News
TRH continue their tour of Italy
27th April 2009
The Prince of Wales witnessed an "unlikely" new vision for Venice today - parts of the island could soon resemble Middlesbrough.
Business leaders believe the Italian island city, famed for its Renaissance architecture, could learn from the north east of England in plans to regenerate one of its industrial ports.
Bosses behind the Tees Valley regeneration programme were flown to Venice to give a presentation on how they had transformed areas of Middlesbrough and Stockton.
The Prince of Wales, who is touring Italy with The Duchess of Cornwall, arrived at the conference on the island to deliver a speech and learn of the plans.
Earlier in the day, The Prince had joined members of Confindustria and representatives of The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change for a round table discussion in Rome on climate change.
In Venice, The Prince met Italian developers and business leaders as they were told of regeneration programmes in England's north-east.
Italian business leaders and architects were shown examples of how the regeneration on the Tees were transforming the Middlehaven office developments, in Middlesbrough, and North Shore, in Stockton.
Neil Kenley, from Tees Valley Regeneration, said: "It seemed unlikely and it was a surprise when we were invited - but then we thought about how we had turned a brownfield site into a greenfield one.
"When people think of Venice, they think of St Mark's Square. This regeneration programme will be based on other parts of the island."
Speaking at the Venice Lagoon Industrial Regeneration seminar, The Prince said: "I would argue that it is possible to redevelop post-industrial areas such as the Venice lagoon in a way which recalls Venice's reputation as a pinnacle of achievement in building cities, demonstrating the rich variety of expression in the built environment that comes from a place that has evolved over time, with reference to both a living tradition and an openness to learning from cultural and natural influences."
During his speech at the seminar, The Prince said building programmes on the island should not create a "historical theme park, characterised by pastiche buildings which simply mimic what has gone before".
He added: "Rather, I believe that it means identifying the underlying principles of Venice's glories, bringing them into the modern age to blend the best of old and new using this 'pattern book' to inform what is built in future."
His Royal Highness previously warned Italians Venice was an example of the dangers posed by global warming.
The Prince, speaking to Italian MPs and business leaders at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome on Monday, said: "I know that Venice recently experienced its worst flooding for 22 years and incidents of flooding are increasing. In the first decade of the last century, St Mark's Square flooded fewer than 10 times a year. Now it floods over 60 times a year - more than once a week."
Click here to read The Prince’s speech in full.
After the seminar, The Prince went to view the regeneration of Venice in action at the San Giobbe house project.
Instigated by the Venice in Peril Fund, the project shows a prototype conservation process which is specific to the unique city of Venice. The aim is to restore traditional buildings using traditional methods, materials and techniques to provide social housing in the city.
The Duchess of Cornwall carried out her own set of engagements with a cultural theme.
In Rome, while The Prince was discussing climate change with the Confindustria, The Duchess visited the Keats-Shelley House which is dedicated to John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley.
The exterior of the House is exactly as it was when John Keats travelled to Rome and spent what were to be the last few months of his life there.
During her visit, The Duchess presented prizes at the Keats-Shelley House 18th Annual Poetry Prize for schools and toured the museum.
In addition to the extensive collection of paintings, objects and manuscripts celebrating the lives of Keats, Shelley and Byron, there is a comprehensive library dedicated to the late British Romantic Poets.
The collection includes a reliquary containing a lock of Milton and Elizabeth Barrett's hair, a manuscript and poem by Oscar Wilde, and bound first editions and letters by Wordsworth and Robert Browning.
Later in the day, on arrival in Venice, The Duchess visited the Guggenheim Museum and toured the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Italy’s most important collection of modern art.
In the evening, The Prince and The Duchess visited Venice's famous La Fenice Opera House to see how it has been faithfully reconstructed following a devastating fire in 1996.
After touring the opera house, Their Royal Highnesses attended a reception hosted by the British Ambassador, and then enjoyed a performance of Donizetti's opera, "Maria Stuarda".