Piazza San Marco, Venice (ITA)

In Venice, the Piazza San Marco is referred to simply "la piazza", while all of the other public squares are called "campi", fields. For many centuries it has been the political, religious and social centre of the city; it is one of the most famous and beautiful urban sites in the world. ewo was commissioned by the city administration to plan and supply a basic level of night-time illumination for the entire piazza.

Even the slightest architectural intervention here involves a very sensitive context: the harmonious interplay between the church, stones, doorways, towers, galleries and walls is deeply anchored in Europe’s cultural memory and attracts millions of visitors every year. The lighting elements were to be positioned on these very buildings, hence, it was important that they be as unobtrusive as possible, while at the same time providing illumination all the way to the centre of the broad space. Depending on where they were to be positioned, various mounting and product options were available. However, with our calculations, simulations and field testing, we were pursuing a different goal: to create a uniform solution.

Today, F-System luminaires impinge on thirteen different points around the piazza. They were planned according to a multi-layer principle. Ten lighting units installed in one product focus on the same square of a grid. Within the piazza, the lighting fixtures play almost no architectural role. The slender fixtures can only be detected by those who know where they are located. The lighting does not catch one’s eye, nor does the way it shines interfere with the view.

The entire area is illuminated deep into the middle of the piazza by an unobtrusive and, yet, clear, warm white light. At the same time, it is evenly distributed over the entire area. Regardless of where you are on the Piazza San Marco. ewo’s products provide the desired basic level of illumination. After dark, it serves as an integrating framework for the isolated accent lights installed at cafés and on other buildings, yet it still allows the diversity and splendour of the historical buildings to play a prevalent role at all times.