0:00:00 > 0:00:02CHURCH BELLS RING
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Venice. One of the most stunning cities on Earth.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Over 50,000 tourists arrive here each day
0:00:13 > 0:00:16for the carnival, culture and canals.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19But what they don't see is how this city works.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22This is Venice from the inside.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Around the clock, emergency teams fight to keep a city built on water
0:00:28 > 0:00:30safe and working.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35With unprecedented access to police, fire and medical teams,
0:00:35 > 0:00:41we come face to face with the unique daily challenges and life-and-death drama.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Up to yesterday evening she was all right.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46This morning she was not responsive.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48This is Venice 24/7,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52where the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Summer has arrived in Venice,
0:01:04 > 0:01:05and this season is special.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Every two years, the city is transformed for the Biennale Festival.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15What began as a small showcase for artists over 100 years ago
0:01:15 > 0:01:20is today a modern art festival involving over 80 countries.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26British artists like Henry Moore, Francis Bacon and Anish Kapoor
0:01:26 > 0:01:28have all exhibited here.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Spreading through the whole city, 14th-century homes, moorings and churches
0:01:32 > 0:01:35become pop-up galleries.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It's a huge logistical challenge for Venice.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43400,000 extra visitors are expected, and countless pieces of priceless art.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56At the docks on the city's west side,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Massimiliano Brusato runs a transport company.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Today, Massimiliano is transporting a sculpture
0:02:15 > 0:02:20by renowned Belgian artist Jan Fabre to the site of his Pietas exhibition.
0:02:20 > 0:02:26As with everything here, moving heavy goods around the city must be thought about differently.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01This work of art weighs a whopping four tonnes.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08So Massimiliano needs to deploy all his 20 years' experience
0:03:08 > 0:03:11plus a special boat.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21The premiere will take place in the Escuela Nueva de la Misericordia,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25built in the 16th century as an artists' academy.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Today, the contemporary exhibit is being managed by Jan's assistant, Edoardo.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Venice is not made for transport.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39The water is a barrier, and the distances can only be covered with special machines.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44It's not a place to do things normally!
0:03:46 > 0:03:52For Edoardo, the entire exhibition rests on the safe delivery of the main piece.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55We are planning to open the crate
0:03:55 > 0:03:57and take it out.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Of course, I am a little bit worried
0:04:01 > 0:04:05but it's something that I'm sure is going to be fine.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07There it is.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10And apparently it's good.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14It seems to be all right.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16The first part of the transport went well.
0:04:16 > 0:04:22Now we still have to take it out of the crate and move it on the platform.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Of course it will be not easy.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31Transporting the art isn't the only challenge in Venice's Biennale.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Bringing contemporary work into fragile 16th-century spaces
0:04:35 > 0:04:37creates its own problems.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Venice is the only place in the world that can offer you
0:04:42 > 0:04:48an opportunity to be in buildings, venues and palazzos like this
0:04:48 > 0:04:50School of the Misericordia.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53You never know what can happen suddenly
0:04:53 > 0:04:56because they can assure us that the floor here is full.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00With "full", I mean there's no cellar.
0:05:00 > 0:05:08But once we position a six-tonne crane and move a four-tonne block of marble,
0:05:08 > 0:05:13if they were wrong, then the floor can't stand it.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18But of course it's something that you cannot prevent.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28While the city prepares for the six-month-long art festival,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Venice's emergency services carry on as usual.
0:05:31 > 0:05:37At the fire station, director Alessandra Bashar is overseeing the day shift.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51For engineer Alessandra, being a female fire chief in Venice
0:05:51 > 0:05:53makes her unique.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58'I'm a woman. I'm from the south of Italy. This is quite unusual in Italy.'
0:05:58 > 0:06:05Every job has to be equal opportunity, an equal opportunity job.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07But some jobs
0:06:07 > 0:06:12are not so easy for a woman.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Working in a city as unusual as Venice
0:06:16 > 0:06:21means Alessandra and her teams must work closely with all emergency services.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33But there is never long to catch up before the next call-out comes through.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38The team, led by Juliano Menardi, a fireman of over 30 years,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42has been called out to a gas leak, and the source needs to be found.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53As much of Venice is built on wood, any risk of fire must be treated seriously.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05The gas technician gives them a quick overview of the situation.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14The firemen need to get inside the building so the supply can be cut off.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17But the door is locked and there's no answer.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Finally, they get into the apartment to find the source of the leak.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00This man will have no gas until the pipe is repaired.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25The news isn't good for this elderly man
0:08:25 > 0:08:29as it may take 24 hours to repair the leak and switch his gas back on.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45On the north side of Venice at the 16th-century Escuela Nueva,
0:08:45 > 0:08:51Edoardo is overseeing the installation of Jan Fabre's latest work for the Biennale.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Preparing to unload a four-tonne marble sculpture onto 500-year-old floors
0:08:58 > 0:09:00requires absolute precision.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29It's a good risk possibility.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Of course it's big, so any problem will be my problem.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37But of course I try to not have any problems to be solved!
