Venezia Nostra The exhibition at the Royal Institute of British
Architects on how to modernise Venice (and how not to!) is well worth seeing. It has been mounted by Italia Nostra: this is the youthful equivalent of our own National Trust, but still very unofficial and indeed much disliked by the booming speculators who would like to scrape the skies of Venice with mediocre monstrosities. A huge relief map of the city marks every new (post-1945) elevation with a brass pin. There are hundreds. (The thought came guiltily to my mind that I shouldn't have minded building an attic myself.) Another map shows the greater horrors which Italia Nostra has by its vigour turned aside. But this is by no means a society of dull sticks who want to preserve Venice as 'a mere museum. They want us all to join Italia Nostra. And why not? But, a complaint : why should the splendidly printed and illustrated catalogue be in such comical English? The translation is glum, the spelling is poor, and sense sometimes evapor- ates. Also, the sketches and maps of 'greater Venice' leave out far too much, and the potted history of Venice is like something out of a dreary children's encyclopmdia. Who do they think we are? Lovers of Venice, that's what we are, and some of us pretty knowledgeable. (`After all,' an indignant lady said in my hearing, 'there was Ruskin, and John Addington Symonds, and a long line of scholar-travellers before the de- bunkers took over! ') As I looked at the beautiful facades of some derelict houses I thought that the planners might well study the Regents Park transformations while they are here. Something similar will soon have to happen in Venice.
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