The eternal balance

Our home, a floating city of contradictions living in serene harmony with itself, is built on the confluence of opposites. Land and sea, East and West, art and commerce, converge here, not in conflict, but in dialogue. Perhaps it is in how Venice mirrors the contradictions within our own humanity that the world finds it so easy to relate to her.

So too does the Italian August holiday embody this balance. Instituted by Emperor Augustus in 18 BC, Ferragosto was a recognition that rest is as essential to life as work. For Italians, it remains a cherished pause: days devoted to family, friends, and food—the untouchable cornerstones of the dolce vita. More than two millennia later, this tradition endures, an anchor of shared values and collective joy, transcending age, creed, and politics to bind a nation together.

Just as our city thrives at the meeting point of contrasts, Ferragosto reminds us that work and leisure are not adversaries, but partners in a rhythm that sustains us. And when you are fortunate enough to love what you do, as we are in our mission to bring more beauty into the world, work itself becomes a kind of play, even in its hardest hours. When passion turns labor into joy, the line between effort and ease dissolves into something greater: purpose. A purpose that, like Venice, endures through the centuries, fragile yet eternal, a reminder that the harmony of opposites can create not conflict, but wonder.