Venice, in spring 2022 the Procuratie Vecchie will open to the public for the first time in history

For the first time in five hundred years, the Procuratie Vecchie in St. Mark’s Square in Venice will open to the public in the spring of 2022, after a lengthy restoration commissioned from David Chipperfield Architects of Milan by Generali Insurance (to which a large part of the Procuratie Vecchie belongs) in 2017. This was announced by Generali itself: in fact, by the end of the year the restoration work will be completed, allowing the Procuratie Vecchie to open for the first time in history.

The project was not defined by a single architectural concept or gesture, but through a series of interventions that address the complexity of the work. These include the restoration of the first and second floors, the reorganization of the building’s accessibility and usability through the inclusion of new stairs, and the renovated central entrance on the third floor.

The intervention promoted by Generali will enhance the third floor with exhibition areas open to the public and related to The Human Safety Net foundation, work spaces and an auditorium. The historic building, which runs along the northern side of the square, will become a major new center of attraction and activity, also with a social purpose. It will in fact become the headquarters of The Human Safety Net, the global movement of NGOs, volunteers and partners working with people living in vulnerable conditions so that they can transform the lives of their families and communities.

Preparing for the countdown to the inauguration, a scale model of a portion of the building showing some of the interventions made has been put on display in the Human Garden spaces inside the Giardini Reali, which will in turn reopen to the public in 2019 after a five-year restoration by the Venice Gardens Foundation in collaboration with Generali. The wooden model opens in six parts showing the facade of the building and allowing visitors to be able to understand what interventions have been carried out in the various spaces. In addition, never-before-seen photographs document the respectful transformation of the building-these have been made public in order to show the extent of the work and the challenges posed by the need to preserve the building’s history while making it suitable for modern and sustainable use for the next five hundred years.

“As part of our commitment to sustainability and to crown Generali’s 190th anniversary celebrations,” stressed Generali Group CEO Philippe Donnet, "we want to give new life and purpose to the Procuratie Vecchie in Venice. As the home of The Human Safety Net, this emblematic building will become a space for the exchange of ideas to overcome the major social challenges of today’s world, and inspire visitors to take action to unlock the potential of people living in vulnerable conditions. I would like to thank everyone who helped us make this dream a reality!"

“It has been a great privilege to work on the Procuratie Vecchie project,” said David Chipperfield, “not only because of the importance of the building’s architecture and its centuries of history, but also because of its role in defining one of the most inspirational civic spaces in the world. With our project we are carefully reunifying and adapting the building’s factory, breathing new life into the Procuratie Vecchie and what it represents for Venice: not just an attraction but a vibrant space of activity in a living city. The strength of a project like this depends on the quality of the partnerships: we are very grateful to our client, consultants and our team at headquarters for their significant commitment to the project. We look forward to its reopening to the public next year.”

Venice, in spring 2022 the Procuratie Vecchie will open to the public for the first time in history

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