Who We Are

A visit to Saint Roch's Fraternity with Venezia Arte to learn about Venice Cultural Heritage

Venezia Arte helps you to discover Venice Cultural Heritage

Venezia Arte is a non-profit cultural association, which was founded in 2009 and is officially recognised by Venice City Council (resolution no. 43, 6 June 2012). It originated from an idea formed by a group of Venice cultural heritage guides, who for years have been committed to organising activities which promote Venetian cultural heritage. Using unusual perspectives, their aim is to support and improve public consumption, raising visitors’ awareness of the importance of safeguarding the cultural heritage of Venice, its lagoon and the Veneto region.

In order to do this, Venezia Arte promotes and organises cultural visits, fundraising events, conferences and events aimed at promoting Venetian history and the traditions of its heritage communities, as well as raising awareness of its widespread cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, following the principles of the Council of Europe Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention, 2005) and the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (Paris, 17 October 2003).

All of Venezia Arte’s initiatives are aimed at helping to safeguard Venice’s cultural heritage and a more sustainable and mindful tourism. They have been created alongside various public and private bodies, cultural institutes and foreign and Venetian associations, including:

Venice City Council
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
IBM Italia
Coordinamento delle Scuole Grandi/Arciconfraternite di Venezia
Chorus – Associazione per le Chiese del Patriarcato di Venezia
l’AziendaUlss 12 Veneziana
The Dominican Convent of Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Ca’ Foscari University

Venezia Arte’s new project is ExtraOrdinary Venice, a programme of itineraries aimed at giving voice to a silent Venice, far from the main tourist routes, brought to life by unusual stories based on archive documents. Interested and curious visitors can experience centuries-old local customs and traditions and come into contact with the heritage communities who are the active custodians of the Serenissima Republic’s values and cultural heritage.

Venezia Arte is currently working with the Management of Arts and Culture Laboratory (m.a.c. lab) of Ca’ Foscari University in Venice as part of a study about sustainability and the promotion of religious heritage. Religious heritage is a type of cultural heritage that has recently been of specific interest to UNESCO and which the European Future For Religious Heritage network is actively developing.