Venice in Peril Fund CIO is a British
registered charity. It raises funds to restore and conserve the art and architecture of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, and to investigate ways to protect them against future risks, particularly
rising sea levels
Rising may refer to:
* Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique)
*Elevation
* Short for Uprising, a rebellion
Film and TV
* "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...
. Although it focuses on the conservation of specific sites, Venice in Peril maintains its concern for the wider environmental issues affecting the city and the lagoon. In support of its conservation work, Venice in Peril Fund also promotes a deeper understanding of Venice, its history, the contribution it has made to world culture and its modern challenges, so as to encourage responsible and informed engagement with the city. As part of this educational mission, it organises regular lecture series in the UK and occasional visits to Venice itself. It also provides annual bursaries for students of conservation at City & Guilds of London Art School. Venice in Peril Fund is a member of the Association of International Private Committees for the Safeguarding of Venice.
History
Art & Archives Rescue Fund (1967–1971)
The predecessor to the Venice in Peril Fund was the Art & Archives Rescue Fund (AARF), which was created as the British response to the
1966 Venice flood.
Sir Ashley Clarke, former
British Ambassador to Rome and at that time chairman of the British Italian Society, was asked to chair a committee to raise funds to help rescue artworks and buildings in Venice and
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
, which had
also flooded. Besides Clarke, the trustees were
Sir Kenneth Clarke, the
Earl of Drogheda
Earl of Drogheda is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1661 for The 3rd Viscount Moore.
History
The Moore family descends from Sir Garrett Moore, a staunch friend of Hugh O'Neill, the Great Earl of Tyrone, whose submission ...
,
Sir Frank Francis,
Lionel Robbins
Lionel Charles Robbins, Baron Robbins, (22 November 1898 – 15 May 1984) was a British economist, and prominent member of the economics department at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is known for his leadership at LSE, his proposed def ...
and
A. W. Tuke. The AARF continued its conservation work until it was reconstituted as the Venice in Peril Fund in 1971.
Venice in Peril Fund
In 1971,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
appealed to its member states to collaborate in helping to save the entirety of Venice. In response, Clarke re-founded the AARF as the Venice in Peril Fund. He set up a board of trustees whose stated objective was to help save and maintain the world-famous artistic and architectural treasures of Venice.
John Julius,
Viscount Norwich
Viscount Norwich, of Aldwick in the Sussex, County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 5 July 1952 for the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, author and former List of Ambassadors from th ...
, joined as Chairman the same year,
with Clarke serving as the Vice Chair.
Under the chairmanship of John Julius Norwich, who was supported by the efforts of trustees such as Clarke,
Carla Thorneycroft,
Sir John Pope-Hennessy and Nathalie Brooke, Venice in Peril became a leading force in the city's conservation.
Venice in Peril established itself at the forefront of the Venice conservation movement.
To boost the funding efforts in 1977,
Peter Boizot
Peter James Boizot MBE (; 16 November 1929 – 5 December 2018) was an English entrepreneur, restaurateur, politician, art collector and philanthropist. He is best known as the founder of PizzaExpress.
Early years
The son of Gaston and Su ...
, the founder of
Pizza Express
PizzaExpress is a British multinational restaurant group, owned by a group of bondholders. It has over 470 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines, the Unite ...
, created the Pizza Veneziana. Until 2019 a percentage of the sale price of every Pizza Veneziana sold was donated to Venice in Peril.
The Twenty-First Century
In 2003 Venice in Peril Fund organised a ‘state of knowledge’ conference on the lagoon of Venice, with the collaboration of
Churchill College, Cambridge and Corila. The aim of the project was to gather together the work of scholars and experts in a cross-disciplinary effort to exchange knowledge and assess the challenges facing Venice and its lagoon. This resulted in two books, both commissioned by Venice in Peril. A scholarly and technical volume, ''Flooding and Environmental Challenges for Venice and its Lagoons: State of Knowledge'', was published in 2005 by Cambridge University Press,
and a more accessible book, ''The Science of Saving Venice'', was published in 2004. In 2009, another book commissioned by Venice in Peril was published: ''The Venice Report, Demography, Tourism, Financing and Change of Use of Buildings''.
