Make Spring Days Events in Venice
Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March 2022 the Fai Spring Days are back, the most important square event dedicated to the cultural and landscape heritage of our country. Over 700 generally inaccessible or little-known places in 400 cities can be visited free of charge, in full compliance with health safety regulations, thanks to the volunteers of 350 delegations and FAI groups active in all regions. There are over 40 places open in Veneto, part of which in the province of Venice.
Openings in Venice
- Angolo Mocenico Palace
- Sandi Palace
- Olivetti shop
- Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium
- Votive temple of the Lido
The Fai Delegation of Venice will bring visitors to the city inside Palazzo Corner Mocenigo, now the headquarters of the “Piave” barracks of the Guardia di Finanza. Purchased in 1530-35, the palace was rebuilt from 1550-51 to a design by Michele Sanmicheli, reusing parts of pre-existing buildings and creating one of the most monumental and sumptuous patrician residences in the city. During the visit it will be possible to admire a unique “Cabinet of Mirrors”, the work of the genius of Tiepolo, the beautiful spiral staircase and the innovative architecture of Sanmicheli.
It will also be an opportunity to visit the Museum, a memorial to the First World War and a modern shrine in memory of the Fiamme Gialle who fell in the fulfillment of their duty, erected in 2011 as part of the commemorative initiatives for the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Also in the city, it will be possible for FAI members or those who want to register for the occasion to rediscover the great fresco by Giambattista Tiepolo that decorates the ballroom of Palazzo Sandi, restored by the National Association of Building Builders of Venice on the occasion of the 27 years of its foundation. Do not forget the Olivetti Shop, owned by Fai.
On the Island of Sant’Elena, the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium will be open to the public, whose history is intertwined with the alternating fortunes of the host football team. The last reconstruction is in 2021, and begins immediately after the reconquest of Serie A, precisely to respect all the parameters necessary to host the matches. It was done in record time.
At the Lido of Venice the volunteers will illustrate the history and architecture of the votive temple dedicated to Santa Maria Immacolata, built in 1917 by Cardinal La Fontaine, then Patriarch of Venice to honor the protection that the Virgin had exercised during the bombings of the First World War . The building, designed by the architect Giuseppe Torres, now houses the remains of more than three thousand fallen from the two wars, including those of the hero Nazario Sauro.
What to visit in the province of Venice
- Fort San Felice of Chioggia
- San Bruson (Dolo) tour
- Visit to the historic center of Portogruaro
No less interesting are the openings scheduled for 26 and 27 March in the province of Venice. It will in fact be opened at the San Felice di Chi pubblicoggia Fort, whose construction began in 1538 by the Serenissima Republic of Venice. After being garrisoned by the Navy, which is still its owner, the Fort was abandoned towards the end of the last century. It is still a military area, not accessible and not open to visitors, except for rare occasions.
In the municipality of Dolo, San Bruson is worth a visit, a small town that was already important in Roman times as a junction point between the Via Annia and the Via Pompilia. Here we find the Church of S. Ambrogio, probably built on the site of an ancient parish church, whose construction works were completed in 1768. The interior houses, in addition to the main altar, four side altars, paintings, statues, tombstones, the baptistery, the pulpit, the display cases with countless relics and an important organ by Gaetano Callido. The current ceiling, frescoed in 1936 by Giuseppe Chiacigh, depicts the glorification of Sant’Ambrogio. Also interesting are the Sacristy, embellished with a late medieval washbasin and the Rectory, generally closed to the public and can be visited exclusively on the occasion of the FAI Spring Days.
Not far from the church is the eighteenth-century Court of Villa Colloredo. Built in 1782 by the family of the same name and expanded several times during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the structure was purchased in 1974 by Alberto Meneghelli who made it his family residence, almost completely renovating it in 2005.
On the occasion of the Fai Spring Days, the Fai Giovani Group of Portogruaro awaits visitors for a path that will wind through the most evocative places in the city center.