Almost everybody shared the opinion that this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale was the best exhibition ever and that it was a breakthrough according to the current issues, existential quality, good layout and harmony featured. Since in tradition, scope and publicity involved it is incommensurable with similar architectural exhibitions and presentations, it is worth analysing the success of this exhibition and comparing it to the previous eight architectural events of the “International Architecture Exhibition”, as it is officially called. 

The beginning was really quite modest. Vittorio Gregotti, probably due to his personality, succeeded in including an architectural exhibition in the program of the art biennale in Magazzini del Sale at Zattere in 1975.  That exhibition was followed by two modest exhibitions aimed at presenting the architectural situation in Italy of the time (an analysis of the past of Italian towns and design).