The Meeting Venice co-curricular program offers students the opportunity to discover and relate to the city of Venice, its lagoon and hinterland, taking teaching out of the classroom and in to the field. The co-curricular activities are an integral part of the learning experience at VIU. “Meeting Venice” gives the opportunity to students to see the tangible evidence and details of what they will learn in class, focusing on empirical research just as much as on theory.

The program will include visits and lectures to Venice's cultural institutions, interactive activities to explore and understand the lagoon, guest lectures, and an interdisciplinary Plenary Workshop. 

 

St.marks basilica

 

Through the co-curricular program they have the chance to study the city of Venice, its lagoon and hinterland, taking teaching out of the classroom, and meeting people who work in important cultural institutions. These hands-on experiences enrich the academic program and give a new perspective to students on what they study in books and through classes. 

Using Venice as a study case for different disciplines, teachers are able to bring on the table their knowledge and apply it to such a peculiar example, such as Venice. This can mean visiting museums and churches in some cases, just as it can be about walking around the city's streets to understand the urban planning behind them, or the historical meaning that certain palaces and squares had in the past and still have today.

 

trip to lido

 

Here are some examples of the activities in past semesters

  • Introductory lecture on the legendary foundation of the city
  • Venice before Venice: virtual visit and lecture at the National Archeological Museum at Altino
  • Ancient Roman history: site visit to Aquileia
  • Lecture on Venice and the Water by environmental historian
  • Ancient documents on the management of the lagoon: visit and lecture at the State Archives
  • Renaissance books on science and nature: visit and lecture at the Marciana National Library
  • State and political history of Venice: visit and lecture at the Doge's Palace
  • Representation of Nature in paintings: visit and lecture at the Accademia Galleries
  • Visit and lecture at Museo del Costume
  • Patrician families of Venice: visit and lecture at Palazzo Grimani
  • Guilds and confraternities of Venice: visit to the Scuole Grandi
  • Visit and lecture at Ghetto and synagogues
  • Lecture on Venice and contemporary art by Angela Vettese
  • Visit and lecture at Biennale, meeting with president
  • Visit and lecture at Guggenheim, meeting with director
  • Exploration by boat of the Northern lagoon, and visit to Torcello
  • Visit and lecture at Lazzaretto Nuovo
  • Visit and lecture at the Glass Museum in Murano
  • Exploration by boat of industrial port, Pellestrina, and the Southern lagoon
  • Plenary Workshop | An interdisciplinary workshop with joint contributions from students and professors, including short talks, presentations, performances, video screenings
  • VIULECTURES: lectures series open to the public
  • Tea2B: weekly meetings among students and professors for conversations about topical issues

 

trip to venice ghetto