Venice and the congress venue

[ Venice | Congress venue ]

Congress Venue

The Congress venue is the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, which faces Piazza San Marco and is a great testimonial to central moments in the history of Italian art and architecture. The cultural centres based on the Island render it an important cultural reference point at an international level. These centres develop research projects and permanent activities of a social, educational, cultural and artistic character. The Island's facilities host conferences and others events of qualified scientific and cultural organisations from Italy and abroad, offering them an unparalleled urban and monumental context for their work.

The Island boasts an ancient Benedictine monastery with cloisters and gardens; a beautiful Palladian church; an ancient library; a theatre dedicated to shows of music and dance, surrounded by a large park; and a small harbour. Together these elements make the Island a pleasant and suitable setting both for cultural, communications and leisure activities.

Today the Island is maintained by the Giorgio Cini Foundation, which rescued and restored it after it had suffered its period of greatest decline at the hands of Napoleon, its architectural treasures haphazardly divided and in disrepair, and later under the domination of the Austrians who left the Island cluttered with sheds, huts and other utilitarian structures. The church was reopened in 1808 and from 1829 the island became a free port after the construction of two Istrian-stone lighthouses.