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a living theatre theatre | l THēətər | noun
Venice is often accused of being a stage set for tourists, where beautifully patinated and decorated façades are meticulously directed to frame and create an atmosphere of romance and times past. These picturesque images certainly give a feeling of something orchestrated and illusory. In the structural system the facade (d) does not bear any load, which has enabled the priority to be the composition and articulation of infinite rows of window openings and ornamentation, enhancing this impression of a city set up as staged scenery – accentuating Venice as a living theatre. As a spatial act the architecture is constantly performing, similar to an old wooden ship at stormy seas. The twisting, expansion and contraction of materials is experienced and transmitted through indirect signs as sounds and altered light. Every squeak in a floor-board and the appearance of light penetrating minor cracks are telling the story of its dynamic surroundings.
a play or other activity or presentation considered in terms of its dramatic quality
‘Potemkin is said to have erected scenery which conjured up flourishing towns along the route of a journey made by Catherine the Great. One imagines that he got flimsy frames covered with painted canvas to give the effect of solid buildings. In Venice the very opposite was done. Along the Canal Grande one great palazzo lies beside the other. They are deeper than they are wide, built entirely of stone and brick faced with marble or stucco in shades of Venetian red or burnt sienna. And the architects have succeeded in making them look like colourful fiesta decorations of unsubstantial materials.’ 2
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