19. architecture Biennale
"stranieri ovunque - foreigners everywhere"
curator - adriano pedrosa
Meeting place:
Giardini della Biennale/Arsenale
10 May to 23 November, 2025
pre-opening: May 8, 9 2025
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition will be held from Saturday 10 May to Sunday 23 November 2025 (pre-opening May 8 and 9), curated by the architect and engineer Carlo Ratti, who has commented: “To face a burning world, architecture must harness all the intelligence around us. I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to curate the Biennale Architettura 2025”.
“The Exhibition will search for a path forward, proposing that intelligent solutions to pressing problems can take many forms. It will present a collection of design proposals and many other experiments, exploring a definition of “intelligence” as an ability to adapt to the environment with limited resources, knowledge, or power”.
An architect and engineer by training, Carlo Ratti completed his PhD thesis as a Fulbright Scholar at MIT and now teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and at the Politecnico di Milano. He is the director of the Senseable City Lab and a founding partner of the architecture and innovation office CRA – Carlo Ratti Associati (Torino, New York City, and London).
THE NATIONAL PAVILIONS ARCHITECTURE AT THE VENICE BIENNALE
The topic of the tour focuses on the subsequent stages of development of the historic exhibition center of the Biennale -Giardini. It includes the chronology of construction and formal analysis of the most interesting national pavilions. The authors of the projects include the names of such architects as: Alvar Aalto, Sverre Fehn, Josef Hoffmann, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Carlo Scarpa, James Stirling and Gruppo BBPR.
st mark's basilica
Meeting point: St Mark’s Square
Duration of the visit:
Narthex and nave: 30 min
Golden Pall – 10 minutes
Museum and the Horse Lodge – 40 min
Tour of the basilica outside – 30 min
Belltower – 40 min
Information and tickets online
The history of St. Mark’s Basilica dates back to the early 9th century, when the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist were stolen from Alexandria in Egypt to the lagoon city. It would begin a very thoughtful process of building the identity of this city, which would later become the greatest maritime power in Europe. The basilica, which served as the chapel of the Doge’s Palace, witnessed many key events for the Venetian Republic. They are hidden in extraordinary mosaics, Byzantine marbles and unique floors.
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION
One of the most famous modern art collections in the world. In 1948, patron Peggy Guggenheim bought an unfinished 18th century palace on the Grand Canal and made it her residence, to which she moved from New York unique collections of paintings of European avant-garde trends, including cubism, futurism, surrealism and expressionism. Peggy is a colorful character about whom many legends still circulate. However, she was able to win the sympathy of the Venetians, who gave her the nickname of “The Last Dogaress”.
Carlo Scarpa and Modernism in Venice
Meeting point: to be agreed
Duration of the visit: 2h
Olivetti Store, St. Mark’s Square
Information and tickets online
Querini Stampalia Foundation
The perfect tour for lovers of modernism, which aims to reveal the hidden gems of contemporary architecture and design in Venice. Carlo Scarpa, an outstanding Venetian architect with an incredible sense of beauty and sensitivity to tradition, craftsmanship and the smallest detail, left an extremely rich legacy throughout the Veneto region. With great sensitivity, he combined noble materials and ascetic modernist forms with the elements of nature that characterise this magical city: water, light and colour.
fortuny palace
Venice Civic Museums Foundation
Meeting place: Campo San Beneto in front of the entrance to the museum
Duration of the visit: 1h
Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was born in Granada, but at the age of eighteen he settled in Venice. A child of art, his creativity knew no bounds: painter, set designer, fashion designer, inventor of a revolutionary lighting system, creator of fabrics and clothes, which made him world famous. His opulent mansion collects the memories of his eclectic activities.
