We could call her The Flying Architector the guardian of the lagoon, but those would be reductive terms. Annalisa Bonsuan, a real Venetian, 65 years old who is not looking, has a life to tell. Starting with the surname, which doesn’t look Venetian. «My grandfather’s name was Bon Zuane, which means Giovanni Bon in Italian. He was a decorator at the Palazzo Labia, the current Rai headquarters in Venice. I remember playing in the frescoed hall by Tiepolo as a child. Grandfather was very good and was called to work at the Italian embassy in Paris. The French pronounced Suan, the Venetian name Zuane combined with the surname Bon became Bonsuan ». But it’s authentically Venetian, to the point choose to live on an island that can only be reached by private means. Mazzorbetto. No vaporetti. Actual residents are 4-5. It’s out of this world, because on the other side of the canal is the island of Mazzorbo, which in turn is connected to Burano by a bridge. But to reach Mazzorbetto you need a boat.
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A good retreat on an idyllic piece of land once inhabited by farmers and fishermen. A destination for connoisseurs. Possibly a Lagoon Capalbio. Helenio Herrera used to live there, the magician who coached the great Inter of Picchi, Mazzola and Suarez together with his partner Flora Gandolfi. Now one of the houses near Annalisa’s house belongs to Nori Vaccari Starck, the ex-wife of the great architect and designer Philippe.
Architect Bonsuan anticipates the obvious question: “Everyone asks me if I’m not afraid of being alone. I think I’m safer than in the city. Here’s the real neighborhood control, we’re so few that a strange presence doesn’t go unnoticed. Also, I now know everyone who drives the boat. We say goodbye with a nod. They know to go slow because I control them! Very slowly the lagoon becomes fragile, motor boats must not damage it with the waves ». Fighting the waves is one of the many battles that Annalisa leads, a real passion. Woe to rush the boat in the canal in front of his house. She is armed with megaphone (in the sixty-eight style used by students at demonstrations) and from the shore with insults (“but with education, I don’t want to go to the wrong side”) those who don’t respect the boundaries. “The lagoon has become a no-man’s-land – he enthusiastically denounces it – there are no controls, it becomes a Formula 1 track on summer weekends. I want to invite the mayor over to my house for a few hours. Maybe he would realize how scarred our lagoon is».
PATENT
But back to the flying architect. Annalisa graduated in architecture from Iuav in Venice and after taking courses in Arizona, obtained a commercial pilot license in the United States. «The two paths seem contradictory, but for me they complemented each other – he explains – if I had not practiced the profession of architect, starting in the engineer Pianon’s studio, I would not have been able to afford the rather expensive pilot courses. On the flight it was love at first sight. I started with the glider thanks to a friend, Andrea Marcello (descendant of a Venetian patrician family ed) and I never stopped ». To the point of leaving an early professional career as an architect to pursue that of a pilot. A pretty complicated path for a woman back in the 80’s and 90’s.
Annalisa joined the Alpi Eagles of Thiene aerobatic team, owned by a group of Venetian industrialists (Brazzale, Renzo Rosso, Marzotto, Stefanel and Sinigaglia, who later transformed it into a liner company). «I want to clarify that I did not fly as the owner of the formation made up of former Frecce Tricolori pilots. I was a bit the mascot of the group. It was a fantastic experience. For me, the acrobatics on the Sai Marchetti were a dance». After the acrobatic experience, the architect flew Alpi Eagles as an airline pilot until 2012, when the company went bankrupt.
«I found myself on the ground in the truest sense of the word and decided to start again with my old love, architecture. The idea came to me from Andrea Marcello, a special person in my life, who asked me to follow the restoration of the buildings on Saline Island that belonged to him. We have chosen it Only use recycled wood from the lagoon. Basically i pile of crumbs. I shouldn’t say this, but the result was fantastic. Really nice”.
A NEW BEGINNING
Another love at first sight, which brought a new turning point in the life of the no longer flying architect. Annalisa is dedicated to the design of furniture and home interiors with old lagoon wood. She rehearsed with her home in Mazzorbetto, where she moved permanently when she stopped flying with Alpi Eagles. “I bought the house in 1999 because it was very dear to me, I came there as a girl with a little boy in a rowboat and then with Andrea Marcello. It was an old stable obtained from the remains of an ancient building of about 300 square meters. I could have completely remodeled it, but I stopped at 60 square meters, very functional ». All redone in stone and recycled wood with excellent results. A real design house, elegant and at the same time practical and essential. «But in reality – explains Annalisa – my life takes place outdoors almost all year round. Here there is a special microclimate and it is less cold ».
She doesn’t have an airplane for the trip, but a Boston motorboat, which is now fifty years old and still in impeccable condition, and which Annalisa always drives at low speed. And when he sees a floating Bricola stick – a real hazard to boats and a cause of accidents – he attaches it and takes it to his little island to dry and prepare for the new mobile life. His work with wood can now be seen in furniture magazines. A house with furniture from the Lagoon Bricole is becoming a must and the requests are increasing. He just finished a job in Croatia. There is no shortage of material because the rods of the bricole are constantly being replaced due to wear and tear and insect infestations. “It’s not just a job for me. The recovery of the wandering bricole is a mark of respect for Venice. A small sign that I hope will be understood. We must retake and defend the lagoon».