The Prada Foundation

Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli’s collection of modern and contemporary art was built with the same passionate independence that informs their fashion empire.  Part of the Biennale de Venice festival that continues until December the palazzo in which the Prada Foundations is housed is a gem.  Replete with ornamental details and rich materials, including red marble benches from Verona, yellow Lessinia stone, limestone steps from Istria, walnut doors, Venetian terrazzo floors, terra-cotta tiles, and wood-beamed ceilings. It is currently undergoing an exacting restoration, under the auspices of a Venetian bureau that protects architectural heritage and funded by the rent Prada is paying. (In exchange, the Foundation gets to occupy the palazzo for the next 6 to 12 years.) Catch it while you can!