Venetian public art

When every piece of public art in Venice is placed on a map, they are dense and widely-distributed enough to define the layout of the city.

Venice is a vibrant museum-city that welcomes over 16 million tourists every year. These visitors swarm the familiar sights of Saint Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace and tour the Grand Canal, yet overlook the smaller, more remote pieces of public art that decorate the city. Unfortunately, ignorance by tourists, disregard by Venetians, and the damaging effects of nature are contributing to the deterioration of the city's public art. Conserving Venetian public art would help to preserve the heritage and culture of the city, but conservation’s greatest obstacle is the issue of ownership. Most public art is located on the exterior of privately-owned buildings, yet the government legally owns the art. Consequently, Venetian public art exists in a grey area where nobody claims responsibility for its maintenance; thus, public art in many places is succumbing to atrophy and lack of upkeep.

Nevertheless, scholars and other groups interested in preserving public art have made significant contributions to art preservation in the city. Alberto Rizzi, an expert on Venetian architecture and sculpture, assembled a pioneering catalogue in the 1970s and 80s, publishing Scultura Esterna a Venezia ("Outdoor Sculpture in Venice") in 1987. Using Rizzi’s catalogue as a base model, more than 50 students at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute have added to the original database and produced a digital version, complete with dynamic maps, digital photographs, and detailed condition information.

With the additions have come changes to the working definition of "public art"; while Rizzi defined public art as being nonstructural and integrated into buildings, the WPI catalogue now includes structural elements, wellheads, and flagstaffs. The fifteen types of Venetian public art are divided into two categories: erratic and non-erratic. Erratic art are the small, artistic sculptures scattered throughout the city. Patere, relievi, crosses, inscriptions and fragments are all examples of erratic art. The ten remaining types of public art are non-erratic. Non-erratic art is both decorative and functional. Structural art including portali, lunette and mascaroni act as ornate, load-bearing parts of buildings. Coats of arms and confraternity symbols are proprietary art – they denote ownership of buildings. Statues and monuments commemorate historical and mythological events in Venice. Flagstaff pedestals, wellheads and fountains all provided a social utility to ancient Venetians.

Contents

Types of public art

Damage

Restoration and Preservation

See Also