More Festival 2016 – Venice

Spring has not yet arrived but with in my mind I’m already in “flip flops mode”. These days of warm sun are making me look out the office window with glowing eyes, like a character of Japanese manga.

Heat, sun, shorties, aperitifs, holidays… I have already 27 tabs open in Chrome at the same time, browsing the experiences I love the most about this season. City breaks, concerts, festivals, events, holidays overseas… my to-do list argues with the free time available and the credit limit of my bank account. I would do it all, book it and slip into the waiting mood for a school trip. I love this feeling. Instead, I must evaluate, select, cross your dates with the holidays and especially with my checkbook. As usual, they do not add up.

There are, however, some annual events that I cannot miss. More Festival is one of them. A four day of music, culture, art and party in one of the most magical places in the world: Venice. To be precise the location is not right in the city but on the island of San Servolo: a real pearl. Site of an ancient monastery then converted by Napoleon into a psychiatric hospital (yes, that place for lunatics), after several restoration and expansion in the recent past now it houses a branch of the Art Academy and the headquarters of the International College of Ca ‘Foscari (see photos). I discovered it for the first time at the university when they were used to organize student parties there. Since four years instead it is also the HQ of one of the most interesting musical events of the city.

My program those days is usually pretty straightforward: bacaro tour through the streets and squares of Venice (unless you already know what it is, google will help you out) from late afternoon until my legs allow it, then after dinner boat transfer to the island (included in the festival’s ticket and complete with a live DJ sets and cocktail bar on board). From there on, the More Festival and the beautiful location of San Servolo will do the rest.

The line-up this year will not disappoint you:

The festival program is quite varied. Following tradition, the opening day is for settling-in: no boat transfer and the organization will make you stay in Venice at a secret location where they will serve spritz, good food (obviously Venetian) and music. The formula is simple but it never goes wrong. Days two and three – the heart of the event – you will move to base camp at the island of San Servolo (see photos and video). The fourth and final day instead ends happily with a BBQ garden party run by Santi Group. For those who have been at least once to their “Aperitif in Verde” at the Venetian villas, you know what I mean.

Obviously you can choose whether to buy the four day package or the individual tickets. At the time of writing, you can only find tickets for the full experience (there are still very limited early-bird available). For those who want to attend only one or two days, you will still have to wait a bit for the release of individual tickets.

I think I said it all… maybe even too much. I’m still here staring outside through the office windows, while I imagine myself with a spritz in my hand in campo Santa Margherita ready to embark for San Servolo. What about you?