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