Sunday 22 May the doors of the ancient palaces of Venice and the State Archives are open
The initiative, organized by the Association presented Italian Historic Houses, in collaboration with the Association for Venetian Villas, was illustrated this morning at Palazzo Pisani Moretta, in Venice, during a conference in which palaces, castles, villas, parks and gardens that can be visited for free throughout the region.
“A large widespread museum” was underlined during the meeting. For the occasion, the State Archives will also open on 19, 20 and 21 May, the one in Venice will be open on Friday 20 May. The importance of the event was underlined by the municipal councilor for the promotion of the territory, who spoke at the conference. The numbers of the initiative were illustrated by the organizers: “In Veneto there are 2899 private cultural properties, of which 1947 operates in one or more production chains. Until 2019, the period preceding the Covid pandemic – it was explained – visits to a private cultural building were 17.8 million. Historic houses are not only a historical heritage of rare beauty, but also the pivot of a circular economy for the villages in which they are located. In fact, 54 percent of these properties are located in small municipalities with a population of less than 20,000 inhabitants, in 29 percent of cases even less than 5,000 residents ”.
“A heritage – explained Giulio Gidoni, president of Adsi Veneto section – of which it is necessary to recognize the immense social, cultural and economic value, not to mention the many professions that are hidden behind historic walls and gardens. The Day of Historic Houses opens the largest museum in the Veneto and beyond. We provide masterpieces such as this building which, in order to remain so, must enjoy the daily intervention of skilled artisans, restorers and gardeners; restoration activities that burden solely and exclusively on the owners who must seek professionalism that is now almost impossible to find. Taking care of this, which is the Veneto and national heritage, is an opportunity for the younger generations: it serves to promote the enhancement of dedicated training courses “.
“The Day of Historic Houses is also the occasion – highlighted Giovanni Da Schio, vice president of Adsi Veneto and member of the national board – to raise awareness among civil society and institutions on the role that historic homes play in the socio-economic fabric of the country. Their induction, in fact, generates a positive impact on many supply chains: from the artisan one, in particular the restoration, to that of tourism ”.
The presentation was also attended by Monica Del Rio, from the State Archives of Venice, Aldo Rozzi Marin from the Association for Venetian Villas and Marco Celio Passi, pro-canceller of the Knights of the Order of Malta. The initiative was organized with the collaboration of the Case della Memoria Association, Fidam-Italian Federation of Friends of Museums, Federtrimoni and Private Events and the patron of the Italian National Commission for Unesco, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism, and Enit National Tourism Agency.