Washington, September 17, 2020.
The Ambassador of Italy Armando Varricchio opened today together with Frederick Ilchman, Chairman of Save Venice, the webinar on the protection of the historic sites of the city of Venice from high water.
The seminar, carried out in the framework of the fruitful collaboration with Save Venice, takes place just under a year after the tragic floods that hit the city of Venice last November. Melissa Conn (Venice Director, Save Venice), Christopher Apostle (Project Director, Save Venice) and Xavier Salomon (Member of the Board of Save Venice) presented some of the 22 projects completed or in progress and very recent discoveries, such as that of a cycle of 9th century frescoes in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello, financed with funds from the Immediate Response Fund, collected through the #AmericaLovesVenice campaign.
The #AmericaLovesVenice campaign, launched on 20 November 2019 by Save Venice in collaboration with the Embassy with the support of the diplomatic-consular network in the USA, raised more than 700,000 dollars from almost 600 donors.
During his speech, Ambassador Varricchio recalled the great resilience of the Serenissima and the solidarity shown by the United States. “The generous support received through the #AmericalovesVenice campaign – continued the Ambassador – is an incredible testimony of the friendship that has always linked our countries and which is enriched daily, thanks to the work of organizations such as Save Venice”.
“This strong collaboration will continue to make a difference for Venice. Thanks to the #AmericaLovesVenice campaign championed by Ambassador Varricchio and Save Venice’s Immediate Response Fund – said Frederick Ilchman – we are poised to act quickly and decisively when disaster next strikes. We intend to maintain the fund as part of our commitment to Venice as we mark the 50th anniversary of Save Venice in 2021.”
The event can be viewed at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI2KC2lYBJw&feature=youtu.be
