Set in the heart of Venice’s Castello district, Opera Aperta is a project in constant evolution. As the title of the Holy See Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, it also serves as a statement of intent: architecture as process, restoration as a collective gesture, and space as a shared resource.
The project is set within the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice complex, a site founded in the 12th century that has served over time as a pilgrims’ hospice, hospital, school, and now a cultural space. Today, this layered setting becomes an open workshop for the city, where architecture and community meet through care, work and participation.
Just past the entrance to the pavilion, visitors are met with an unexpected element: the live sound of a grand piano. In collaboration with the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory of Venice, the pavilion offers three rehearsal spaces open to musicians. Music becomes both a sensory and symbolic part of the experience. Not a backdrop, but a signal of the project’s commitment to restoring culture as a shared, everyday practice.
Another defining aspect of the pavilion is its nature as an open construction site: throughout the entire duration of the Biennale, restoration work will continue. Visitors frequently encounter artisans, laborers, and conservators at work, laying cables, reinforcing walls, uncovering old plaster. The scaffolding is not a set piece but a working tool that actively shapes the configuration of the space. Visitors move through environments that appear to be under construction, yet it is precisely this temporary, fluid condition that forms the conceptual core of the exhibition. The aim is not to present a finished result, but to open the process itself as a public, collective act.
The project is curated by Marina Otero Verzier and Giovanna Zabotti, with artistic direction by the international studios Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO and MAIO Architects, both of which have long engaged with the theme of care in the built environment. Opera Aperta calls for a renewed appreciation of the existing, a rediscovery of the potential held in cracks, fragments, and traces. The goal is not to erase the marks of time, but to transform them into resources for imagining new futures.
Public participation is also essential. Throughout the summer, the UIA Università Internazionale dell’Arte will host a series of hands-on workshops focused on restoration and the transmission of traditional techniques. Open to all, these sessions offer a rare opportunity to engage with the craft of conservation in an authentic context. The pavilion becomes a place for learning through doing, for reflection through action, and for building together.
Today, architecture often focuses on image or gesture. Opera Aperta takes a different path: a concrete space in dialogue with the city, shaped by work, materials, sound, and presence. Here, care is not an abstract concept, but a daily practice that involves those who enter, those who work, and those who simply observe.
Where: Holy See Pavilion, Santa Maria Ausiliatrice Complex, Fondamenta S. Gioacchin 450, Venice (Castello district)
When: May 10 – November 23, 2025
Curators: Marina Otero Verzier, Giovanna Zabotti
Artistic Direction and Design: Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO, MAIO Architects
Commissioned by: Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See
Website: www.coopculture.it
