100 supporters · €100 each. Help restore La Civetta — a 1960s Venetian boat — before the journey begins. Six supporters drawn at random: one wins a signed mosaic, five win a 4-day mosaic workshop in Venice.
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La Civetta has been with me for six years. A solid wood mascareta built in the 1960s, one of the last of her kind still on the water. Together we have covered thousands of kilometres across the Venetian lagoon, season after season, practising voga alla valesana — the ancient Venetian technique of rowing standing up with two crossed oars.
In October 2026, I will leave Venice aboard La Civetta for a solo journey of 500 kilometres, without an engine, through the historic waterways connecting the lagoons of north-eastern Italy since the Middle Ages. That journey has been in my head for years. It is now fixed.
Then, last winter, another boat collided with La Civetta at the quay. The impact cracked the prow and split the stem joint. The boat takes no water — but the damage is structural. She cannot carry a person standing for 500 kilometres across open lagoons in this condition. The prow needs to be rebuilt before October by a traditional Venetian boatyard.
The cost is 10.000 euros. So I decided to do something I have never done before: invite 100 supporters to make this happen with me.
The damage is concentrated at the bow. The impact split the prow joint and opened the wood along the stem. The boat is structurally sound and takes no water — but a prow in this condition cannot safely support 500 kilometres of solo rowing standing up.
A traditional Venetian squero will carry out the full repair: hull work, wood treatment, waterproofing, and replacement of the damaged sections. Every stage will be documented and shared.
La Civetta — prow damage after collision, Venice 2025
Six supporters will be drawn at random on 30 September 2026, live on Instagram, with an independent witness present. The first number drawn wins the mosaic. The next five each win a 4-day mosaic workshop in my Venice studio.
The Fox — in progress, Artefact Mosaic Studio, Venice
The Fox is the piece I am most known for. Made in marble and Murano glass, using the contemporary technique of the Scuola di Spilimbergo. I have made several versions of it over the years. I decided to make one more — and to offer it to one of the supporters of this project, drawn at random. Same technique, same materials, same scale. Signed and numbered. Shipped worldwide at no cost to the winner.
Five supporters each win a 4-day workshop at Venice Mosaic Classes — the school I run with Alessandra Di Gennaro in the Castello district of Venice. Each winner chooses one theme among three:
Animals — composition, rhythm, colour and orientation in the contemporary Spilimbergo method, with marble, Murano glass and mortar.
Volumes — working with contemporary tesserae of all shapes, building fluid and vibrant surfaces, breaking the rigidity of the Ravenna style.
Colours — mastering gradients and chromatic transitions, even with limited materials.
All materials and tools are provided. Teaching in English, French or Italian, in a group of no more than five students. Travel and accommodation in Venice are not included. The workshop is redeemable within 18 months of the draw, on a date agreed with the studio. Full programme details at venicemosaicclasses.com.
The draw is held on 30 September 2026 regardless of how many supporters have joined. Every euro raised goes into the project, and what each threshold makes possible is fixed in advance.
Emergency prow repair at the squero. The boat is rowable for the journey, in a simplified solo format. Daily photo journal from the route.
Complete restoration: prow, hull, wood treatment, waterproofing. Video documentation of the journey, week-by-week digital diary, postcards from each stage sent to every supporter.
Everything above, plus: a short documentary film about the journey and the threatened lagoon shorelines, and a 5% donation to an association working to protect the Venetian lagoon.
In October 2026, La Civetta will leave Venice and follow the historic waterways that have connected the lagoons of north-eastern Italy since the Middle Ages — 500 kilometres, solo, standing, without an engine.
The route passes through landscapes rarely seen from the water: lagoons, rivers, canals, and stretches of open water that motorised boats cross in minutes and that oars take days.
Every stage of the journey will be documented and shared. The full story of the project — the preparation, the boat, the route — is at ilviaggiodellamascareta.com
Choose 1 to 5 places (maximum 5 per person, so that the chance of winning stays open to as many supporters as possible). After registration, you are taken to a secure SumUp payment page matching your chosen quantity. Your numbered place — between 001 and 100 — is confirmed by email within 24 hours of payment, in strict order of receipt.
The draw takes place on 30 September 2026 in any case. Funds raised will go in priority order to the restoration of La Civetta. The journey will take place, in a form adapted to what you have made possible — see the three thresholds above.
If for any reason — health, weather, accident — Romualdo cannot complete the journey himself, the six prizes are still drawn and still honoured. The mosaic is produced and delivered, and the five workshops still run, taught by Romualdo and Alessandra Di Gennaro at Venice Mosaic Classes. Your support is for the cultural project as a whole, not conditional on Romualdo being on the boat in October.
This is a cultural project supported by 100 contributors. Each contributor receives, in addition to the documentation and progress updates of the project, a numbered entry into a single free draw offered by the artist among supporters. It is not a commercial lottery: the prize is offered as a gesture of gratitude within the framework of a cultural-patronage initiative under Italian law.