Life in Venice

Dean Javier Quintana draws a comparison between the Metropolitan Tower in New York and the Campanile in Piazza San Marco, Venice.

Back in October when I first spoke about shooting this video of the Dean of IE University’s School of Architecture, Javier Quintana, he said he would like to compare the architecture of Venice with the architecture of New York, more specifically the Campanile in Piazza San Marco and the Metropolitan Tower. Coincidentally enough I had to travel to New York at the end of that month and had the opportunity to film some of the places he wanted to talk about. Then, in November, I joined him on a business trip to Venice. I had a great time, partly because there aren’t many cities that can beat Venice on a sunny day, or any other day for that matter, and partly because he spoke with such passion and knowledge about the two cities that I gained a new perspective of every corner, every square, and every tower.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit all the interesting things he said into this video, and he didn’t only talk about architecture, but also about music, cinema, and life in general. So there I had no room left to say anything about either the amazing Schubert or the fabulous Death in Venice (both the film and the book). I decided to focus more on the life side of things. You’ll be interested to know that Dean Quintana is really good company when it comes to looking round shops.

As you might have imagined already, there was only one way this could end and that is with some excellent Bellini cocktails at Harry’s Bar.

P.S.: Don´t miss Martin Rico´s (1833-1908) Venice paintings at Prado Museum. Only till February 2013.