OUR MISSION:
To preserve, showcase, and nurture Venice’s diverse cultural heritage and history.
WHY HERITAGE AND NOT HISTORY?
"Heritage is the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture. Most important, it is the range of contemporary activities, meanings, and behaviors that we draw from them." (UMass Amherst)
Why does the Venice Heritage Museum (VHM) emphasize the word heritage as opposed to history? The shortest answer is that the mission of VHM is to highlight the cultural and collective stories of Venetians. Our work is to curate and collect stories, artifacts, memorabilia, and memories and through them tell the story of Venice.
History and heritage are often conflated, though in reality their end goals are entirely different: history tells the story of what and how it happened; heritage tells the story of those who lived, experienced, and contributed to that history.
Venice's heritage is uniquely rich, as so many people in Venice come from different backgrounds. Over 115+ years, Venice has experienced cultural shifts and economic turbulence, and yet common threads are still found within the community. It is those shared commonalities that make all of us Venetians.
"Heritage is the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture. Most important, it is the range of contemporary activities, meanings, and behaviors that we draw from them." (UMass Amherst)
Why does the Venice Heritage Museum (VHM) emphasize the word heritage as opposed to history? The shortest answer is that the mission of VHM is to highlight the cultural and collective stories of Venetians. Our work is to curate and collect stories, artifacts, memorabilia, and memories and through them tell the story of Venice.
History and heritage are often conflated, though in reality their end goals are entirely different: history tells the story of what and how it happened; heritage tells the story of those who lived, experienced, and contributed to that history.
Venice's heritage is uniquely rich, as so many people in Venice come from different backgrounds. Over 115+ years, Venice has experienced cultural shifts and economic turbulence, and yet common threads are still found within the community. It is those shared commonalities that make all of us Venetians.
