Il cielo sopra il portego

Il cielo sopra il portego (which translates as “The Sky Above the Portego”) is a site-specific installation designed for the Fondazione Museo della Scuola Grande di San Marco e della Sanità, as part of the In the Name of Care program. Set up inside the Ospedale Civile of Venice, the work — an aerial structure made of blue-painted wooden slats — enters into dialogue with the original model of Le Corbusier’s project for the city’s new hospital.
The reflection on the integration between functionality and human values in architecture dedicated to care led to an empathetic identification with the patient, acknowledging their need to look beyond the walls, toward the sky and the future, with a sense of hope.
The halls of the Scuola di San Marco, once used for assemblies, ceremonies, and gatherings, feature ceilings that are true masterpieces. This inspired a reflection on the need to revalue the ceiling, a surface often neglected in contemporary architecture.
This is how the idea for Il cielo sopra il portego was born: an invitation to develop an attitude of looking upward, toward an additional space. The aerial vault – suspended between the portego’s columns – draws the gaze upward, reinforcing the idea that the ceiling is a surface worthy of attention.
An architectural sculpture takes shape, inviting visitors to raise their eyes and reconnect with the higher dimension of the sky, evoked by the ultramarine blue typical of the ceiling frescos painted by Venetian masters.
By intervening in a space intended for passage, the installation creates a moment of inhabitability that places the individual in relation to the site. Through this aerial weave, AMDL CIRCLE emphasizes the poetic resonance between ground and air, between being and imagining.