Giardini Pubblici & Biennale

Lonely Planet review

Creation of the Giardini Pubblici, the most extensive (if now slightly tatty) public gardens in the city, was ordered by Napoleon in 1807. They were officially opened in 1811, just three years before his demise. To create them, he had an entire residential district (including four churches) razed. In the gardens you'll find shaded benches, a few giostre (swings and other kids' rides) and a snack bar/restaurant.

You may have noticed during your Venetian strolls that there is a surprising amount of greenery, mostly in the form of private gardens (so much so that there is a coffee-table book entitled Secret Gardens in Venice , by Cristiana Moldi-Ravenna, Gianni Berengo Gardin and Tudy Sammartini).

Also here are the national pavilions of the Biennale Internazionale d'Arte, Venice's contemporary-arts fest held from June to November every two years. Together the pavilions form a kind of minicompendium of 20th-century architectural thinking. Standing well away from the historic centre and thus uninhibited by concerns about clashing with it, the site's pavilions are the work of a legion of architects. Carlo Scarpa contributed in one way or another from 1948 to 1972, continually updating the labyrinthine Italian Pavilion and building the Venezuelan one (1954). He also did the Biglietteria (Ticket Office) and entrance courtyard. Other interesting contributions are James Stirling's 1991 Padiglione del Libro (Book Pavilion), Gerrit Rietveld's Dutch Pavilion (1954), Josef Hoffman's Austrian Pavilion (1934) and Peter Cox's Australian Pavilion (1988), which backs onto a canal.