Venice Undergraduate Study
The Venice Term at Warwick is a unique initiative that gives year three undergraduate students the opportunity to spend a full university term living and studying in Venice.
Our premises are within the Palazzo Giustinian Lolin building, one of most distinguished palaces on Grand Canal, with its own Warwick History of Art library and study spaces
The Warwick Term
The Venice Term is not mandatory, so if you cannot go or choose to stay in the UK, alternative modules as well as special projects will be offered on campus at Warwick
Great emphasis is placed on the examination of buildings and works of art in their original settings. In addition to weekly classroom-based lectures, there are student-led seminars in churches, museums, galleries and the Biennale (whenever possible).
To place Venetian art and architecture and its display into its broader context, we will take a number of out-of-town trips to key centres on the mainland, which may include Padua, Vicenza, Verona (particularly to experience Palladian villas). We've even made it as far as Milan and Rovereto on occasion!
We also offer Italian language classes (at no cost) to enable you to reach the required level of Italian to navigate city and order food (or you may also wish to consider studying our History of Art with Italian degree)
Examples of topics studied during the Venice term include-
Venice: Rise and Myth (Medieval to Early Modern)
You will examine the art and architecture of Venice in the light of its unique physical, political and cultural situation. The city's links with the Byzantine empire, its status as a maritime republic and its distinctive political situation fostered a culture different from those of other Italian cities and which can be studied as a discrete entity. The relationship between art and its various contexts will be surveyed using the physical evidence of the city and its past. The influence of Venice on art in the terraferma will also be examined through, for example, study trips to Padua, Vicenza and Verona.
Modern Architecture and the Historic City
We explore the relationship between modern architecture and the historic city, examining how architects and planners have engaged with the legacy of Venice since the 19th century. Taught through lectures, seminars and site visits, in Venice and its region – taking both urban areas as case studies to be considered in conjunction with pertinent texts about the contested legacies of architectural modernism, in issues ranging from conservation to town planning. The primary focus will be on c.1920-1970, but, when taught in conjunction with the Venice Architecture biennale, it will relate these issues to contemporary architectural practice.
Exhibiting the Contemporary
In this module, you will examine the importance of exhibition to the interpretation of contemporary art. Lectures on the history of exhibition, from the nineteenth century to the present day, will frame the rise of the Biennale as a showcase for the display of contemporary art. Nation building and national rivalry, politics and ideology, weave throughout histories of exhibition, and you will learn that the manner in which art is displayed is never neutral. This historical background will prepare you for study at the Venice Biennale. On-site seminars at the Biennale will build skills of visual analysis and foster in-depth discussion of contemporary art in its global context; close study of published writing on contemporary art will teach you to evaluate textual evidence; finally, a presentation at the Biennale will foster confidence in speaking in front of works of art. Trips to museums and exhibitions outside the parameters of the Biennale will further enrich your learning.