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by Ariza Danielian
48 Hours In Venice: Biennale, 1,000 Cichetti, And Surprises For the Senses
26 May 2025
2025. Pressure Cooker Curated by Azza Aboualam . Image Courtesy of National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by Ismail Noor of Seeing Things
How could anyone not love Venice? I found myself repeatedly asking this question throughout our trip, especially after encountering a few surprisingly negative reactions from people when I shared my travel plans.
Venice is often depicted as a city of love — a picturesque setting for a romantic getaway — but even without romance, the cinematic quality of Venice effortlessly seeps into your soul.
Arrival & first Impressions
Arriving at Santa Lucia train station, I hop onto a boat bound for the city centre and my hotel near San Marco. A 15-minute walk through narrow, winding streets awaits, making me grateful I packed lightly. When I say narrow, I mean very narrow — barely wider than an arm's reach. Then, just like that, the passage opens up to reveal a towering cathedral appearing as if from nowhere. It is a psychedelic experience for the senses.
Food, food... and more food (Or: there is no such thing as too many cichetti)
Bar All’Arco was our first food stop — a well-known local spot for cicchetti. I had artichokes, salami, cheese, and baccalà while waiting for friends. Later that evening, we enjoyed more cicchetti at the stylish Vino Vero, where old-school hip hop created an unexpectedly cool atmosphere. Dinner at Osteria l’Orto dei Mori was a highlight — the baked scallops and squid ink pasta were absolutely unforgettable.
Lunch the following day at Osteria da Pampo offered another round of Venetian classics — baccalà, crisp courgette flowers, and prawn pasta. We finished the day at the legendary Harry’s Bar Cipriani — undeniably popular with visitors, but completely worth it. The evening ended with live music and dessert at a historic café in Piazza San Marco. Yes, I was touristy this time — and honestly, I have no regrets.
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The reason we came: Biennale Architettura 2025
One of the most significant events in the architecture world is curated by architect and researcher Carlo Ratti, the exhibition is titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.
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We started with the Armenia Pavilion, which focuses on digitally preserving lost landmarks. This year’s theme centres on the preservation of vanished sites and the attempt to capture them in memory before they disappear forever.
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AI analysed hundreds of the country’s ancient locations and generated stunning models, which were then 3D-printed using tuff stone, a material traditional to Armenia. The result is a seamless blend of technology and heritage that beautifully blurs the boundary between past and future.
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The UAE Pavilion. 1, 2 — photos by Ariza Danielian; 3 — Courtesy of National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by Ismail Noor of Seeing Things
Next one — the UAE Pavilion. We walked into Pressure Cooker not knowing what to expect, but it immediately made sense. Curated by Azza Aboualam, the exhibition asks: How can architecture help secure our food systems in an uncertain climate? You walk past these modular greenhouses, each configured differently to play with sunlight, ventilation, and crop needs. There were cucumbers, tomatoes and also blueberries. Blueberries! It was one of the most quietly surprising experiences of the whole Biennale.
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Now — the Saudi Pavilion, The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection. I walked and felt like I was stepping into someone’s memory and future at once. The space, created by Syn Architects and curated by Beatrice Leanza, told a story not just through images and models, but through sounds, textures, and presence. It centred around the work of the Um Slaim Collective, documenting Najdi architecture from Riyadh and weaving it with contemporary challenges. There were archival photographs, material samples, and fragments that felt personal and collective all at once.
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Another standout was the Bahrain Pavilion, which received the Golden Lion for Best National Participation. Titled Heatwave, the exhibition offered a poetic yet practical response to extreme heat, one of the most urgent environmental challenges facing the region. The installation reimagined traditional cooling methods, referencing wind towers and shaded courtyards. It wasn’t dramatic or loud — instead, it invited you into a quiet, sandy-toned space, where filtered light, minimal elements, and gentle airflow created a space of calm.
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Oh, and I almost forgot — one of the most talked-about installations this year was the Canal Café, a purpose-built café where visitors were served espresso brewed using purified water from the Venetian canals. Yes, really!
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I also asked my friend Sergey Nadtochiy, architect and curator, to share what stood out for him at the Biennale.
Sergey Nadtochiy: “What impressed me the most this year was the main exhibition curated by Carlo Ratti. His presence was truly felt — the selection of projects worked together in a thoughtful and cohesive way, responding to the theme of Intelligens not only as a technological concept but also as a way of thinking about architecture critically, responsibly, and inventively. It is rare to see a curatorial vision so clearly translated into space.
Among the national pavilions, Armenia and Oman stood out to me. The Armenian pavilion used AI to analyse scans of traditional Armenian architecture carved in tuff stone, generating new tectonic surfaces that were then physically realised — a powerful and beautiful example of digital heritage transformation.
The Omani pavilion was also incredibly striking, both spatially and conceptually. It offered a calm, atmospheric, and materially rich experience, connecting contemporary design with timeless architectural logic.
While not every installation hit the mark, this Biennale overall felt more architectural and grounded than some previous editions. Less abstract discourse, more tangible ideas. And it left me with a lot to think about — which is, I guess, the best thing any exhibition can do.”
This year, Biennale feels less about spectacle and more about connection — projects that ask open-ended questions about memory, material, and community.
A few places that stole my heart
First — Libreria Acqua Alta. An old bookstore that feels more like a cabinet of curiosities — narrow aisles stacked high with vintage books, handwritten signs, gondolas turned into bookshelves, and, of course, cats. Cats sleeping on piles of philosophy books. Cats grooming themselves next to travel guides. We stayed longer than planned, flipping through old covers and letting the place choose the books for us. We are all cat people anyway, so this was inevitable.
Second stop — Peggy Guggenheim Collection. I was dreaming of coming back to it, so I was almost running there — that is how impatient I was. The collection soothes your soul if you are a fan of 20th-century art, but it is not just the paintings doing the work. Spend a little time in the small, beautiful garden. Sip your coffee slowly in the museum café. Do nothing for a while. Just think about how beautiful the world is. Listen to the birds before heading back to the tourist-filled parts of town. You will probably laugh when, just minutes later, you bump into the massive Basilica Santa Maria della Salute basking in the sun.
Can’t take your eyes off Venice
They say, "The eye has to travel." Well, in Venice, your eyes are basically tripping most of the time. Reflections of sunlight in the blooming azure waters of the canals. Endless marble all around. Faded paint on crumbling facades. Modernist signages above trattorias and shops where time has stood still. Old wooden chairs and crisp white tablecloths peeking through linen curtains in tiny windows. Rushed, slightly disoriented tourists and well-dressed architects gliding through the streets between Giardini and Arsenale, trying to see every pavilion before they leave. The city breathes past and present in perfect harmony.
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