Behind Piazza San Marco in Venice, 5,500 square metres of parkland and a neoclassical pavilion will be reopened to the public in the full glory of their original splendour. Here are the details of the Venice Gardens Foundation's restoration project for the Giardini Reali of Venice, driven by the Art Bonus incentive.
There is an enchanted place in Venice, or at least there was. And it promises to become one again. It lies between Piazza San Marco and the Bacino di San Marco. It is the little-known Giardini Reali, commissioned by Napoleon and today forgotten by everyone. Until now.
It is a space surrounded by water, overlooked by the Museo Correr, the imperial rooms of the Palazzo Reale, the archaeological museum and the historic Biblioteca Marciana. Yet, through neglect and the passage of time, the gardens' original design has become somewhat undone, both in its geometry and its planting. The neoclassical pavilion by architect Lorenzo Santi and the nineteenth-century pergola are in ruins, the drawbridge is seized and unusable, the railings and street furniture are eaten by rust. Crumbling, flaking walls; ailing plants.
These gardens were commissioned by Napoleon, who intended to use the Procuratìe as a royal residence in place of the Palazzo Ducale. Venice's passage to Austrian rule had led to the abandonment of the imperial project, but had given rise — after the demolition of the fourteenth-century granaries that once stood in this area — to this 5,500-square-metre site.
A park beside Piazza San Marco, long cherished by Venetians, then gradually fallen into decline.
We are now at the start of a wide-ranging restoration project that will be managed by the Venice Gardens Foundation Onlus, which in 2016 signed a partnership agreement with Assicurazioni Generali aimed precisely at the restoration and enhancement of the entire area.
The project will be made possible by the Art Bonus, the deduction of up to 65 per cent established by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage to encourage a new form of made-in-Italy patronage. Under this scheme, companies can benefit from significant tax advantages in the form of a tax credit for cash donations made in support of culture.
When the official presentation of the Giardini Reali restoration initiative was held in April, standing alongside Venice Gardens Foundation president Adele Re Rebaudengo on 7 April were Generali chief executive Philippe Donnet, mayor Luigi Brugnaro, Agenzia del Demanio director Roberto Reggi (the "host", given that the gardens belong to the state), architect Anna Chiarelli of the Venice Soprintendenza, and the designers who will oversee the botanical garden, Paolo Pejrone, and the architectural aspects, Alberto Torsello, who will develop the project by Carlo Aymonino and Gabriella Barbini.
The opportunity to fund the project had also been offered to Renzo Rosso, who ultimately chose instead to focus on the restoration of the Rialto Bridge. But now the recovery of the Giardini Reali, finally putting an end to years of neglect, is about to be carried out. Work is expected to be completed in 2018.
The spirit of the restoration centres on the greatest possible respect for what already exists, with the enhancement of hidden corners, the great central corridor covered in wisteria, and the greenhouses, making extensive use of innovative technologies. A key focus is the return of the neoclassical Padiglione Santi to the public: there, and in the greenhouse, several vital areas of the project will be located — the services and management zone, and the base for the foundation's artistic and research activities. The Cafehaus structure, which harks back to the Austrian tradition, will be able to generate the revenue needed to maintain the site.
Once restored, the Giardini Reali will be formal and rigorous, as prescribed by the historic nineteenth-century design, while at the same time being rich in unexpected, colourful and surprising corners that can be explored in the shade of the long, ancient wisteria pergola, revealed between dense backdrops of evergreens. The route, via the drawbridge, will extend all the way to the Museo Correr in a restored dialogue with Piazza San Marco and the Marciana area, and promises to be intimate yet expansive, perhaps suspended outside of time.
In particular, the botanical and landscape restoration of the gardens will be carried out, focusing on simplicity and drawing on the original Austrian concept, which was to create a Mediterranean atmosphere with citrus trees and jasmine. Lagoon birds will also be introduced.
A fundamental — and fascinating, distinctive — element of the project will be the restoration of the drawbridge linking the Giardini Reali with Piazza San Marco and the museum network of the Marciana area, which will make it possible to reinstate the direct connection with the Bacino waterfront.
The aim of the Venice Gardens Foundation is, in short, to make the Giardini Reali an area for everyone — Venetians and tourists alike.
The restoration of the Giardini Reali is the first project to which the Venice Gardens Foundation, chaired by Adele Re Rebaudengo, is devoting itself. We begin by asking her: how did you identify this area? A love of history, or something more personal?
The answer is a layered one. I have been in love with Venice since I was 12. It is a wonderful and lasting love — so much so that I came to live here. As someone involved in culture, art and photography, my first piece of work here was a reportage on the gardens of the Biennale, curated by the late Gabriele Basilico, which gave rise to a beautiful book and an exhibition shown at the architecture Biennale two editions ago. Through observation and exploration I then came to discover the history of the Giardini Reali spaces, which over the past twenty to thirty years have suffered a decline that is not only botanical but also urban. The connection with the Marciana area has been severed — a very serious matter. Indeed, this is one of the points we are most mindful of: the restoration of the drawbridge and the reconnection with Piazza San Marco — a hugely important return to ancient origi