SKD: A City at War

schwarz-weiß Foto eines Flugzeugs über dem Markusplatz in Venedig

A City at War. Venice 1915–1918

For centuries, the waters of the Venetian Lagoon sheltered the city of Venice, serving as a protective wall for the city’s inhabitants. In the early 20th century however, the development of new war technology brought with it an unfamiliar danger: aerial bombardment. This exhibition chronicles Venice’s unusual predicament in defending itself for the first time against imminent destruction from the air.

Exhibition Site Japanisches Palais

DATES 31/07/2015—25/10/2015

While Italy had remained neutral when the war broke out, it eventually entered on the side of the Allies, declaring war on Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1915. By 1918, more than 1000 bombs had been dropped on the city, threatening human lives, buildings, monuments, and works of art.

The photographs from the Archivio Storico Fotografico of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia reveal much about residents’ pride and confidence, their will to defend themselves, and their determination to prevent the destruction of their city. Despite the fact that citizens lacked sophisticated weaponry, provided easy targets for propeller-driven aircraft and Zeppelins, and could only construct inadequate bulwarks of sandbags and wooden planks, the images nevertheless impressively testify to the drama of the events of the time. Furthermore, they document the struggle of life during wartime: individuals’ efforts to secure their own survival and the city’s attempts to maintain public life through its institutions.

The civilian and military efforts to save Venice’s cultural artefacts from air-raid destruction are poignant. One particularly moving scene shows men in dark suits witnessing, alongside women, children, sailors, and officers, the dismantling of the Horses of Saint Mark while helping to build the large sandbag barricades that lent the city such a strange appearance. Some of the photos on display document the failure of these efforts, as seen through damaged sculptures and paintings, such as the bombed dome of the Church of the Scalzi with its destroyed ceiling fresco by Giambattista Tiepolo. The images also show ceremonies to commemorate victims, as well as civilian and military achievements after the war.