The date to mark on the calendar for the Querini Stampalia Foundation is 5th May, the birthday of its founder, Giovanni, born in 1799.

He was a passionate, determined, visionary, and generous individual whose efforts established this enduring and kaleidoscopic institution. Housed within a 16th-century palazzo, the Foundation offers a varied and multi-layered cultural environment that includes architectural works by Carlo Scarpa, Valeriano Pastor, Mario Botta, and Michele De Lucchi; exhibition spaces hosting shows of the most diverse kinds; an auditorium, a bookshop, a café, shared spaces, and Count Giovanni’s house-museum.

The exhibition The dreamer presents a new concept and innovative approach to displaying the collection. It features masterpieces, including a painting by Giovanni Bellini, alongside works by six contemporary artists and cinematic references from Luchino Visconti’s film Senso. The exhibition leads us through the dreams and passions of the founder, his sister Caterina, his family, and their era, which surprisingly also becomes our own in a sort of ‘here and now’ that challenges the chronology of linear time, and introduces us to the responsibility of dreams and our perspectives on the future.