The Magnificent Order of the Friends of the Suitcase 1947

PROGRAM

The exhibition aims to pay tribute to the 27 Venetian artists who founded the Magnificent Order of the Friends of the Suitcase in 1947.
The story tells of three Venetian artists, one sculptor and two painters, who, in the spring of 1947, kicking an old and worn suitcase, almost playing like children and discussing animatedly, paused at the Gorizia Restaurant in Venice where they began painting the suitcase.
In the following days, this amused the public greatly, but also many other painters covered the surface of the suitcase with paintings. From a playful exhibition thus arose “The Magnificent Order of the Friends of the Suitcase,” at an internal room of the Gorizia restaurant in Calle dei Fabbri in Venice (now the Hotel Gorizia, where the suitcase can still be found), an association made up of 27 painters artistically linked to the Venetian tradition.
In an internal room of the Gorizia, which became their headquarters, the members organized numerous cultural events, collective and solo exhibitions, as well as awards and evenings involving Italian and foreign painters.

The exhibition features around 40 works, all from private collectors, by 17 of the aforementioned artists.

 

Friday, May 8, 2026
at 7:00 PM 
At the Noble Hall of the
Municipality of Campagna Lupia 
the inauguration of the Painting Exhibition will take place,
with the presentation by art critic Marco Dolfin.

It will be open to the public
from May 8 to 30 
with free admission: 

on Mondays and Wednesdays 
from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM
from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM

on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays 
from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM

Inauguration of the Painting Exhibition with the presentation by art critic Marco Dolfin Scopri il programma Scopri il programma → →