4820 Venice - Istanbul Intercultural Activities

An important festival is going on in Venice under the name I TURCHI IN EUROPA ( Turks in Europe) (programs available from [url]www.iturchiineuropa.it[/url] )
which started on June 30 and will last until October 22. It comprises a
series of events from films shows (incl famous Turkish film maker Ozpetek' s films which won many awards in Italy and other Turkish award winning films) and theater, to music, dance, architecture , painting and literature exhibitions. Great deal of these events will take place in Venice and an exhibition of Ottoman architect Sinan's work will be in Parma.
In history, Venice and Istanbul has had much intercultural relationship. For 79years Istanbul was Nova Roma , the capital of the Roman Empire, before it became Constantinopolis- the capital of the East Roman Empire. After the conquest of the city by the Ottomans in 1453, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo both designed proposals for the Golden Horn Bridge in Istanbul. Both were not built as Leonardo's proposal was too difficult to construct and Michelangelo's too expensive. Ottomans built their own practical version. Da Vinci said it was his dream to build a bridge over the Bosphorous.
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During the later period of the Ottomans, Venetian architect Raimondo Tomasso d'Aronco served as the palace architect in Istanbul to the Turkish Sultan Abdulhamit II, for 16 years, during 1898-1909 and built in Istanbul many fine buildings in the art nouveau style. All of his work can now be seen in an exhibition in Istanbul, free of charge, between Sep 17 - Nov 15, at the Istanbul Research Institute, organised by The Italian Cultural Centre in Istanbul, under the auspices of Italian Consul General H.E. Dr. Massimo Rustico and with the cooperation of Dr. Ricardo Illy, President of the FRIULI VENEZIA GIULA and the Municapality of UDINE.
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Earlier during the season, La Biennale di Venezia exhibited Venetian paintings
in Istanbul Modern Painting and Sculpture Museum.
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Architect ASKIN OZCAN
Author of THE SECOND VENICE