The Nairobi Recommendation (11-26-1976).
Point l 1c of the Nairobi Recommendation.
Point III7 of the Nairobi Recommendation.
The Querini Stampalia Fundation.
the Ca' Foscari University, side Canal Grande.
Academy of Fine Arts.
Fondazione Querini Stampalia
The Nairobi Recommendation (11-26-1976).
Point l 1c of the Nairobi Recommendation.
Point III7 of the Nairobi Recommendation.
The Querini Stampalia Fundation.
the Ca' Foscari University, side Canal Grande.
Academy of Fine Arts.
UNESCO provides many recommendations for the safeguarding of our universal heritage, together with suggestions on just how to do this.
The "The Nairobi Recommendation" concerning the Safeguarding and Contemporary Role of Historic Areas, adopted by the General Conference on 26th November 1976, is a basic "framework" document.
Point I-1-C of this provides the following definition: “"Safeguarding" shall be taken to mean the identification, protection, conservation, restoration, renovation, maintenance and revitalization of historic or traditional areas and their environment.”
Point III-7 provides basic guidelines for national, regional and local policies “…so that legal, technical, economic and social measures may be taken by the national, regional or local authorities with a view to safeguarding historic areas and their surroundings… The policy thus laid down should influence planning at national, regional or local level and provide guidelines for town-planning and regional and rural development planning…”
Point IV-33 includes various measures to be adopted to safeguard our cultural heritage from the risk of damage, including an express invitation to Member States to introduce new uses for such assets by adapting them to the requirements of modern life. These new functions should, however, respect certain criteria while answering the social, cultural and economic needs of the inhabitants without harming the specific nature of the area concerned.
Several Venetian institutions and private citizens have followed the suggestions in this UNESCO Recommendation, thus saving various historic areas and their environment from ruin and allowing them to be used once again by the population today.
Here are just a few examples.
The Fondazione Querini Stampalia sits just a short distance from St. Mark’s Square. This is an excellent example of the application of the suggestions provided in the “Nairobi Recommendation”. This has been the subject of restoration in two distinct stages: first by the architect Carlo Scarpa in 1949-1963 and then by the architect Mario Botta in 1993.
The needs to conserve the site and allow for its reuse by citizens have been carefully co-ordinated, guaranteeing profound respect for the nature of the monument.
Scarpa was responsible for restructuring the entrance and gardens and for restoring the ground floor, while Botta took great efforts in harmonising the various architectural elements of this palace with the need to construct further buildings as annexes to the historical complex.
In both cases, the themes of water and its reflection and of light and shadow adopted are typically Venetian, as are the materials used.
Ca' Foscari is an extraordinary Venetian Gothic palace that cleverly combines its roles as the seat of a famous Venetian university and as an important centre for Venetian social/cultural life and traditions.
Restoration was completed in 2007: the original aspects of the palace have been enhanced, in tune with the previous conversions by the architect Scarpa in the 1960s, at the same time satisfying the need to provide a pleasant atmosphere and functional facilities for roughly 2000 students each year. Its position – at the top of the Canal Grande – also makes it the ideal setting for hosting the authorities at the finish line of the Historical Regatta and as the podium for awarding the winners of the rowing competitions.
The Academy of Fine Arts we see today is a complex of various old buildings, but all with a definite Neoclassic character.
The same line and attention to the development of those "Neo-Classic" interests dating back to its foundation in 1750 are reflected in the artistic activities that take place inside: the education and training of young artists in the restoration of paintings, architecture and sculpture, in close collaboration with the “Venice Biennale”.
For this reason, in addition to the historic buildings in the complex - Gallerie dell’Accademia, the Fondo Storico, the Fondo Librario, the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe and the Archivio Storico – the Academy also offers students and visitors modern functional classrooms and new courses specifically designed to guarantee highly skilled and specialised graduates, tomorrow’s art experts.
1800 - 2000 - - rev. 0.1.11