Pope visits Venice to speak to artists and inmates and finds a city taxing day-trippers like him

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Venice has always been a place of contrasts, of breathtaking beauty and devastating fragility, where history, religion, art and nature have collided over the centuries to produce an otherworldly gem of a city. But even for a place that prides itself on its culture of unusual encounters, Pope Francis’ visit Sunday stands out.

Francis is traveling to Venice to check out the Holy See’s pavilion for this year’s Venice Biennale. It’s a first for a pope, and has given the 60th edition of the world’s longest running international art exhibit reason for another round of headlines.

The Vatican chose to stage its pavilion inside Venice’s women’s prison, and through a deal with the Italian Justice Ministry, invited inmates to work alongside the artists. The result is a multimedia exhibit “With My Eyes,” that is open to the public by reservation only and under strict security conditions.

Francis will tour the exhibit, meet with the inmates and then address Venice’s artistic community at large inside the chapel of the prison, which was once a convent for reformed prostitutes.