Terrae Aquae
L’Italia e l’intelligenza del Mare
Padiglione Italia alla Biennale Architettura 2025, promosso dalla Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea del Ministero della Cultura.


Terrae Aquae.
Italy and the Intelligence of the Sea
Italian Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2025
Promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity
of the Italian Ministry of Culture
10.05 – 23.11.2025
Tese delle Vergini, Arsenale, Venezia
Commissioner
Angelo Piero Cappello
Curator
Guendalina Salimei
Project
Terræ Aquæ
From 10 May to 23 November 2025, at the Tese delle Vergini in the Arsenale, Venice, architectural, scientific, and cultural reflections on the sea will take center stage at Terrae Aquae. Italy and the Intelligence of the Sea, the exhibition project of the Italian Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture and curated by Guendalina Salimei.
Italy’s participation is dedicated to an expanded Mediterranean, embracing the neighboring oceans: the structural relationship between water and land, nature and the artificial, infrastructure and landscape, city and coastline lies at the heart of the country’s identity and influences the delicate balance between environment, humanity, culture, and economy — a balance that must be both safeguarded in its integrity and reimagined to meet the inevitable demands of a future shaped by new and pressing challenges.
Viewing Italy from the sea entails a shift in perspective, calling for a rethinking of the boundary between land and water as an integrated system of architecture, infrastructure, and landscape.
The Curator
Guendalina Salimei
Guendalina Salimei is an architect and university professor who combines research, teaching, and design through an ethical and experimental approach, focused on the sustainable transformation of urban and landscape ecosystems. Her work spans the academic sphere, international research, and urban and social regeneration projects, both in Italy and abroad.
Architect, PhD in Architecture. Theory and Design, and Professor of Architectural Design at Sapienza University of Rome, she combines — through Tstudio, founded in Rome — the practice of ethical design with experimental research aimed at improving the quality and living conditions within complex natural and human-made ecosystems.

Credits
MINISTRY OF CULTURE
Minister of Culture
Alessandro Giuli
Undersecretaries of State
Lucia Borgonzoni, Gianmarco Mazzi
Head of Cabinet
Valentina Gemignani
Head of the Department for Cultural Activities
Mario Turetta
Head of Press and Communication Office
Piero Tatafiore
Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity
Director-General
Angelo Piero Cappello
Director of Service I – Cultural and Creative Enterprises, Fashion and Design
Maria Luisa Amante
Director of Service II – Contemporary Art and Photography
Fabio De Chirico
Director of Service III - Contemporary Architecture, Urban Peripheries, and Regeneration
Maria Vittoria Marini Clarelli
General Coordination
Luciano Antonino Scuderi
Technical-Scientific Area
Simona Gervasio, Alessandra Giancarlo, Caterina Tantillo
Secretariat
Roberta Gaglione
Secretariat – Support Staff
Edoardo Cedrone, Antonella Lucarelli, Claudia Vitiello
Administration
Graziella D’Urso
Administration – Support Staff
Adriano Decina
Communication and Press Office
Silvia Barbarotta, Francesca Galasso
ITALIAN PAVILION
TERRÆ AQUÆ. Italy and the Intelligence of the Sea
Commissioner
Angelo Piero Cappello
Curator
Guendalina Salimei
Curator's Assistant
Anna Riciputo
Curator's Team
Giancarlo Fantilli, Luigi Filetici, Gianluigi Giammetta, Roberto Grio, Mariaugusta Mainiero
Advisory Committee
Silvia Botti, Laura Canali, Anna Lambertini, Beatrice Majone, Marzia Marandola, Ezio Micelli, Rosario Pavia, Clara Tosi Pamphili
Research Committee
Francesca Romana Castelli, Alessandra Criconia, Anna Giovannelli, Maria Teresa Granato, Cristina Imbroglini, Domizia Mandolesi, Giovanni Pogliani, Laura Romagnoli
Artists
Thomas De Falco, Marya Kazoun, Anna Muskardin, Alfredo Pirri, Agnes Questionmark
Curator's Staff
Michele Astone, Federica Colanzi, Giulia Di Monaco, Roberto Sforza with Marco D’Andrea, Alberto Runco
General Organization
Giulia Floriani with Flaminia Zanzi
Educational Aspects
ArchiDiAP – Sapienza Università di Roma
Exhibition Design
Tstudio – Architecture e Design, Giammetta Architects
Light Writing
Mario Nanni
Eco-Acoustic Installation
David Monacchi
Digital Fresco
Francesco De Melis
Visual Identity
Giampiero Quaini
Digital Graphics
Studio Natale.
Domenico De Lucia, Marco Falappa, Umberto Lama, Fabio Sanità
Digital Communication
Nneka K.C. Arinze
Publisher
Electa
Press Office
PCM Studio di Paola C. Manfredi
Production
La Biennale di Venezia
Sponsor



Technical Sponsors


Thanks to
Arctic Paper Italia
Tenute Navarra
design by Giampiero Quaini
dev by Nneka K.C. Arinze
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