QUERINI STAMPALIA’S FRIENDS PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES FOR 2013 March Pietro Bembo and the Invention of the Renaissance Padua, Monte di Pietà Palace After five centuries, this exhibition brings back to Padua the masterpieces owned by the intellectual Pietro Bembo from Veneto, who then became cardinal. He amassed his collection in his house in via Altinate. He was a versatile character of the Renaissance in Italy. His collection includes a great variety of important art pieces following his taste, and he considered them as precious works to study the past. At that time, his house was famous for these collections and was known as the “Casa delle Muse” (House of the Muses) or ‘Museum’, forerunner of the modern Museum. The exhibition shows the collections of this versatile intellectual and describes his life through the masterpieces Bembo gathered or often helped to create: from Mantegna to Raffaello, from Giovanni Bellini to Tiziano. April Journey to France and Switzerland Geneva, Lyons, Neuchatel On the tracks of Le Corbusier and Mario Botta This journey aims to discover contemporary architecture in France and Switzerland, on the tracks of Le Corbusier and Mario Botta. The itinerary will start and end in Switzerland, with Mario Botta’s architecture: Fondazione Bodmer in Cologny-Geneva and Fondazione Dürrenmatt in Neuchâtel. It develops in France passing through Lyons, where Villeurbanne’s Library was created by the architect from Ticino, and brings us to Le Corbusier with Firminy’s complex architecture and La Tourette Cloister in Eveux sur l’Abresle. Burgundy with Tournus Abbey, Hôtel Dieu in Beaune and the royal salt mines by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux in Chaux, near to Arc-de-Sensans, must not be missed. May The Villas of Veneto and the Corporate Museums Tours to Villa Foscari La Malcontenta and Villa Foscarini Rossi – Museo della Scarpa (Shoe Museum) in Stra. Villa Foscari known as La Malcontenta was built by Andrea Palladio in 1559 in Malcontenta, along the Naviglio del Brenta. It represents one of his most magnificent architectural works. It is a clear example of how Palladio was able to achieve a majestic effect using commonplace materials. The villa rises up on a high base, exulting its magnificence. La Malcontenta’s interiors were decorated by Giovanni Battista Zelotti and partially by Battista Franco. Subjects are mainly mythological according to the classical theme of the hinterland villas in the 16th century. Villa Foscarini Rossi is a prestigious palace from the 16th century, consisting of three buildings: a Country Villa, Guest Quarters and a Stable. It was built in the late 1500s by the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi by order of the noble Venetian family Foscarini. The Rossi Moda Museum, located in the halls of the Villa, was founded by Luigino Rossi – President of Rossimoda S.p.A., one of the most important shoe companies in the Riviera del Brenta – who decided to show the most significant pieces created by this brand throughout the years. June Tours to the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale The Palazzo Enciclopedico (The Encyclopedic Palace) Curator: Massimiliano Gioni The title of the 55th International Art Exhibition takes its cue from the Encyclopedic Palace of the Italian-American artist Marino Auriti. In 1955 he thought about an imaginary museum in which to store the whole of human knowledge. His private cosmology and visions represent the restless challenge to match himself with the universe, details with general things, mankind with the cultural world of his time. Due to the current development of knowledge, these attempts to keep it in an all- embracing system are even more necessary. The exhibition explores the way the imagination escapes through the combination of contemporary art works, historical evidence and artifacts. September The Growth of Industry in Venice between the 1800s and 1900s The water path follows the growth of industry in the city of Venice in the 19th and 20th centuries. It starts from the Arsenal passing through St. Mark’s lagoon and the old harbour between St. George’s Island and the Salt Warehouses. The path heads towards the south through the Giudecca Canal and the industrial buildings of the Mocky Mill and the Cotton Mill, until it arrives at the Marittima Harbour. Through the Vittorio Emanuele Canal, which runs parallel to the bridge connecting Venice to the mainland, you can reach Porto Marghera’s first industrial area, where you can follow the Canale Industriale Nord (North Industrial Canal) and the Canale Industriale Ovest (West Industrial Canal). October Hard-working Venice Burano Tours to Amadi “Squero” and the Lace Museum with new techniques The Agostino Amadi Shipyard belongs to an old family of ship builders who worked for Venice and its islands in the early 1700s. This tradition does not prevent them from working on ultra modern boats in terms of planning and materials. Today the shipyard production includes traditional wooden ships and fiberglass fishing and working boats. Versatility is one of the main characteristics of these boats, so they can be used for fishing, leisure and the transportation of people and goods. Lace Museum The Museum opened in 1981 and is located in the historical Scuola dei Merletti (Lace School) in Burano. This school was founded in 1872 by Countess Adriana Marcello who wished to preserve and reintroduce this century-old tradition. The Lace Museum includes more than one hundred precious works from the rich collection of the school, which represents the Venetian production from the 16th to the 20th century. In addition to the exhibition of such important pieces, the museum offers the opportunity to watch the various techniques of the lace-makers. It also provides students an archive of drawings, pictures and various iconographic evidence, which represent an important source of artistic and historical documentation. November Historical Libraries Tours to a historical library in Italy. Work in progress. December Christmas Party .