The last 13th of November was a twice meaningful day for Venice’s cultural life since it saw at the same time not only the inauguration of Palazzo Franchetti at the Accademia, but also that of the exhibition "Glasses. In the world. Today", organized by the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (Venetian Institute for Sciences, Humanities and Arts) in the occasion of the reopening to the public of its new head office. The scientific plan of the exhibition, open to the public until 3 April 2005, is a work by Rosa Barovier Mentasti, a recognized historian and field expert; the preparation has been made by the Maestro Pier Luigi Pizzi, theatre scenographer and producer known at international level. The show’s promoter selected 80 contemporary artists from all the world who are representative of the international school known as Studio Glass; the result is an exhibition of 170 works stressing the specificity of different schools in different countries, such as Australia, Bohemia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Finland, Sweden, the United States and, last but not least, Italy. The setting created by Master Pizzi is made of fragile steel structures supporting mirror surfaces, so that all the exhibition’s glasswork is magically multiplied, like in a gigantic kaleidoscope. Also the installations set in the spacious garden, planned by Federico Maetzke, enjoy a good position thanks to the natural elements surrounding the palace and reflecting on the Canal Grande, a position that can be admired both from the exhibition’s entrance in campo S. Stefano, and from the Academy bridge, thus giving a clear sample of what is to be found inside the historical and neogothic Palazzo Franchetti, not just for the objects exposed but also regarding the surfaces, wisely restored following the plan by the architect Fulvio Caputo together with architects Dino Verlato and Michael Carapetian. Glass, representing since centuries a typical product of Venice, has been chosen by the Istituto Veneto as subject of the exhibition in order to confirm its bond with the city and its productive life. Glass has been moulded by each artist in an extremely personal way. The Venetian sisters Marina and Susanna Sent exhibit Debutto, an elegant woman’s dress, of course made of glass, formed by transparent beads handmade with the lampwork technique, kept together with a steel thread. Frida Fjellmann, a young Swedish artist, shows enourmously realistic light clouds, suspended in the air inside the hall of the piano nobile that is reserved to Sweden (according to the subdivision standard of the exhibition area, based on the artists’nationality). Amongst immensely detailed and colourful vases of every kind, you can also find the Utensili, tools, by the Venetian artist Cristiano Bianchin, and several jellyfishes: those of the French artist Michele Blondel, that are separate sculptures, and those by the Venetian Maria Grazia Rosin, that form a hanging lamp with a taste and lights which make think to some deep-sea soundings. In the exhibition there are also many zoomorphic subjects: the flying phoenix by Toni Zuccheri, the mirrored insects by the young Lebanese artist Marya Kazoun, the couple of hens (one of which embalmed) of the Belgian Koen Vanmechelen. There are also a many-coloured couple of skulls, a group of feathers, various spheres, a pair of bracelets, a canoe and even a forest: the last is a big installation made of transparent glass, leaning on a metal base, a work by the Finn artist Oiva Toikka. The Tchech artist Alena Matejkova is even arrived to the exhibition on a big pink magic carpet.

This is just the first of the manifold cultural initiatives that are going to be promoted by the Istituto Veneto in its new head office of Palazzo Franchetti: in the future there will surely be other surprises, just look down from the Academy bridge and wait.