The Venetian lagoon landscape, shaped over centuries by the scarcity of land, led people to find new ways of inhabiting the outdoors through vertical expansions in the form of altane.

For centuries, they have appeared in paintings of the city, such as Vittore Carpaccio’s Miracle of the Cross at Rialto, and in accounts of Venetian daily life by Tassini, Sansovino, and Ruskin. Places of domestic life and contemplation, the altane were and still are used for drying clothes, beauty rituals, and observing the city from above, extending Venetian life beyond the walls of the house.

Venice, threatened by hostile political and environmental dynamics that jeopardize its delicate balance and mindful of the misfortunes it has faced over the centuries, now finds itself in an unprecedented state of precariousness.

The altana becomes the ideal archetype to reimagine in response to these pressures. Without altering its essence, we reinterpreted its potential uses, transforming it into a perspective on the future, a speculative life raft placed on the roofs of the city.

Technological advancements shape its new materiality: light, sturdy, and water-resistant. Easy to assemble, it finds space on unoccupied rooftops.

Thus, the altana becomes both device and monument: the last stronghold of Venetian identity, a witness to the city’s gradual dissolution.

team:
Matteo Fontana
Mattia Mattiuzzi

date:
May 2025

location:
Venezia, Italy

exhibitions:
TERRÆ AQUÆ. L’Italia e l’intelligenza del mare / Venice Architecture Biennale 2025