Always alongside the Biennale.
The five-star Hotel San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice, nestled on the island of San Clemente in the central lagoon, 10 minutes away from San Marco, the heart of Venice, and with complimentary scheduled shuttle boats every 40 minutes, is famous to boast the largest and most exclusive suite in Venice. The 196 accurately decorated rooms and suites offer a harmonious blend of contemporary and Renaissance style and, for those in search of relaxation, the holistic Spa center – The Merchant of Venice Spa – offers a sanctuary of serenity where one experiences treatments of Oriental charm.
The heated outdoor swimming pool surrounded by exotic palm trees and exclusive cabanas, the nearly 15 acres of ancient gardens, a golf course, the tennis and volleyball courts, the jogging path and a fully equipped fitness center, in addition to a kids’ club and culinary delights as the “Best Italian Restaurant in Europe” by Haute Grandeur Awards, Acquerello, complete the exceptional accommodation offer.
But San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice is more than just a stately resort. It’s a hub for art and culture with its annual art installations that complement the Venice Biennale. This year The World’s Biggest Art Biennale, the International Art Exhibition Venice at its 60th edition, inaugurated on 17th April, will run until 24th November 2024. During this period the Hotel will be displaying many artworks in the gardens.
San Clemente Church
The island of San Clemente, settled in 1131 thanks to the patronage of the Venetian merchant Pietro Gattilesso, also hosts the 900-years old historical San Clemente Church, whose name pays homage to Pope Clement I, a martyr and patron saint of seamen. Gattilesso himself funded the construction of the church, along with a hospice for pilgrims and soldiers bound for the Holy Land during the Crusades. In 1643, the Venetians, as an act of gratitude for surviving the plague epidemic in 1630, funded the construction of a new church within San Clemente Church, modeled after the Holy House of Loreto. In more recent years the property changed ownerships until the present management, which transformed San Clemente Palace into the prestigious hotel and resort everybody knows.
San Clemente Church housed many artistic treasures like ancient sculptures which were stolen years ago. One of the latest retrieved pieces, thanks to the work of the Italian Ministry of Culture and Italian Carabinieri, that every year retrieve thousands of these pieces of historical artwork returning them to their original locations, is that of a renowned Flemish sculptor, Giusto Le Court, born in 1627 in Belgium and died in 1679 in Venice.
Giusto Le Court was a successful sculptor working on marble and bronze artwork with hundreds of perfectly crafted sculptures that have left a unique inheritance to Venice. Among many of his artworks, two of the guarding angels stolen 20 years ago were recently recovered in an antique shop in Napoli and retrieved by Carabinieri, who returned them to their original location, that is to say in San Clemente Church.
Now the two guarding angels will be preserved by San Clemente Palace, that has been recently awarded as the Best Hotel in Venice particularly known for its respect for art and history, together with numerous other accolades racked up over the years, as Best Hotel in Venice in 2018 according to Condé Nast Readers’ Choice. The Hotel is also the perfect location for weddings, being awarded as Best Wedding Resort in 2019 at the World Travel Awards, ideal venue for business meeting and #1 Hotel in Venice and Top 20 in the World.
Every year, the San Clemente Palace also mounts exhibitions of artworks by international artists. This year it’s the turn of the exhibition ORGANISM, currently underway alongside the 2024 Venice Biennale. The exposition concentrates on massive, complex works that represent the ambiguities between materialism and the imagined, featuring works by the renowned Korean artist, Seung-Hwan Kim. Kim’s ORGANISM series skillfully captures intricate changes in natural forms, representing the order and eternal nature found in the world around us.
The extraordinary sculptures of Seung-Hwan Kim, displayed in the elegant park of the Hotel, push the boundaries of the medium, and explore the interplay between nature, light and color. The exhibition in general pays homage to Venice’s artistic heritage, showcasing the artist’s exceptional talent and his exploration of nature’s wonders. Seung-Hwan Kim invites everybody to contemplate the delicate balance between materiality and immateriality, and the interplay of light and atmosphere.
