"When I went to Venice, I discovered that my dream had become—incredibly but quite simply—my address.” So wrote Marcel Proust, capturing the essence of a city where water, light, art, and memory converge. A key stop on historic trade routes and a perennial favorite of travelers, the Italian port has long stood at the crossroads of civilizations. “Venice has always been a place of passage, between land and sea, between East and West, between cultures and eras,” reflects Aline Asmar d’Amman . Now, the Lebanese founder of Culture in Architecture has contributed to that legacy of exchange, transforming Palazzo Donà Giovannelli into the new Orient Express Venezia hotel. Dating to 1432, the edifice rises at the intersection of two canals, in the heart of the Cannaregio neighborhood. Previous interventions had enlivened its rooms with decorative details.…