Italys expert restorers of old buildings, monuments and works of art recently demonstrated their skills during the Restauri Aperti (Open Restoration work-in-progress) project involving a number of prestigious Venetian buildings, including the famous Gritti Palace hotel, Palazzo Papadopuli, the Church of the Jesuits and Corner della Regina. A select number of visitors were be able to visit the works, as part of the European Exhibition of Culture.
These included the Papadopuli Palace, with its renaissance facade on the Grand Canal, undergoing conversion into a deluxe hotel. Work involves not only restoring the characteristic historic features, but also installing modern facilities with low visual impact, for an estimated cost of 20 million. The Gritti Palace, frequented by Ernest Hemingway, is to cost even more, with an estimated outlay of 35 million. The baroque Jesuit Church has suffered structural damage and has been under restoration since 2006. At present, artists are working on the left transept and the dome, decorated with stucco work and frescoes by Louis Dorigny. The 18th century Corner della Regina palace, seat of the Prada Foundation, was recently reopened for the exhibition of modern and contemporary art, The Small Utopia, Ars Multiplicata (which closed on the 25 November 2012). Restoration work is expected to continue for a further 6 years.
The event coincided with the conclusion of the 13 edition of the International Fair of Architecture, organized by the Venice Biennale and curated by David Chippenfield
