Fundraising

For Charities

PizzaExpress is as much a way of thinking as it is a way of eating. We’re doing our bit to raise money for the things we believe in.

PizzaExpress is as much a way of thinking as it is a way of eating. That’s why we’re doing our bit to raise money for the things we believe in. Whether you’re in Italy, Britain – or anywhere in between – we all appreciate how much historical architecture, peerless art and a warm sense of community contribute to the pursuit of life’s simple pleasures.

Venezian Fund

Our relationship with Italy – along with our passion for breathing new life into historic buildings – goes far beyond the borders of PizzaExpress restaurants in the UK. Since 1975, PizzaExpress has supported the Venice in Peril Fund by collecting money on behalf of customers who order the Veneziana pizza – a dish created especially for the purpose by our founder Peter Boizot.

After floods devastated the city in 1966, Venice in Peril was established to protect the unparalleled collection of monuments, sculptures and buildings still housed precariously within reach of the lagoon’s waters.

With a donation of 25p made to the Venice in Peril fund every time a Veneziana pizza is ordered, customers have the opportunity to satisfy their appetite for fine food whilst contributing to the preservation of some of the world's most breathtaking buildings and cultural artefacts.

Both the pizza and the fund have proven to be a huge success, with more than £1.7 million raised by discerning diners in the UK over the past 25 years.

Latest funds raised: £1,736,842 (as at 23 September 2007)

As well as supporting restoration projects in Venice, the Veneziana Fund has now increased its commitment to conservation, both at home and abroad. By awarding grants for the renovation and maintenance of buildings in the UK which were built before 1750, the fund is doing its bit to protect our own heritage alongside Venice’s historic riches.

For more information

The Veneziana Fund: The Trust Administrator
White Horse Court, 25c North Street
Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 2LH

Download details of the UK grant criteria

The Venice in Peril Fund
Morley House, 314-322 Regent Street, London, W1R 5AB

Telephone: 020 7636 6138

Website: www.veniceinperil.org

Venetian Projects

Projects completed by the Venice in Peril Fund include the restoration of the Madonna dell'Orto and San Nicolo dei Mendicoli churches, as well as the renovation of the church of Santa Maria della Visitazione’s coffered ceiling. It has also helped to pay for the rebuilding of the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello, and the re-anchoring and cleaning of the church of San Francesco della Vigna.

Scotland's Crowning Glory

Thanks in part to a grant from the Veneziana Fund, Edinburgh’s iconic St Giles' Cathedral is being extensively restored. The medieval tower has been returned to its rugged splendour, while original oak beams have been preserved and braced. Masonry has been repointed with traditional lime mortar in place of cement, and the remarkable stone crown itself - 'Scotland's Crowning Glory' - is once more resplendent with gilded finials and weathervanes.