Senate Room

Considered by the Venetians the most important among the Florian Room, thanks to its historical and artistic value, the Senate Room is the scenery and stage were the Venice Biennale was born. In 1893, the then mayor of the city Riccardo Selvatico, together with a group of intellectuals and artists, conceived the idea of organizing a prestigious artistic exhibition, to celebrate the silver anniversary of King Umberto and Margherita of Savoy. The project was achieved two years later with the opening of the first international exhibition, now known and recognized throughout the world.

Two large paintings – The Age of Enlightment and Civilisation educating the Nations – and eleven panels representing the Arts and Sciences enrich the Room, full of mysterious Masonic and Enlightenment allusions, making it much more charming and evocative.
A shop, a steam ship, a telegraph, an angel lying his hand on a stone carved with the number XIX: these are the enigmatic puzzles lurking within this Room that, through its large windows, simultaneously sees and shows the world go by in one of the most famous squares in the world.