“The more than flattering success among the public, especially among young people and students – declared President Davide Croff – confirms the relevance and the significance of the topic – the future of cities – selected by the Biennale for this 10th Exhibition. I warmly thank Director Richard Burdett, a major international city planning academic, for treating this subject with great scientific rigour and for enhancing contents by laying out an exhibition route which has been much appreciated for its clearness and its fascination. But the challenge of this most innovative edition lives on: for the first time in the history of the Venice Biennale, the 10th Architecture Exhibition presents a bipolar offer, and exceptionally the simultaneous section in Palermo – City-Port – will remain open until the 14th January 2007. Curated by Rinio Bruttomesso, this section is – together with Cities of Stone, curated in Venice by Claudio D’Amato Guerrieri – the highest and most challenging point of a commitment towards Southern Italy which has taken up three years of work with 15 great exhibitions in 13 different cities, and symbolizes a brand new Biennale, with intensified activities in Venice and a fresh outward thrust. With a further significant innovation, we have restored an Italian Pavilion – which this year was curated by Franco Purini –, dedicating it to the sole Italian architecture and, starting from the next Exhibition, to Italian arts. What is more, the 10th Exhibition has widened the range of its prizes, which have first been awarded at the end of the event, with a soirée at the Malibran Theatre attended by 500 eminent people from the world of architecture”.

This Biennale edition has been visited by 1,938 groups: 7,887 adults and 64,649 students have opted for this visiting formula, with a net increase from 2004 (1,147 groups, with 3,721 adults and 54,692 students); these figures show a growth in the interest of the latter category in this organized form, which grants specific discounts and guided tours arranged according to particular needs. The International Architecture Exhibition has thus become a choice for nursery and elementary schools, as well as for high schools, Universities, associations and workers’ recreational clubs.

14,236 visitors have participated in educational initiatives, with a significant increase (5,005 in 2004), and 170 workshops have been carried out together with schools (110 in 2004).