UPDATE (09/21/2021): on saturday september 18, ‘noah’s violin’ was officially launched in venice with a string quartet playing vivaldi’s four seasons. the 12-meter-long floating violin is the creation of sculptor livio de marchi and it first made waves back in august when it was tested on the water with an accompanying performance by cellist tiziana gasparotto. this most recent spectacle saw the giant violin float down venice’s grand canal flanked by a number of traditional gondolas.

giant violin floats down venice's grand canal complete with string quartet

image by mieko ban (main image courtesy of il gazzettino)

 

 

livio de march is a venetian sculptor who’s known for his floating wooden artworks, some of which include a paper hat, a high-heeled shoe, and a ferrari F50. noah’s violin was first conceptualized by de marchi during the coronavirus lockdown in italy last year. the giant artwork hopes to spread a message of rebirth from venice to the world. designed in four sections to enable easy assembly and transportation, the violin is also planned to literally travel the world. ‘as noah put the animals on board the ark to save them, we will spread art through music on this violin’,  says the sculptor. 

giant violin floats down venice's grand canal complete with string quartet

image by mieko ban

 

 

the supersized instrument measures approximately 12 meters long and 4 meters wide. using six different qualities of wood, de marchi has crafted remarkable details including the scroll at the top and the chin rest at the bottom. the project was realized by de marchi alongside the team at consorzio venezia sviluppo on the island of giudecca in venice.

giant violin floats down venice's grand canal complete with string quartet

image by mieko ban

giant violin floats down venice's grand canal complete with string quartet

image by mieko ban

floating violin livio de marchi venice

image courtesy of gallery livio de marchi

giant violin floats down venice's grand canal complete with string quartet

image by mieko ban

giant violin floats down venice's grand canal complete with string quartet

image by mieko ban

floating violin livio de marchi venice

image courtesy of gallery livio de marchi

floating violin livio de marchi venice

image courtesy of gallery livio de marchi

 

 

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image by mieko ban
image by mieko ban
image by mieko ban
image by mieko ban
image by mieko ban
image by mieko ban

project info:

 

name: noah’s violin

sculptor: livio de marchi

collaborators: consorzio venezia sviluppo, pitteri michele, mario bullo, denis and massimo chia, leone zannovello with nicola lotto and ugo carmeni, de marchi mattia, alilaguna