Marco Mulazzani’s "Guide to the Pavilions of the Venice Biennale since 1887" was first released in 1987, one hundred years after a temporary building was erected in the Giardini for the first National Art Exhibition, the progenitor of the Biennale, which would hold its first edition in 1895. As of the expanded edition published in 2014, there were 26 national pavilions spread across the Giardini, plus the all-important Central Pavilion and the Book Pavilion that was designed by James Stirling and opened in 1991, on the occasion of the 5th International Architecture Exhibition and seven years after Carlo Scarpa’s art book pavilion was destroyed in a fire. The 28 pavilions, which Mulazzani admits to “vary[ing] greatly in architectural quality,” are presented in chronological order, with historical and biographical information, photographs, and drawings. Only Australia’s pavilion, torn down and replaced in 2015 with a black box designed by Denton Corker Marshall, has changed since 2014, but it is presented in the book through renderings. This isn’t the only book devoted to the national pavilions at the Venice Biennale, but, unlike "Common Pavilions," a large photo book from 2013, "Guide to the Pavilions of the Venice Biennale since 1887" is portable, great to take along on your next trip to Venice. ( )

Technical Library - shelved at: D75