Under the Mask of Venice

“Under the Mask of Venice” is one in a series of exhibitions that takes visitors of The Tsaritsyno Palace complex on an amazing journey in time and space. Located in the Bread house, it features around 100 items from the Doge’s Palace, The Museo Correr, Ca’ Rezzonico, The Murano Glass Museum and Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo. It is a celebration of the legendary city on water, whose mysteries escape even the most inquiring minds.
Rather than delving into reconstruction or employing an analytical approach, we decided to capture an emotional experience of the city, its spirit. Each exhibition room is designed so as to explore one side of the multifaceted Venetian life: palazzo arches with their formality, gambling houses with their temptations, luxury of Venetian ladies’ boudoirs, and twisted prison labyrinths.
Upon the entry, a visitor is met by two gondolas which symbolize the two exhibition routes. The narrative will vary greatly, and the finale will differ depending on the route you take.
We champion city contrasts in architecture and materials we choose. For example, the part that features official Venice is decorated in a wide palette of pastel shades, and adorned with palazzo pointed arches, carnivalesque details, and velvet. The part that features Venice’s dark side — the city of passions — is decorated in muted shades, with neon flashes and abrupt architectural forms. Both are united by the recurrent motif of water surface — this impassioned witness of city dramas; it is represented by textured metal panels and mirror pieces.