The Venice Boat Show will be held at the Arsenale from 18 to 23 June. The choice of the “shipyard” as the location for the ships that have ensured the power of the Serenissima Republic all over the navigable world is symbolic. An early example of an industry that has its roots in the 1500s, when the need for ships was daily.
HERE THE SITE OF THEÂ VENICE BOAT SHOW
“The Boat Show is a great challenge to which we are working with the utmost commitment and the premises are positive – is the comment of Mayor Luigi Brugnaro – The important thing will be to have fun and promote opportunities for meeting: we are interested that the city gives a signal of awakening and reconciliation with the sea, our Adriatic sea that must have its voice. I am sure that it will be a wonderful hall: we will have the passage of the National Acrobatic Patrol of the Frecce Tricolori on the day of the inauguration and then events for all age groups. We will promote an international competition for studies and projects of boats, explain the restoration of ships, we will have the opportunity to try Venetian rowing, to see the operations center of the Mose, we will organize meetings on hybrid engines and the most modern technologies, culinary competitions, initiatives for children to whom the visit to the submarine Dandolo and the Naval Museum will be dedicated, concerts and shows that will also contaminate Forte Marghera and the entire mainland.
The initiative was presented by Fabrizio D’Oria, Coordinator of the Technical Secretary of the Boat Show, who illustrated the “state of the art” of the work in progress. Along the docks of the Arsenal will be exhibited the boats of the primary Italian and foreign shipyards, inside the Tese will be placed accessories, engine systems, and equipment. A unique scenario that modern exhibition pavilions cannot reproduce. The Arsenal will be opened to the city through the Ship Pavilion, a section of the Naval History Museum of the Navy, thus allowing access from the monumental entrance. It will be the first contact with navigation also through the new route “in the water”.
For who is the Show
“Our exhibition is aimed at a pool of users who have their center of gravity shifted eastwards, towards customers who very often do not reach other European exhibitions. It’s an important occasion for all the Italian yachting industry and I say this emphasizing that we do not want to compete with any other exhibition – said the Mayor – Also Venice is the city where transitano in the same days, to visit the Art Biennale, the greatest collectors in the world, who are often also owners of important boats. This also contributes to the creation of an unbeatable scenario. Finally, we want to be a reference for the many important productive realities of the Adriatic”.
Special attention will be paid to the composite world of Venetian shipbuilding, with its different attitudes and vocations. Along with the traditional wooden boats, typical of the lagoon, will be exhibited also the means of the civil and military forces of law and order including some ships, as evidence of the great collaboration that has been established with all authorities and in particular with the Navy in the figure of Admiral Andrea Romani who said: “We have supported this project since its early stages. The Italian Navy is fully committed to carrying out this initiative, which will make it possible to enhance the ancient Arsenal in a perspective linked to the activities of the nautical sector and, more generally, to the activities of the sea, respecting its history and connotation as a symbol of Venice and seafaring. During the Boat Show, our Naval Base will be open to the public and the Naval Museum’s offer will be expanded, making it possible to visit the Dandolo submarine thanks to the collaboration with Vela and Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia”.
Ferretti Group also believes in Venice
Alberto Galassi, CEO of the Ferretti Group, one of the first to believe in Venice as an exhibition venue, made the presentation: “If there is a place in Italy that can compete with Monte Carlo for standing and environment, this is Venice. I believe it for a long time, last year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our group here and we come back for the presentation of our new products. I suggested that we also take part in our competitors”.
In the logo of the Venice Boat Show there is a reference to the lion of the Serenissima Republic and the V of Venice: if San Marco was the political heart, Rialto was the commercial soul, the Arsenal was not only the military place and water gate of the city, but it symbolized the western garrison of our culture and Europe.
The big names
In this regard, there will be numerous collateral initiatives in various halls and spaces of the Arsenal that will keep the cultural content of the event high. Within the Spazio Incontri, the event will start on Wednesday 19th June with a conference on design, which has already been confirmed by the designer Carlo Nuvolari, Luca Bassani, inventor of the Wally Yacht brand, and Professor Carlo Fei, professor of Fashion Management at Luiss in Rome. Carlo Nuvolari says: “There is a new luxury of going to sea, a vision closer to passion and emotions. One of his best manifestations is to arrive in Venice by sea, as the travelers of the past centuries did, being enchanted by the embrace of the monumental entrance”. Visitors to the Show will also be able to arrive by the sea with their boats, mooring in one of the various marinas that collaborated in the creation of this initiative. The design will not be the only theme: we will talk about the environment, fishing, tourism and fishing, safety and navigation with the collaboration of CNR-ISMAR, Tethis, Coast Guard, Assonautica.
“We will be present to support the initiative,” says Rear Admiral Piero Pellizzari of the Maritime Directorate of Veneto and the Port Authority of Venice “central to develop all aspects related to pleasure boating. Our men and our experience are at the provision in particular with regard to regulations and safety of navigation”.
“The Boat Show – concludes Mayor Brugnaro – is already funded for the next three years. We must believe in it and make the greatest possible contribution to its success because it represents an opportunity for the future of the new generations. I would like to thank all the people who are working day and night on the realization of this important event: the Municipality of Venice, Vela Spa and all the participating companies involved, the city institutions, the associations, the rowing boats. On behalf of the city, I would like to thank Alberto Galassi, CEO of Ferretti Group, one of the largest Italian industrial groups, who strongly believed in this project. I believe that it is a duty for the country to think that Venice can give a future of life, work and prosperity to the whole Adriatic”.
