Insights
Biennale Arte 2022 – reflections on a trip of a lifetime. Part One: Inside Venice’s hidden palazzos
Last November, during the 59th Venice Art Biennale, Stonehage Fleming organised the trip of a lifetime for a few art-loving friends of the firm.
Led by our Head of Art Management, Maria de Peverelli, the group enjoyed three and a half days of glorious weather, hopping on and off water taxis to visit some of the finest palazzos along Venice’s Grand Canal. They met artists and dined at restaurants frequented by only those in the know.
They also saw some of the most stunning private collections and heard, first-hand, the fascinating stories from behind-the-scenes of some of Venice’s secret gems.
In this series of two, Maria reflects on her memories of the trip. Here she takes us through the doors of some of Venice’s truly hidden gems.
Our first night was one of the highlights of the trip. We landed in Venice on a Sunday and were lucky enough to be invited to a private reception at the Palazzo Papadopoli, hosted by the owner, Bianca Arrivabene, in her beautiful home on the top floor.
Stepping off a boat on the Grand Canal, the Palazzo Papadopoli is instantly recognisable with its two imposing obelisks on its roof. It is an enormous, L-shaped, baroque-style palace built around 1560, featuring frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
Showing us around, Chairman of Christie’s Italy, has an extraordinary ability to put her guests at ease. We passed grand mirrors and paintings as we ascended to the main floor to view the renovations her husband’s family had made in the 19th century when they first acquired the property.
Next, Palazzo Giustinian alla Zaetterestate was probably the greatest discovery for everyone on the trip. A relatively austere and slightly smaller palace compared to Palazzo Papadopoli, there are no details of it available online so it is a real hidden gem. The owners inherited the palace from a friend of their grandmother – the last Giustinian family member. It is a magnificent building with a beautiful internal garden. Inside, is a set of rooms ‘en enfilade’, housing quite extraordinary collections. Some – including Old Masters – were inherited with the palace and others were put together by the father of the current owner, a bibliophile owning many beautiful books and ceramics.
At Palazzo Loredan at Campo Santo Stefano, we were treated to see a beautiful exhibition of contemporary glass. It provided the viewer with an extraordinary overview of what Venetian glassmakers have created over the course of the 20th century, joined by glassmakers from all over the world including France, England, Germany and the United States. Even the building itself was arresting. On the ground floor was a collection of busts of notable figures on pedestals, while the upper floors featured book-lined rooms overlooking the Campo. It was a priceless treasure.