Fellini on the Grand Canal

Are you in Venice right now, or will you be before the 30th of September? Would you like to have a fine exhibition in a palazzo on the Grand Canal entirely to yourself to enjoy? Do you like Federico Fellini? How about Marcello Mastroianni or Anouk Aimée? 

Paul Ronald photo © Archivio Storico del Cinema/AFE, Roma

If you answered yes to at least two of the above questions (the first one being the most important), then the Palazzo Benzon and its exhibit Fellini: Otto e Mezzo is the place for you during the next 10 days. Featuring the color photographs of Paul Ronald taken on set, the exhibit offers a fresh perspective on Fellini's black-and-white masterpiece. Along with candid photos of the film's lead and supporting actors, it includes beautifully-printed color images of scenes that you instantly recognize from the original film and yet also seem to be seeing for the first time.

A few iPads perched on stands among the exhibition offer interactive features in a number of languages, such as interviews with the actors, and even the original movie itself.

And not the least enjoyable aspect of this utterly enjoyable exhibit is that, aside from the gallery employee who leads you up to the portego/gallery of the piano nobile and remains discreetly as your chaperone, I suspect that you are likely to find yourself taking this all in in splendid peace. In a city of crowds and crowded venues, the Palazzo Benzon (reached most quickly from the Sant' Angelo vaporetto stop) is far enough off the standard tourist routes to avoid casual or accidental detection. Which may not be ideal for the Fellini Foundation for Cinema, but is sure to be appreciated by any lover of Fellini, who gets the chance to savor these materials to the fullest.

I plan on returning for a longer viewing. 

The exhibition is open from noon until 6 pm throughout the remainder of its run, and is free of charge.