci analyses culture in the city through the Biennale, historic buildings, the Accademia and the Arsenale
NewsConservation & Preservation
Canada’s 1950s Venice Biennale pavilion gets a facelift
The upgrade to the Modernist building and its surrounding landscape has resulted in a new visitor route planned for the Giardini
NewsVenice Biennale 2019
From Eva Rothschild to Laure Prouvost: women to make their mark at Venice Biennale 2019
Female artists are set to represent Austria, France, Ireland and the UK at the 58th edition of the exhibition
PreviewExhibitions
The art of cross-dressing: under-the-radar artists surface in Venice exhibition
Works by Marcel Bascoulard and Urs Lüthi explore ideas around gender and identity
FeatureLost art
Lost art: the Fondaco dei Tedeschi frescoes by Titian and Giorgione
Noah Charney on works that we cannot see, but which remain as an influence to those who did see them
ReviewBooks
The commercial rape of Venice is the result of a moral failing in the Italians
This is the view of a former Getty chief, who says the problems of the Serenissima are a paradigm for other historic cities
FeatureTEFAF Maastricht 2018
Getting to know the real Tintoretto
A string of exhibitions celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Venetian master’s birth will help to bring him back into favour
PreviewExhibitions
Marino Marini rises to the occasion at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
New exhibition in Venice puts challenging work that risked offending “stuffy visitors” in context
NewsArt theft
Indian jewels owned by Qatari sheikh stolen from Venice exhibition
Brooch and earrings removed during the day from a reinforced display case
NewsIn the frame
Damien Hirst mockumentary released on Netflix chronicles story behind epic Venice exhibition
NewsVenice
This is no way to solve the cruise ship issue in Venice
The Italian government’s latest decision is in hock to the port’s own interests
NewsExhibitions
Venetian mega-exhibition aims to highlight plight of European craftsmanship
Homo Faber's initiative, focussing on artisanal techniques, will take over the entire Fondazione Giorgio Cini next autumn
NewsArtists
Lorenzo Quinn to follow in Christo’s footsteps by creating work for Lake Iseo
Italian artist known for submerging a giant pair of hands in Venice’s Grand Canal plans to install the steel sculpture next year
NewsExhibitions
Royal Collection highlights the man who made Canaletto famous
ArchiveExhibitions
Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable: Details emerge about Damien Hirst’s secretive Venice show
Finished just in time for the Venice Biennale, this project has been 10 years in the making
ArchiveExhibitions
A quick Italian job
An upcoming exhibition explores the brief but intense creative spark that lay the foundations for Italian art of the 1960s
ArchiveVenice Architecture Biennale
Venice Architecture Biennale: Architecture as a living organism
Rem Koolhaas’s Biennale reflects his discipline not just as a technical process but as the embodiment of human experience across the ages.
ArchiveWolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans at the Venice Architecture Biennale: Journeys into space
Wolfgang Tillmans’s Venice work explores architectural details, grand and humble, from 37 countries
CommentVenice
Has Venice really banned cruise ships? It appears not
The Italian government must intervene against powerful forces opposed to change
Anna Somers Cocks