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ARZANĄ
100 images of the Venice
Arsenale (dockyard)
by Manfredo
Manfroi ©
1995
(Presidente del
Circolo Fotografico La Gondola)
“…no longer shall
the most beautiful
and photogenic city
in the world be
deprived of a
fellowship where the
much discussed
Photographic Art
could be nurtured
and advanced…” These
words, written by
Gino Bolognini in
1948 on the founding
of La Gondola are
very telling about
the relationship
between Venice and
the Circolo since
its birth. An
exclusive rapport
which, on the one
hand, supplied a
wealth of
extraordinary photo
opportunities and,
on the other, gave
back an image of
Venice finally other
than rhetorical and
“sublime”. This
partly explains the
initial success of
La Gondola and why
it attracted so many
photographic talents
willing to take on
the challenge posed
by both the
monumental grandeur
and the “smaller”
Venice soaking in
saltiness and
mystery. The
permanence of this
relationship between
La Gondola and the
city through the
decades is reflected
in the present
exhibition. We chose
the Arsenal for
several reasons: its
unique monumental
significance and
architectural
originality; its key
role in the
industrial, economic
and war history of
the city; its
difficult access
because of military
issues which have so
far limited a wider
knowledge of the
complex. The
exhibition is not
meant to provide
answers; the images
should be read as a
symbolic and
stimulating evidence
for those who want
to inquire further.
By the same token,
the old controversy
about the use and
destination of the
Arsenal is absent
from our images,
though we hope our
work may be useful
to all those who
love our city and
the Arsenal and keep
working for its
renewal.
Ten years later, we
are showing “Arzaną”
again: it was the
Circolo’s first
group exhibition
after several years
and it was not by
chance that we then
focussed on one of
the most complex and
controversial
realities of our
city. We deemed
important to
“freeze” in our
shots a monumental,
historical and
industrial complex
whose future was
already being
heavily debated.
Among the possible
destinations:
tourist port,
university seat,
museum, research
lab, facility for
cultural events and
so on. A selection
of a hundred shots -
out of five thousand
- was aimed at
documenting the
actual situation of
the Arsenal in 1995
so that in time one
could look back at
it and confront it
with present
conditions. Ten
years later some
progress can
undoubtedly be seen:
portions of the huge
complex (which
represents a sixth
of the city!) have
been renovated and
are currently used,
but we are still far
from an organic and
global plan of
renewal for the
whole Sestiere,
Castello, whose
economy had been
based mainly on the
Arsenal until the
sixties. We hope for
other opportunities
to revisit and
re-photograph those
places and record
both improvements
and progress and
deterioration
brought about by
time. A project,
once again, devoid
of any polemic
intention and only
meant as a
contribution to the
knowledge of such an
extraordinary
patrimony of
history, culture and
labour.
Manfredo Manfroi -
2004 |