In 2011, during the
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
, Venice in Peril mounted an exhibition of photographs of Venice by prominent photographers, including
Candida Höfer
Candida Höfer (born 4 February 1944) is a German photographer. She is a former student of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Like other Becher students, Höfer's work is known for technical perfection and a strictly conceptual approach. From 1997 to 2000, ...
, to raise awareness and funds. It was entitled ''Real Venice'' and received critical acclaim.
2019 Flood
In November 2019, Venice suffered its
worst flooding since the foundation of the fund in 1966. A 2020 Venice in Peril appeal funded conservation efforts to restore and protect several public buildings that had been particularly badly affected by the flood.
By Venice in Peril's 50th anniversary in 2021, the Fund had completed over 75 conservation and restoration projects in Venice. The work continues, with recent major projects including the conservation of Canova's memorial in the
Frari church and the Iconostasis in
Torcello Cathedral
The Church of Santa Maria Assunta (''basilica di Santa Maria Assunta'') is a basilica church on the island of Torcello, Venice, northern Italy. It is a notable example of Late Paleochristian architecture, one of the most ancient religious edifi ...
in memory of John Julius Norwich. Venice in Peril's representatives continue to draw attention to the evolving challenges facing the city.
Guy Elliott took up the post of Chair in April 2022 and Anthony Roberts became Vice Chair.
Major Projects
* 2022: Monument to
Canova
Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
in the
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. The largest church in the city, it has the status of a minor basil ...
* 2021: Trinity Wellhead in Archivio di Stato di Venezia, formerly part of the Frari, with sculpture by
Cabianca (50th Anniversary Appeal)
* 2020: Flood Appeals for
San Nicolò dei Mendicoli
San Nicolò dei Mendicoli ("Saint Nicholas of the Beggars") is a church, which is located in the sestiere of Dorsoduro in Venice.
History
The islet where the original church was located previously housed poor fishermen, hence the addition of ''m ...
,
St George's Church, and the
Gallerie dell'Accademia
The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was originally the gallery o ...
(the Tablino and the Palladio Staircase)
* 2019: Iconostasis in
Torcello Cathedral
The Church of Santa Maria Assunta (''basilica di Santa Maria Assunta'') is a basilica church on the island of Torcello, Venice, northern Italy. It is a notable example of Late Paleochristian architecture, one of the most ancient religious edifi ...
(in memory of John Julius Norwich, and in collaboration with
Save Venice Inc.)
* 2013: Plaster casts of two lions by Canova, in the Gallerie dell'Accademia
* 2013: Capella Zen and three stone reliefs within
Basilica San Marco
* 1999-2005:
Cappella Emiliani
* 1996: Conversion of a vernacular house for public housing in
San Giobbe
* 1995-6: Sculpture of a merchant, 'The Fourth Moro,' on the facade of the house of
Tintoretto
Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed wit ...
(in memory of Sir Ashley Clarke)
* 1977-85: Mosaics in Torcello Cathedral (with 10 other Committees)
* 1976-9: Porta della Carta, the entrance to the
Palazzo Ducale
* 1972-80: Restoration of structure and art works in the Church of San Niccolò dei Mendicoli
* 1972-4: Loggetta of
San Marco's Campanile
* 1969-70: Structural restoration of the Church of
Madonna dell'Orto
The Madonna dell'Orto is a church in Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of Cannaregio.
History
The church was erected by the now-defunct religious order the "Humiliati" in the mid-14th century, under the direction of Tiberio da Parma, who is bu ...
List of Chairs
* 1967-1971: Sir Ashley Clarke
* 1971-1999: John Julius Norwich (Viscount Norwich)
* 1999-2012: the Hon. Anna Somers Cocks OBE
* 2013-2022:
Jonathan Keates
Jonathan B. Keates FRSL (born 1946) is an English writer, biographer, novelist and former chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund.
Biography
Jonathan Keates was born in Paris, France, in 1946. He was educated at Bryanston School and went on to read ...
FRSL
* 2022-present: Guy Elliott
References
External links
* {{official website
HistoryFull list and details of projects
Organizations established in 1966
Heritage organisations in the United Kingdom
Heritage organizations
Culture in Venice