As part of the events promoted by Venice City Council’s “Do.Ve. Women in Venice 2013”, a selection of  clothes once owned by the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse will be exhibited in the Sala Barbantini at 4.30 pm on 7 March. The clothes include items designed by Mariano Fortuny, Jean Philippe Worth and Paul Poiret as well as by Italian tailors such as Magugliani of Milan and Bellom of Turin and Florence. The exhibition will also feature a number of letters from tailors to the diva and some period photographs.
The event will be introduced by Doretta Davanzo Poli, an expert on the history of dress, who will give a talk entitled “Clothes for life and costumes on stage”.

On March 9, at 5pm, Anna Nogara, an actress from the Piccolo Teatro, Milan, will read excerpts from Eleonora Duse’s letters to her daughter Enrichetta and from the correspondence between the actress and her tailors.
The exhibition will be open to the public Friday 8 and Saturday 9 March, from 10 am to 5pm, while on Sunday 10, it will be included in the itinerary of the guided tours round the monumental complex of the Giorgio Cini Foundation.