In the evocative setting of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, Venice is once again the protagonist of an encounter between cinema, art and memory thanks to the extraordinary exhibition The Magnificent 7 – Hands of the Masters. Conceived by Roman master chiseler Dante Mortet, the exhibition will be hosted in the elegant spaces of the Nani Mocenigo Palace Hotel, starting August 29, 2025 until September 06, 2025.

The Magnificent 7 – Hands of Masters: the Exhibition that Endures Time

Through seven bronze sculptures, made with the ancient technique of lost-wax casting, Mortet offers the public an original and poetic vision of cinema. The hands of Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Anjelica Huston, Quentin Tarantino, Kirk Douglas, Ennio Morricone and Pelé become living symbols, capable of telling timeless stories and encapsulating their extraordinary cultural heritage in eternal gestures. These works, in fact, are not mere anatomical representations, but the result of an intense dialogue between the artist and the protagonists themselves, in which emotions and memories take shape in the bronze material.

«Hands of Masters proposes an original reflection: looking at the great figures of cinema from another point of view, that of sculpture, a profoundly Italian language, still capable of speaking to the present and the future», explains Dante Mortet. He continues: «With the strength of bronze, these hands not only resist time, but become living memory, iconic gesture, eternal witness of an era and its creative soul. The Exhibition The Magnificent 7, in the spaces of the Hotel Nani Mocenigo, wants to return an engaging experience for the public and a tribute to the seventh Art, which precisely in Venice is celebrated in an exemplary way».

Mano Artigiana: a dialogue between Material and Identity

The Magnificent 7 – Hands of Masters is part of the larger project entitled Mano Artigiana, which celebrates manual knowledge as a bridge between past and contemporary. In fact, each work on display encapsulates emblematic details – a fold, a tension, a symbolic object – that restore to the viewer the personality and essence of the character depicted. The experience is further enriched by exclusive video content, accessible through QR codes, that reveal curiosities and anecdotes narrated by the artist himself. The event is organized by Travel Setter in collaboration with Better World.

«It is a great honor to host Dante Mortet’s exhibition during such a special moment for Venice as the Venice International Film Festival – says Paolo Caffi, Managing Director of the Nani Mocenigo Palace – Through his work, Dante manages to combine art, high craftsmanship and cinema with a timeless gesture, an unforgettable experience that leaves a true mark like the one we want our guests to experience». With this exhibition, the Hotel renews its vocation as a place of dialogue between history, art and contemporaneity.

Mortet’s presence in Venice will be further enriched by his participation in the Better World Awards. For the occasion, Dante has created award-sculptures for this edition of the Better World Fund, designed to honor outstanding international figures who have distinguished themselves through their commitment to art, peace, and human brotherhood. An award of great artistic and symbolic value.

In the beating heart of Venice, among 18th-century frescoes and Murano glass chandeliers, Dante invites us to discover an unprecedented vision of cinema, a tale made of matter, gesture and relationship, destined to leave an indelible mark on anyone who will have the pleasure of experiencing it.