Londra Palace Gazette

April 25 – October 19: The Making of a Collector, Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Among a raft of tasty looking exhibitions opening to coincide with the Art Biennale is this show dedicated to the formative art-collecting years of the woman who did so much to associate her adopted home of Venice with the art of the present...

Alessandra Bognolo, Front Office Manager

If the Londra Palace were a ship, Alessandra would be its chief helmswoman, keeping us on course, with warmth and empathy, whatever the weather and tides may bring. Asked to suggest something about her native Venice that is close to her heart, she nominates the city’s rich culinary traditions, which she associates with that great source of many of our deepest taste memories – la cucina di mamma e papà. Here are two of Alessandra’s piatti del cuore, or dishes of the heart.

On 18 August 1926 the world’s first commercial passenger flight took off from Venice’s Nicelli airport on the Lido, destination Vienna. Marco Polo Airport on the mainland has long since taken over as the main arrival and departure point for international air passengers, but the Nicelli with its glorious, recently-restored 1930s terminal, has reinvented itself as a private aviation hub. It’s best visited en route to taking a panoramic helicopter flight over Venice and the lagoon – a breathtaking once-in-a-lifetime experience which our concierge team would be happy to arrange.

Hiding in plain sight outside the Doge’s Palace is a game that generations of Venetian kids have played but few visitors know about. Standing on the Riva degli Schiavoni with your back to the water, identify the third column from the corner of the palazzo. You’ll notice that it stands a little closer to the edge of the loggia’s smooth marble pedestal than all the others. Can you stand with your back to it and inch your way around without falling off the marble edging? It’s more difficult than it looks… but either way, a fun photo opportunity is guaranteed.