Finally after Paris and New York the great exhibition about the links between Serenissima and Islam arrives in Venice. The relationship is recounted through the display of marvellous and sophisticated object d’art – from paintings to glass, porcelain and metal, textiles and printed materials – coming from prestigious Venetian collections and great European and American museums, the works witness of reciprocal influences exercised by two great cultures such as the Western and the Islamic one. The effects of this liaisons are traceable through the evolution of artistic languages, the intensity and continuity of exchanges, the transmission of knowledge and technologies and also through the talent of artists, craftsmen as well as merchants and businessmen. Displayed the great masterpieces of Venetian painting between the fourteenth and the eighteenth century, Bellini, Carpaccio, Veronese and Tiepolo and also drawings, miniatures and extremely rare cartographic materials. The sections of the exhibition dedicated to Arts and Craft where we can see with clear evidence the borrowing of themes, decoration styles, techniques and knowledge from Islamic background. Also well accounted for is the intense exchange occured on scientific and philosophical level through books, tools and objects.

The exhibition is completed by an interesting itinerary through the city focused on the signs left by this artistic and historical intertwinement and also by a series of conferences to discuss the topic more in depth. The exhibition was created through the scientific collaboration between Institut du Monde Arabe of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Venice Civic Museum. The exhibition was organized and promoted by Venice Municipality – Civic Museum and Fondazione Venezia with the participation of Venezia Musei. An artistic event of extraordinary historical and cultural importance that confirms the commitment of Fondazione Venezia to improve the value of the territory and to develop the collaboration between the city institutions.