Chronology of Venice Biennale

　　1895

　　During the winter of 1894-95, work continued on the construction of the Palazzo dell'Esposizione (Exhibition venue) in the Giardini di Castello. The design was by the council's architect, Enrico Trevisanato, and the neoclassical facade by Venetian artist Marius De Maria. Its name was initially "Pro Arte" and was subsequently changed to "Italia." On April 30, the I Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte della Città di Venezia (1st International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice) was opened in the presence of the King and Queen, Umberto I and Margherita di Savoia. The exhibition met with great public acclaim, and received 224,000 visitors.

　　1902

　　On May 18, the new Modern Art Gallery opened at Ca' Pesaro, thanks to a bequest from duchess Bevilacqua-La Masa. Its management was left to the Biennale's secretariat.

　　1907

　　The first national pavilion opened in the Giardini di Castello (Belgium, designed by Léon Sneyers).

　　1910

　　On April 27, futurist poet Marinetti arranged a drop of anti-Biennale leaflets in St Mark's Square. The first names of international repute appeared on show, with one room dedicated to Klimt, a one-man show for Renoir, and a retrospective dedicated to Courbet. Fradeletto had a work by Picasso removed from the Spanish salon in the central Palazzo, fearing that its novelty might shock the public. The Spanish artist had his first work exhibited at the Biennale only in 1948.

　　1914

　　The facade of the Pro Arte Pavilion was restored. With the inauguration of the Russian pavilion, the number of national pavilions in the Giardini other than the Italian Pavilion rose to seven: those of Belgium (1907), Hungary (1909), Germany (1909), Great Britain (1909), France (1912), and Russia (1914). Between 1916 and 1918, the Biennale was cancelled because of the First World War.

　　1920

　　For the first time, the post of mayor of Venice and president of the Biennale was split: the government commissioner, Nunzio Vitelli, appointed Giovanni Bordiga as president, while the new secretary general was Vittorio Pica. This marked the first presence of avant-garde art at the Biennale (Impressionists, Post-impressionists, Die Brücke). These were promoted by Pica, who had been interested in the Impressionists since 1908.