Liaisons au Louvre IV

P A R I S 

V E N E Z I A

Becca Cason Thrash 

CHAIRMAN 

Jean-Luc Martinez 

DIRECTOR: MUSÉE DU LOUVRE 

Christopher Forbes 

CHAIRMAN: AMERICAN FRIENDS OF LOUVRE BOARD 

Toto Bergamo Rossi 

DIRECTOR: VENETIAN HERITAGE 

Valentina Pedroni-Lazzari 

PRESIDENT: VENETIAN HERITAGE BOARD 

Pierre Durand 

CHAIRMAN: VENETIAN HERITAGE BOARD 

Requests the pleasure of your company for 

a once in a lifetime international experience 

that will take guests from 

Paris toVenice 

benefitting 

AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF THE LOUVRE 

& 

VENETIAN HERITAGE

SUNDAY, JUNE 18 

7-8:00pm 

WELCOME TO 

Paris 

Hotel Ritz 

17 Place Vendôme, 75001 

The recent and magnificently 

renovated Hotel Ritz will host our 

guests for a glamorous cocktail 

party in the beautifully manicured and 

re-landscaped Jardin à la française located 

in the heart of the hotel. Guests will 

enjoy cocktails alfresco while catching up 

with old friends and meeting new ones 

as we begin our once in a lifetime week. 

Cocktail attire 

* Dinner is for guests to arrange on their 

own. A list of suggested restaurants in Paris 

is provided at the end of the itinerary.

MONDAY, JUNE 19 

12 Noon 

THE 

PICASSO 

MUSEUM 

Hôtel Salé, 

5 Rue de Thorigny, 75003 

We are invited to the Picasso 

Museum on the day that 

it is closed to the public. 

The museum, which was closed for 

renovation and expansion in 2009, 

has reopened at more than double its 

original size. Once inside, we will view 

over 400 Picasso works encompassing 

his career, along with the gemlike 

selection of pieces he owned by artists 

he loved; Chardin, Degas, Cézanne, 

Braque, Matisse and Henri Rousseau. 

And in a sense, even his own work 

here represents a personal choice. 

The new design, by architect Jean 

Francois Bodin, is basically a magnified 

version of the old plan. As the 

museum is closed on Mondays, we 

will have the rare opportunity to be 

in the museum while it is closed 

to the public. There will be docents 

and guides present. 

Casual attire 

*Lunch is for guests to arrange on 

their own. A list of suggested restaurants 

is provided at the end of the 

itinerary.


12 Noon 

LOUIS 

VUITTON 

FOUNDATION 

(OPTIONAL) 

8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, 

Bois de Boulogne, 75116 

The Vuitton Foundation is the latest 

creation of internationally renowned 

architect, Frank Gehry. The 

building reveals forms never previously 

imagined until today and is considered the 

most provocatively designed museum since 

Bilbao. The foundation houses the contemporary 

art collection of LVMH. The museum 

is open on Mondays from 12-6pm.


7:30pm 

PETIT 

PALAIS 

Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 

The Beaux-Arts style Petit Palais, located 

directly across from the Grand Palais, 

was designed by Charles Girault for 

the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The museum 

is set around an octi-circular courtyard and 

garden. It is the permanent home for the city 

of Paris’ fine arts collection. 

Guests will enjoy cocktails in the museum and 

the adjacent courtyard and gardens before 

sitting down to an elegant dinner in the historic 

palace. Hosted by Van Cleef & Arpels 

Cocktail attire

TUESDAY, JUNE 20 

12 Noon 

MUSÉE DU 

LOUVRE 

Guests will have the opportunity 

to view the refurbished eighteenth-century 

decorative art 

galleries while the museum is closed 

to the public. The exhibition design 

was entrusted to Jacques Garcia. The 

renovation, which took close to nine 

years to complete, houses the Louvre’s 

collection of royal furniture, decorative 

bronzes, rugs, tapestries, gold and silver 

ware, porcelain, jewelry and scientific 

instruments. Proceeds from Liaisons 

au Louvre I and II went towards the 

funding of this enormous project. 

Casual, comfortable shoes


7:30pm 

LIAISONS 

AU 

LOUVRE IV, 

LA GRANDE NUIT 

Musée du Louvre 

Guests will enter the 

museum into the 

Borghese Galleries of the 

Greek Etruscan and Roman Antiquities 

Department, allowing a 

close view of the Venus de Milo and 

the newly renovated Winged Victory. 

Steps or an elevator will take us 

one level down to the recently renovated 

medieval moats, but before 

entering, we will have the opportunity 

to intimately view the historic 

Great Sphinx, with its impressively 

polished stone surface and incredibly 

precise details, including the 

inscribed names of three dynasties 

pharaohs. The moats, which were 

discovered through archaeological 

excavations in the mid-1980s, reveal 

the ruins of a castle that existed 

until the early 16th century, when 

its keep was torn down to make way 

for the Renaissance palace that is 

known today as the Musée du Louvre. 

