WaterLANDS artist-in-residence at our Italian Action Site, Claudio Beorchia, has been busy with a number of artistic and engagement projects in the Venice Lagoon. The projects have seen major progress in their development and the first previews and public presentations. The WaterLANDS restoration in Venice focuses on reclaimed salt marsh or barene in the Lagoon, where work is underway on “infills” constructed with dredged sediments (a by-product of port maintenance and other infrastructure projects).
Claudio has been working on a game called “Il Gioco della Barena” - “the Barena Game” - exploring the public space of the salt marshes and their importance to the Lagoon. The game has just completed its testing phases, which involved middle school students participating in I Giganti della Laguna, the Giants of the Lagoon, educational program developed by the We are here Venice team, as part of WaterLANDS.
Image 1: Testing the Barena Game (Credit: Eleonora Sovrani)
While last year the students were involved in the co-design phases of the game elements, this year their involvement focused on testing the playability and game dynamics. Between March and April, during the classes’ final field trips to the island of Sant’Erasmo, the game was tested by about 300 students.
Claudio says, “there are still some aspects to refine and fix, but the game works, and the students had fun while also gaining a better understanding of the unique environment of the salt marshes. In the coming months, work will continue with the creation of prototypes and the final game, so that it will be ready for the end-of-project exhibition scheduled for November 2026 in Venice”.
The other project Claudio is working on is called “La Laguna dei Cippi”, or the “Lagoon of the Cippi”. The Cippi are the historical boundary stones (Cippi di Conterminazione), which have marked the lagoon’s limits since the 18th century. The project invites residents to document the lagoon through the perspective of the Cippi, through photography and storytelling, highlighting the lagoon’s transformation over time.
Image 2: La Laguna dei Cippi project(Credit: Claudio Beorchia)
In November 2025, Claudio and We are here Venice gave an initial presentation of the project’s results. For this preview, a location deeply symbolic of Venice was chosen: the headquarters of the Water Authority, one of the public institutions responsible for the management and governance of the Lagoon.
Image 3: La Laguna dei Cippi project (Credit: Claudio Beorchia)
In mid April this year, there was a second public presentation of the project in Cavallino, a town in the northern part of the Lagoon. The presentation event was made possible by Tra Mar e Laguna, a very active local association dedicated to the Lagoon’s environment. The event was part of a broader initiative focused on the preservation and enhancement of the boundary stones within the municipal area.
Image 4: La Laguna dei Cippi project (Credit: Claudio Beorchia)
Claudio says, “The response from the local community was truly significant, with dozens of people attending the event. This is undoubtedly a positive sign, demonstrating the residents’ attachment to the Lagoon, its shoreline and its landscape”.
Claudio hopes to present the project’s results on a couple of other occasions over the summer, before the final exhibition at WaterLANDS project close in November 2026.
