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Biography of Jérôme-François Zieseniss (1949-2024)
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20 February 2024
Industry News
Mr. Jérôme-François Zieseniss © Luc Castel i
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France on February 15,1949, Jérôme-François Zieseniss had resided in Venice since 2000.
He held a degree in law from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and a postgraduate diploma in public law from the University of Paris II.
He held notable distinctions, including Officer of the Legion of Honor and Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Mr Zieseniss served as Director (1995) and later as Chairman (since 1999) of the Comité français pour la Sauvegarde de Venise (CFSVenise), a French non-profit association established in 1967 by Ambassador Gaston Palewski, who was then the President of the Constitutional Council.
The Committee's mission, in close collaboration with the Italian and French authorities, focuses on restoring Venice’s significant monuments and artworks. Composed of volunteers and financed solely by private donations (by companies, foundations and individuals), it aims to preserve an important shared cultural heritage of humanity, and to enhance France’s cultural influence.
With meticulous financial management, the Committee undertook various high-quality restoration
projects, following the restoration of the Basilica della Salute. They revitalized the Royal Palace of
Venice, notably the Napoleonic Wing in Piazza San Marco, built between 1808 and 1814 as Napoleon's
palace as King of Italy, part of which became the Correr Museum in the 1920s. Over a period of four
years (2000-2004), the French Committee restored the splendour of the Grand Apartments of this
monument, with their elegant and spectacular French-inspired neoclassical décor by the Venetian
Giuseppe Borsato, a disciple of Percier and Fontaine.
They subsequently reclaimed and restored twenty rooms that had been transformed into
administrative offices, opening them to the public as part of a "Grand Correr": long and complex
negotiations with three Italian administrations, an international organization and the Ministry of
Cultural Heritage enabled the gradual liberation of an immense string of rooms overlooking the
gardens and the Bassin de Saint-Marc. The 2012 opening of the Apartment of Empress Sissi was
acclaimed by the media and doubled the number of visitors to the Correr Museum; with the
inauguration in 2021 of the Emperor's Apartment, the Apartment of Viceroy Maximilian (future
Emperor of Mexico) and the Apartment of King Victor Emmanuel II, who achieved Italian unity. The
entire history of Venice and Venetian decorative arts in the 19th century was brought back to life, in
a Correr Museum doubling its museum space with all 22 rooms restored by the CFSVenice and
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inaugurated in July 2022.
To mark the inauguration, Jérôme-François Zieseniss published “Le Palais Royal de Venise, le joyau
caché de la Place Saint-Marc” (Flammarion, May 2022). This book was the first to shed light on this
forgotten treasure of 19th-century decorative arts in Venice, and featured the contribution of
photographer Massimo Listri, who produced a photo booklet of the restored rooms of the Palais
Royal. In 2024, Mr Zieseniss was preparing to launch a new project, the restoration of the rooms of
the Correr Museum, with the support of several private donors.
With the rebirth of the Fenice in 2003, Venice regained one of its jewels, supported by the French
Committee. The Alliance française de Venise, actively promoting French language and culture, also
received strong backing from the Committee. Concurrently, under Mr Zieseniss's leadership, the
Committee focused on restoring iconic artworks in Venice: the ancient Quadriga of the Horses of
Saint Marc (sponsored by the Committee's Youth Group), replicas of the same Horses on the façade
of Saint Marc's Basilica (sponsored by Hermès), and the golden-winged Lion against a backdrop of
blue mosaic stars on the same façade (sponsored by Chanel).
Since 2010, the French Committee has also developed a close collaboration with the Procurators of
Saint Marc, financing the restoration of the bronze Horses of the façade, a tabernacle and the
magnificent antique Quadriga of Saint Marc in the Basilica of Saint Marc (the latter financed by the
French Committee's Youth Group, formed several years ago with young graduates of the Grandes
Ecoles). Currently under restoration is St. Marc's winged Golden Lion on a starry mosaic background,
which overlooks the Basilica's main portal.
Last but not least, the Committee continues to support two institutions that play a key role in
Venice's cultural life: the Alliance française, recently chaired by Pierre Rosenberg of the Académie
française (also a director of the Comité français), and La Fenice.
The work accomplished at the head of the French Committee for the Safeguarding of Venice led the Mayor of Venice and the Superintendent of La Fenice to entrust Jérôme-François Zieseniss in 2011 with the presidency of Circolo La Fenice, the Venice Opera's circle of patrons, which has since financed new productions of Bizet's Carmen (2012) and Puccini's Madame Butterfly (2013).
In 2013, upon the suggestion of the AROP - The Association of Friends of the Paris National Opera
(Association pour le Rayonnement de l'Opéra de Paris), Jérôme-François Zieseniss agreed to take
on the presidency of FEDORA - The European Circle of Philanthropists of Opera and Ballet to relaunch
this association as a tribute to its founder Rolf Liebermann. Mr Zieseniss ensured its development,
notably through the launch of the FEDORA Prizes, now recognized as the world's leading competition
dedicated to supporting new artistic projects in the making, to encourage innovation and
collaboration between opera houses in Europe.
Thanks to private sponsorship and in collaboration with expert partners and jury committees, four
prizes are awarded every two years: the FEDORA Opera Prize Prix (sponsored by The Silver Company
and previously by the Generali Group), the FEDORA - VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Prize for Dance (sponsored
by Van Cleef & Arpels), the FEDORA Education Prize (sponsored by Carlara International) and the
FEDORA Digtial Prize (sponsored by Kearney).
Since 2017, the European Commission has selected FEDORA as a European platform benefiting from
co-funding of 4.1 million euros from its Creative Europe programme for the dissemination of
emerging creation and European collaboration in the opera and dance sectors.
In 2021, FEDORA and Opera Europa launched the "Next Stage" initiative to accompany the
transformation of the opera and dance sectors through financial support and professional training
dedicated to stimulating sustainable, inclusive and digital transformation.
Over the decade since its relaunch, FEDORA has supported 75 new co-productions involving over
2,000 artists and creatives. In line with its aim of reaching new younger international audiences, over
500,000 people attended performances of the FEDORA Prizes winners, including 200,000 under the
age of 35.
Today, FEDORA federates a network of 120 cultural institutions in 28 countries, as well as individual
and corporate donors and foundations that form a sustainable ecosystem between the cultural and
economic sectors, thus contributing to the future of opera and dance.
When Jérôme-François Zieseniss passed away in Madrid on February 19, 2024, he left behind a
remarkable legacy devoted to the preservation of culture and the pursuit of innovation.