0:09:39 > 0:09:44This is the first of five sculptures which Edoardo needs to install for the exhibition.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Each one weighs several tonnes.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Of course, it's just a fifth of the whole exhibition
0:10:02 > 0:10:04so it's only the beginning.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08The other sculptures are as complicated as this to be moved and transported.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Across town, on the island of San Giorgio,
0:10:15 > 0:10:21another artist is preparing to pull off a modern exhibit in one of Venice's famous ancient landmarks.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28The British sculptor, Anish Kapoor, is preparing to showcase his work
0:10:28 > 0:10:34for this year's festival in the 16th-century Palladian San Giorgio Maggiore church.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38This has got to be one of the most beautiful churches in the world.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42Also, there is a purity and perfection
0:10:42 > 0:10:48to the geometry of Palladio's intersecting circles and tubes
0:10:48 > 0:10:51that is mysterious.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55I've felt very strongly about this church for a very long time.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Kapoor's installation, entitled Ascension,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02involves a pillar of white smoke being drawn over 50 metres up
0:11:02 > 0:11:04into the dome of the church.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07No easy feat in a tall, draughty building.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12It's a phenomena, let's say,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14which is a project to attempt to make an object
0:11:14 > 0:11:17out of the ephemeral.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21To actually form a column.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25In order for that to happen, the conditions have to be just right
0:11:25 > 0:11:28so we have to be rather careful about them.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31The column won't rise properly if there is too much draught.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35Just another of the challenges of working in this city.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39But Kapoor is a seasoned 30-year Biennale veteran.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43It's a kind of gathering of the tribe, every two years.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48We come to celebrate but also get a special sense
0:11:48 > 0:11:53or a sense of what's going on in the art world.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56And hopefully be beguiled by one or two things
0:11:56 > 0:12:00and feel that they take us out of ourselves.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08As artists across the city prepare for the six-month-long showcase,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12the whole of Venice becomes a living, modern gallery,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16attracting hundreds of thousands of art lovers as well as tourists.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Many arrive by boat, with over 1,000 cruise liners and ferries
0:12:24 > 0:12:29passing right through the heart of Venice's historic centre each year.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36Since the invention of the cruise liner at the turn of the 20th century,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39the port has grown to accommodate ships of increasing volume,
0:12:39 > 0:12:44including controversially dredging the shipping lanes to make them deeper.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48In the last decade, the number of ships docking here has doubled,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51making this Europe's fourth biggest port.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Boat pilot Andrea Pistorello is on his way
0:12:57 > 0:13:02to guide a cruise liner carrying 2,500 passengers safely to the terminal.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27The ships arrive all year round
0:13:27 > 0:13:30and usually dock for just a few hours.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33To help steer the liners safely past Venice's historic facades,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37the pilots must board each one for their entry into the city.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04To navigate the 300-metre-long cruise liner through the busy shipping lane
0:14:04 > 0:14:07which is just 200 metres wide at its narrowest point,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10the instructions must be spot on.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13GIVES INSTRUCTIONS
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Helping guide the ships in are two tug boats,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23one of which is piloted by Davide Gezzo.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42Any shifts by this giant cruise liner could spell disaster
0:14:42 > 0:14:44for Venice's delicate architecture.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Nothing is left to chance.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Even the length of the tow cable must be carefully calculated.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06As the cruise ship is carefully steered down the Giudecca Canal,
0:15:06 > 0:15:11just a few metres separate its bulk from the ancient city.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Affording a view for captain and passengers alike
0:15:16 > 0:15:19which is truly breathtaking.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48In Venice, it's like the world in the postcards.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52But every place is a special moment.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07The vessel now is in a safety position.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Everything has gone very well.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16And now all passengers can go to visit Venice.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30While tourists flock into the city during the Biennale,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34resident Venetians also enjoy the transformation.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41Dr Michele Alzerta is director of Venice's accident and emergency department.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46It's a bit strange because the usual spaces of Venice are suddenly transformed
0:16:46 > 0:16:50into something different. This morning, for instance,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54I popped into a church which I usually pass in the mornings
0:16:54 > 0:16:57and I looked around and the church was transformed.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02Any old building that you are used to seeing in one way suddenly changes.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04It lends a note of colour to the city.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09As medics, it's not very different from the usual influx of tourists
0:17:09 > 0:17:10which we have every year.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14We don't see a huge increment in the number of tourists with the Biennale.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19During the Biennale, as with the rest of the year,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22the paramedics' four water ambulances head onto the canals
0:17:22 > 0:17:24up to 50 times a day.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29It's mid-afternoon, and the team is called to a local bar.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36An elderly lady has collapsed in a restaurant
0:17:36 > 0:17:41so Dr Andreas Frezo is leading the team to the district of Cannaregio.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44SIREN WAILS
0:17:45 > 0:17:50Finding their way around Venice is always their first challenge.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05The lady has regained consciousness.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Her blackout seems to have been caused by a drop in blood pressure.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24On examining the results of an ECG,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Andreas thinks the problem is part of an existing heart complaint.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50They administer some vital fluids and check her blood pressure again.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03They manage to stabilise the patient, but she's still fragile.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07They decide to take her back to A&E to run further tests.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15In the district of Cannaregio,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18at the Escuela Nueva de la Misericordia,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Jan Fabre's exhibition is finally ready.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26My work? It's a miracle of installation.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30It's a kind of spiritual place
0:19:30 > 0:19:37where a kind of different religion and spiritual values meet.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45I like the strong tradition here at the Biennale, Venice.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50The world comes here every two years. Every time, before every exhibition,
0:19:50 > 0:19:55every world premiere of a performance, I'm still nervous, like a small child.
