The 61st Venice Biennale opened its doors on Saturday without a formal opening ceremony and overshadowed by controversy regarding the presence of Russia and Israel.
The exhibition, one of the world's premier showcases of art and culture will be open to visitors up to November 22.
Conflict over the participation of Russia and Israel led the entire jury to resign last week, and the Golden Lion will also not be awarded this year - something that has never happened since the festival was first held in 1895.
Prizes will now be awarded at the end of the event, based not on jury decisions but on a public vote.
On Friday, some 2,000 people protested against Israel's inclusion, pointing to conditions in the Gaza Strip. Police pushed back the throng with batons and shields.
Italian media reported that 20 national pavilions remained closed, as staff refused to work in protest at Israeli participation.
Journalists and art critics had been given a pre-opening preview of the pavilions.
Death cast a shadow over this year's Biennale. Last year, Koyo Kouoh, appointed artistic director for this year, died of cancer at the age of 57. And in February, German installation artist Henrike Naumann, whose work represents Germany this year, died at the age of 41, also of cancer.
The German pavilion is going ahead based on her ideas and those of German-Vietnamese artist Sung Tieu.