Here, bars and drinks will be 

in abundance. Guests will discover 

the history of the Louvre where the 

huge and only left foundations of 

an original tower reside.


7:30pm 

LIAISONS 

AU 

LOUVRE IV, 

LA GRANDE NUIT 

continued 

From there, guests will have direct access 

to the iconic Pyramid (la rotonde 

Sully) where the seated dinner will 

be staged. After dinner and a brief auction, 

guests will be entertained by a surprise 

world-class performer. 

After the performance, we will follow the 

red carpet outside the Pyramid to the after 

party, which will take place in Café Marly, 

adjacent to the Pyramid. Dj, dancing; drinks 

and bites will be served into the wee hours 

of the morning. 

High black tie (VERY formal)

Paris 

Venice 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21 

Guests make their way to Venice 

Paris 

Belgium 

Germany 

Czech Rep. 

P 

Airlines that fly between Paris and Venice are: 

• Air France 

• KLM 

• Lufthansa 

• Alitalia 

• Austrian Airlines 

• Easy Jet 

• Swiss International Airlines 

Spain 

France 

Switzerland 

Austria 

H 

Slovenia 

Croati 

Venice 

Bosn 

Italy 

*This is a free night, as guests will arrive into Venice at various times of the day and evening. 

*Dinner is for guests to arrange on their own. A list of suggested restaurants in Venice is provided 

at the end of the itinerary.

Venice 

THURSDAY, JUNE 22 

AND FRIDAY, JUNE 23 

Day Visits 

11am-2pm and again 4pm-6pm 

VENICE 

Please be mindful that some of the 

venues and private homes in Venice 

are diminutive compared to the vast 

spaces of Paris, therefore visits to private 

palazzos will be staggered. 

Guests will have access to some of the most 

exquisite homes in Venice. Guests can also 

visit the Jewish Museum and Synagogues in 

the Venetian Ghetto, see Venetian Heritage 

restorations of some of Venice’s most important 

landmarks or tour the biannual 57th 

international Biennale of Contemporary Art 

(which will have opened three weeks prior). 

There will be docents and guides for our 

guests who can come and go at their leisure 

but during the above allocated times. 

Casual, comfortable shoes 

*On both days, lunch is for guests to 

arrange on their own. A list of suggested 

restaurants in Venice is provided 

at the end of the itinerary.


(EVENING) 9pm 

PALAZZO 

REZZONICO 

Dorsoduro, 3136, 30123 

This magnificent palace, which is now a museum 

that houses treasures of the Venetian 

eighteenth century, was designed in 1649 

by one of the greatest Italian baroque architects, 

Baldassare Longhena, and was completed in 

1751 by the highly esteemed and eclectic architect, 

Giorgio Massari. Upon its completion, the 

most important Venetian painters were commissioned 

to decorate it. The ceiling frescoes were 

created by Giambattista Crosato and the trompe 

l’oeil painter, Pietro Visconti. After decades of 

being passed from one influential Italian family 

to the next, Palazzo Rezzonico was sold to the 

Venice Town Council in 1935 and was adapted 

to serve as the museum of 18th century Venice. 

Masterpieces include works by Canaletto, Longhi, 

and Tiepolo. The museum rarely allows dinners 

in the palazzo however, thanks to the relationship 

between Venetian Heritage and the Civic Museum 

of Venice Foundation, our guests will be allowed 

to have cocktails and a beautiful seated dinner 

amidst the magnificent chandeliers, sculptures, 

tapestries, porcelains and pictures. 

Cocktail, white dinner jackets suggested

ay 

options 

11am-2pm and again 

4pm-6pm 



PALAZZETTO 

ALVISI GAGGIA 

The Gaggia Home is formed by three 

buildings of different periods, the oldest 

of which dates back to the first 

half of the seventeenth century. Important 

renovations carried out in the 1920’s, such 

as the staircase, the stucco decorations of 

the main floor interior and the lovely flooring, 

coupled with the choice of furnishings 

and objects still kept in the home, give this 

residence extreme elegance. The magnificent 

dining room, where a fabulous 1760’s dinner 

service by Cozzi is displayed on one of the 

walls, is the setting for stimulating and elegant 

dinner parties with international guests 

who have ties to the world of art. Everything 

is perfect in Chiari Gaggia’s home, from the 

delicate lighting of each room to the excellent 

dishes served on eighteenth-century china. 

*Andrea and Nancy Chiari Gaggia will kindly provide 

refreshments.




4pm-6pm 

PALAZZO 

GRADENIGO 

The origins of this palazzo 

go back to the middle of 

the sixteenth century and 

to one of the oldest and most illustrious 

patrician Venetian families, 

the Gradenigo’s. The estate 

is famous for its collections of 

paintings, for its rich library and 

especially for its garden, which 

until 1992 was the city’s largest. 

In the late nineteenth century, 

the famous and scandalous novel, 

The Flame, was set amid the 

shrubbery of Gradenigo Park. 

At almost the same time, Henry 

James set The Aspern Papers in 

the adjoining garden. The wing 

of the first main floor, overlooking 

the Rio Marin, was recently 

restored by the current owner 

and decorated with stucco and 

frescoes of different periods. The 

walls of the entrance and dining 

room are a triumph of the art of 

Venetian stuccowork circa 1730. 

The yellow salon features a lovely 

ceiling frescoed by Giacomo 

Guarana, depicting the triumph 

of Flora, which was rediscovered 

during recent restoration 

work. Other rooms are decorated 

with frescoes by Bevilacqua and 

Borsato. 

*Toto Bergamo Rossi, director of 

Venetian Heritage, will open his 

Palazzo and secret garden for 

our guests.




4pm-6pm 

PALAZZO 

GIUSTINIAN 

RECANATI 

One of the oldest 

chronicled Venetian 

noble houses, 

the Giustinian family, 

descends directly from 

Emperor Justinian. The 

family has produced numerous 

procuratores, 

captains, ambassadors, 

cardinals and a doge of the 

Republic of Venice. Palazzo 

Giustinian was built in 

the mid-fourteenth century 

with a sole main floor, 

even though it occupies 

the entire area running 

from Fondamenta della 

Zattere to the Rio di Ognissanti 

or “one block” as 

most would say. In 1712 

Giacomo Giustinian married 

Laura Recanati, the 

last descendant of a rich 

and illustrious patrician 

family, from whom he 

inherited important collections 

of artwork that 

can still be admired in 

the magnificent dwelling 

today. At the beginning 

of the nineteenth century, 

architect Antonio Diedo 

designed the new wing of 

the palazzo with a curious 

neoclassical exedra that 

separates the romantic 

garden from the canal. 

*Enrico Falck, owner of the 

palazzo will be present to 

answer any questions and 

will happily show us his 

amazing Palazzo.

THURSDAY, JUNE 22 AND 

FRIDAY, JUNE 23 


4pm-6pm 

THE 

JEWISH 

MUSEUMS 

AND SYNAGOGUES 

OF THE VENETIAN 

GHETTO 

The presence of Jews in 

the region that was to 

become the Venetian republic 

is documented from as 

early as the first century of the 

vernacular era. According to the 

tradition they arrived in Venice, 

a great trading center between 

East and West, towards the beginning 

of the eleventh century. 

The Republic required the 

Jews to live in an area of the city 

where the foundries, known in 

Venetian as “geti” had been situated 

in ancient times, to wear 

a sign of identification and to 

manage the city’s pawnshops. 

The first Jews to comply with 

the decree were the Ashkenazim 

from mid-eastern Europe. 

Their pronunciation mangled 

the Venetian term “geto” into 

“ghetto”, creating the word still 

used today to indicate various 

places of segregation. 

Known as “Scole”, the synagogues 

of the Venetian ghetto 

were constructed between the 

early-sixteenth and mid-seventeenth 

centuries. 

Each represented a different 

ethnic group that had settled 

here permanently and obtained 

a guarantee of religious freedom. 

These synagogues have 

been preserved over time and 

testify to the importance of the 

Venetian ghetto. 

The unusual tall buildings found 

here were divided into floors of 

sub-standard height, demonstrating 

how the density of the 

population had increased over 

the years. What was Europe’s 

first ghetto is now a lively and 

popular district of the city where 

the religious and administrative 

institutions of the Jewish Community 

and its five synagogues




4pm-6pm 

Venetian Heritage restorations of some 

of Venice’s most important landmarks: 

GALLERIE 

DELL’ 

ACCADEMIA 

MUSEUM 

(SAMSUNG & VENETIAN HERITAGE WING) 

The Museo delle Gallerie 

dell’Accademia occupies 

the old Scuola and former 

church of Santa Maria della 

Carità and the monastery annex 

of the Canonici Lateranensi. It 

was opened in 1807, modeled 

after the Louvre. The collection 

was enriched over the course of 

the nineteenth century by some 

important bequests and public 

purchases. It is now the temple 

of Veneto painting. The display 

space in the museum has now 

been doubled thanks to the recent 

acquisition of the ground 

floor, occupied until a few years 

ago by the Accademia di Belle 

Arti. The partnership between 

Samsung, world leader in digital 

technology, and Venetian 

Heritage allowed the five rooms 

in the new “Grandi Gallerie” to 

be furnished. The rooms house 

new displays on the ground floor, 

which include extraordinary 

works of art, some of which have 

never been shown to the public 

because of a lack of space. This 

work has equipped the Gallerie 

dell’Accademia with the most 

innovative technology enabling 

it to propose new models for 

museum education and allowing 

visitors to discover its treasures, 

to better understand the history 

of the place, the artists and the 

paintings that this treasure chest 

conserves and to study the links 

of the works to the region and 

their provenance.




4pm-6pm 

ARCHIVIO 

DI STATO 

FORMER FRANCISCAN 

CONVENT 

Tradition has it that 

St. Francis himself founded 

the convent. Over the centuries, 

the convent/complex underwent 

various transformations and enlargements. 

The two monumental cloisters 

bear witness to the importance of the 

role of the Franciscans in the city. The 

first, built in the sixteenth century, 

is enclosed by an arcade with round 

arches and surmounted by a terrace 

embellished with an imposing balustrade. 

Not everyone knows of the 

existence of the monumental Frari 

cloister, which can only be visited 

by request. The State Archives were 

established in 1815 and conserve 

70km of document shelves relating to 

the entire history of the Republic of 

Venice from its origins to the modern 

period.




SCUOLA DALMATA 

The Scuola Dalmata di San Giorgio e Trifone 

was born like other brotherhoods to unite 

Dalmatians residing in Venice. The Scuola 

originated in Venice in 1451, after the Venetians 

conquered Dalmatia in 1420. A relic of Saint George 

(one of the three patron saints of Dalmatia together 

with Saint Jerome and Trifone) is preserved inside 

on the main altar. On the ground floor, you can see 

a series of panels depicting the stories of the patron 

saints of the Confraternity painted by Vittore 

Carpaccio. The Confraternity is one of those rare religious 

institutions that, notwithstanding Napoleonic 

suppression decrees, that managed to remain intact 

with all its artistic heritage. 

* It should be noted that Venetian Heritage 

intends to restore the paintings of Vittore Carpaccio.




57TH BIENNALE 

INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION 

The Biennale is based at the Giardini, a 

park which includes a large exhibition hall 

as well as permanent national pavilions, 

which are the property of the individual countries. 

The number of countries represented continues to 

grow. The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, 

in cooperation with the US Department of States 

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, will 

present Mark Bradford as the representative for 

the United States. 

Casual, comfortable shoes

FRIDAY, JUNE 23 

9 pm 

LA DOLCE VITA 

THE MASKED BALL 

Scuola Grande Della Misericordia 

Cannaregio, 3599 

Our final Notte will be held in the recently 

restored Scuola Grande Della Misericordia. 

This multi-century old structure, 

which is recognized as the most important 

social institution in the Republic of Venice, was 

closed for nearly 100 years until it was restored 

by the city of Venice and reopened for private 

use only this past May. Guests will arrive by 

way of the Grand Canal (book water taxis 

through hotels or a special list will be provided 

in advance of the trip). The evening will consist 

of a fabulous masked affair with cocktails and 

music before guests are seated for a glorious 

dinner. There will be a surprise performance 

at dinners end! After a brief auction, guests 

will descend the stairs for the after party with 

dj and dancing. 

*Venetian masked balls are indeed a sui 

generis art form. Think formal but fantasy, 

splendor and exotic while creating your attire. 

Masks, headpieces, feathers, pearls, jewels; 

even baroque. Guests will contribute greatly 

to the décor of the evening and to the general 

atmosphere. We urge you to comply with the 

attire request.

Saturday, June 24 

Au revoir and arrivederci! 

The program has ended and guests are free to stay in Venice, 

travel to other places in Europe or make their way home. 

We are extremely grateful to our sponsors, hosts and outstanding 

donors for their overwhelming generosity. 

Proceeds from Paris to Venice will be divided between The American 

and International Friends of the Louvre and Venetian Heritage. 

For the Louvre, funds will go towards the restoration of the apartment of 

Anne of Austria, 

mother of Louis XIV and the Louvre’s efforts to make the museum 

more accessible to all. The Dowager Queen’s former suite is being 

refurbished to house the Louvre’s unparalleled 

collection of Etruscan art. 

For Venice, funds will help to restore: 

Gallerie dell’Accademia 2nd Wing 

The State Museo delle Gallerie dell’Accademia was opened in 1807, modelled after 

the Louvre. The collection was enriched over the course of the nineteenth century 

by some important bequests and public purchases. It is now the temple of Veneto 

paintings. Venetian Heritage with the support of Samsung, completed the first five 

rooms in the new “Grandi Gallerie”. The second wing is in need of furnishing, 

renovation and the restoration of 66 old master paintings among them by Tiepolo, 

Sebastiano Ricci and Piazzetta, never before seen to be permanently displayed. 

*An early response sheet is included as well. 

For questions, feel free to email: beccacasonthrash@gmail.com

Liaisons au Louvre IV

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