In the city of Venice, Italy

 “I am deeply convinced that it is together that humanity will be able to respond to the different challenges it will have to overcome.“

-- French-Swiss artist Saype (his real name is Guillaume Legros)
===================================================================
(in the north of Italy). The greatest seaport in late medieval Europe and the continent’s commercial and cultural link to Asia, Venice is unique environmentally, architecturally, and historically. One of the world’s oldest tourist and cultural centers, it remains a major Italian port in the northern Adriatic Sea. A timeless city of more than 100 tiny islands surrounded by the vast Venetian Lagoon, Venice is an enchanting city that casts visitors under an intoxicating spell. It’s dreamy and romantic, with an undercurrent of mystery and drama. The Grand Canal is the center of activity, with gondoliers singing to the passengers in their boats. The magnificent Piazza San Marco is another must-see hub.

+ Never was a thoroughfare so aptly named as the Grand Canal, which still reflects the glories of centuries of Venetian architecture in the 50 palazzi and six churches lining its banks. At the end of Venice’s signature S-shaped waterway, the Palazzo Ducale and Basilica di San Marco add a few more exclamation points. Hiding in the city's narrow backstreets are neighborhood churches lined with Veroneses and priceless marbles, convents graced with ethereal Bellinis, Tiepolo’s glimpses of heaven on homeless-shelter ceilings, and a single Titian painting that mysteriously lights up an entire basilica.

+ Venetians are also accustomed to setting trends, whether it be with controversial artwork in the Punta della Dogana, racy operas at La Fenice .or radical new tech start-ups challenging Silicon Valley giants. On a smaller scale, this unconventional creative streak finds vibrant expression in the showrooms of local artisans where you can find custom-made red-carpet shoes, purses fashioned from silk-screened velvet, and glass jewels brighter than semiprecious stones. In a world of cookie-cutter culture, Venice’s originality still stands out.

+ Pictured here, for example, is a giant biodegradable land-art painting by the French-Swiss artist Saype, from the Beyond Walls project, which was captured on Friday April 15, 2022 -- on a floating barge in Venice. Extending over an area of eight by 30 meters, this fresco was created using biodegradable pigments made from charcoal, chalk, water, and milk proteins. The piece will travel in and around Venice and will be unveiled during the Biennale Arte 2022, the 59th International Art Exhibition., making Venice part of Saype's Beyond Walls global human chain. This aerial view shows just one of a series of interlocked hands made as part of a project creating a spray-painted "human chain" across the world -- to encourage humanity and equality. (The Beyond Walls project is based on Saype's premise that the world is polarized, and that part of the population has chosen to withdraw into itself.)