The violin boat of Venice
The violin boat of Venice will serve as a stage for concerts in the lagoon
The idea came to him with the outbreak of the pandemic. He wanted to create something beautiful to dedicate to his city, Venice, as a wish for a speedy rebirth. Something that was a representation of everything that the City of the Doges represents in the imagination of each of us. Something that artistically combined music, poetry and the lagoon. Thus was born, in the volcanic mind of the master carpenter Livio De Marchi, the idea of creating a very special boat. A boat in the shape of a violin.
The boat was built in collaboration with the workers of the Venezia Sviluppo Consortium, using all the varieties of wood used for traditional Venetian boats: fir, larch, lime, oak, cherry and mahogany. The name thought up by the artist is “Noah’s Violin” with an evident reference to the famous ark that led humanity towards a new future, after the catastrophe of a flood compared to a pandemic.
The violin boat, or the floating sculpture if you prefer, was launched at the end of July by the former Lucchese shipyards on the Giudecca island. The artist Livio De Marchi – an eclectic character with a Salvador Dalì moustache who here in Venice is known by all as “the Carpenter” and runs a personal atelier in Campo San Samuele – wanted to dedicate it to loved ones who have disappeared due to Covid .
From September, the month in which the official inauguration is scheduled, the Violin will parade on the Grand Canal “to transport the beauty, music, art, craftsmanship and culture of Venice everywhere”, as its creator declared. In the intentions of the Carpenter, the boat will be a sort of ambassador of the City of the Doges and is already preparing a tour to be known and applauded in the main cities of the world.
12 .5m long and 4m wide, the boat-violin is equipped with a silent electric outboard motor and is completely disassembled to be transported in special containers. The pilot will be dressed in 18th century Venetian clothes and up to six musicians will find space on the bridge to give life to a … floating concert.
Music, needless to say, by Antonio Vivaldi and Tomaso Albinoni!
by Riccardo Bottazzo
From Liguria Nautica
Main photo: VeneziaToday . The image of the artist from the FB page of the artist himself.