0:19:55 > 0:19:56Yes!
0:19:56 > 0:20:00This is the first time Jan's installation will be seen by the public.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03For his assistant, Edoardo,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07getting everything ready has been a work of art in itself!
0:20:08 > 0:20:11It was not easy to make it happen.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17All the difficulties of being in Venice and logistically it's not normal to work here.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20You have to accept a lot of limits that the city's giving you.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24But we made it and apparently the result is quite good.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29I like to be at my own openings because it's a celebration of beauty
0:20:29 > 0:20:30and of art.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35I see the complete exhibition as a spiritual battlefield for beauty.
0:20:35 > 0:20:41So it's good to not hide yourself
0:20:41 > 0:20:44and to be ready to get killed!
0:20:49 > 0:20:55Getting large-scale modern art to work in Venice's 16th-century buildings
0:20:55 > 0:20:58is a challenge also faced by artist Anish Kapoor.
0:20:58 > 0:21:03For his installation, "Ascension" a column of white smoke must rise
0:21:03 > 0:21:06from the intersection of the transept and nave.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08To stage modern art in a 16th-century setting,
0:21:08 > 0:21:15the team, overseen by curator Lorenzo Fiasci, has found a 21st-century solution.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18As you see the duct outside the Basilica,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22it's 120 metres or 150.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26You can see outside it's amazing. It's like a snake around the Basilica.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29It's also beautiful.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Even though small draughts can wipe the smoke out,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35the installation rises to the challenge.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Well, Venice is all about being a historic city
0:21:40 > 0:21:45and that it has the Biennale is bringing wholeheartedly to its very centre
0:21:45 > 0:21:51the contemporary, and sometimes a very radical contemporary. It's a good thing.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00In Cannaregio, the big night has arrived
0:22:00 > 0:22:02for Jan Fabre and his assistant, Edoardo.
0:22:02 > 0:22:08After months of planning, the Pietas exhibition is finally open to the public.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13Visitors are asked to wear a special pair of hand-made slippers,
0:22:13 > 0:22:17encouraging them to feel part of the installation.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Today I've had beautiful compliments.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26People were crying.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31People, I mean even really good collectors and curators.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Everybody was getting water in their eyes and having tears.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40So I think it's a good compliment, I think.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47While the Biennale's major exhibitions get under way,
0:22:47 > 0:22:52the fire brigade have work to do. And for them, it's a chance to catch a show.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29The fire team also need to safeguard some of the city's more traditional arts.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34Fire chief Alessandra Bashar is inspecting the historic Fenice Theatre,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36to carry out crucial safety checks.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44This is the waterfront, the water place.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46- Backstage?- Backstage, yes.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50The 18th-century theatre is Venice's most famous art house.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54It's burned down three times over the last three centuries.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58There is a host of new safety equipment in place
0:23:58 > 0:24:01to ensure that fire never takes hold again.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23The modern auditorium was rebuilt following the fire in 1996
0:24:23 > 0:24:26which tore through the theatre, leaving just a charred shell.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Thought to be arson, on the night when the fire broke out
0:24:33 > 0:24:36the nearby canals had been drained for cleaning,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39delaying the fire team's efforts to battle the blaze.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43It took them two days to smother the smouldering building once and for all.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53The modern renovation which took almost eight years and £42 million to complete,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57was designed to mirror the 19th-century original
0:24:57 > 0:25:01down to the wall fabrics and lavish gilded interiors.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04High-tech new safety systems were installed.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Alessandra and her team ensure everything is working properly.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19On the new stage, the team check the steel safety curtain
0:25:19 > 0:25:22designed to block flames and smoke from the auditorium.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Losing the Fenice in 1996 was devastating for Venice.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19It galvanised the city into ensuring it never happens again.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38Now there is a water system where fire hydrants are no more than 80 metres apart
0:26:38 > 0:26:41in the city's most vulnerable areas.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44This, plus the fire team's maintenance programme,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48helps ensure the safety of one of Venice's most precious landmarks.
0:26:55 > 0:27:01OK. Let's say that we have just finished our checks.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06Everything is new and everything is safer.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20As you can see, this is the best job in the world for me as well.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Being in Venice, being a fire-fighter,
0:27:23 > 0:27:28working with five others with many experience, many human experience,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31it's really great. A great privilege.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55..we find out how a city surrounded by water battles the rising tide.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05We see how what looks like giant Lego is actually the last word in anti-flood technology.
0:28:09 > 0:28:15And with thousands of rowers in town for Venice's largest demonstration of love for the water,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18the coastguards fight to keep order.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd