A multimedia and multi-sensorial installation, The Rape of Venice comprises a number of visual elements – projections of the titles on the subject of saving Venice published in international periodicals and a floor depicting the deconstructed mosaic from St Mark’s Basilica – sounds, including underwater recordings and the noise of the traffic in the lagoon, and smells, with fragrances inspired by the “smell of seaweed below zero”, evoked by Iosif Brodskij, a Venetian by adoption.

Through the synergy of these elements, the work aims to make the observer aware of Venice’s decline, from living city and unique heritage for the world to tourist theme park and object of cultural and environmental devastation. The theme of sustainability explored in EXPO 2015 is here examined in reference to the fragile lagoon environment and the phenomena underlining its amphibious culture, evoked by the fragrance of its primordial element, seaweed.

Created especially by the experts of Mavive after months of olfactive analysis of the lagoon environment, samples will be made and distributed to visitors in a limited series of small phials containing the quintessence of Venice.