Updated September 2026 · Will Brain, technical lead

Hemp lime render: Venezia

Bio Beton® 500 Venezia: the hemp lime finish made in Italy, exclusive to Respirabuilt

Our signature finish

The breathable finish that sets a Respirabuilt wall apart. Hemp shiv worked through a lime putty aged eighteen months, laid straight onto hempcrete: rustic and textured straight off the trowel, or worked smooth.

Made in Italy by Senini under European patent EP3121156B1.

European patent EP3121156B1

Biosafe® indoor-emission certified

Hemp you can see: A stunning, unique and natural finish

Breathable, measured: a vapour resistance factor of μ 4.5.

Nothing synthetic: no cement, hydraulic binders, mineral aggregates or chemical additives.

A Venezia wall in raking light, hemp fleck visible through the trowelled surface

Watch it applied: the Senini tutorial

The finish

one material, two walls: drag to compare

Venezia trowelled smooth, the hemp fleck just visible in an even surface

Venezia left textured, the hemp shiv standing proud of the lime putty

Internal

Textured: shiv exposed

Trowelled smooth

Venezia

$45

per m² · ex GST

Venezia, finished two ways. Left straight off the trowel, the shiv stays exposed and the wall reads as rustic and irregular, every batch one of a kind. Worked smooth, it quietens to a fine, even surface with the hemp just showing through. Shown in two lights, it shifts with the sun.

In the price, every layer: Bio Beton 500 Venezia, two coats straight onto the block, plus a Stabilitura Naturale Traspirante Plus (SNT Plus) band with mesh at the critical joints (doors, windows and changes of substrate).

▶ Watch it applied: the Senini tutorial

Colour

Senini’s two standards, and earths to order

The tone comes from what is worked into the putty: Neutro, its natural calcium carbonate, and Cocciopesto, crushed terracotta, are the factory standards, and coloured earths are mixed to your choice. The dose sets the depth, so one tone can run from a whisper to full strength.

Neutro, the natural calcium carbonate tone

Neutro
factory standard

Cocciopesto, the crushed terracotta tone

Cocciopesto
factory standard

Ochre*

Raw Sienna*

Terracotta*

Burnt Umber*

Green Earth*

Stone Grey*

*Indicative oxide tones: every batch is mixed to order. Ask for a real sample card before you lock a colour in. A screen will not tell you the truth about a lime surface. We also host people for a coffee at our spec house in Melbourne’s CBD, so you can see the finishes in person.

Why it carries the name

The Venetian lagoon, lime-rendered buildings meeting the water

Built for the hardest walls in Italy

Senini named it for the conditions it was developed for. Venice is one of the most complex building environments there is: historic walls constantly exposed to damp, cycles of condensation and evaporation, salts, and heritage rules that forbid waterproof or invasive fixes.

Venezia was made to work in exactly those conditions: not by blocking moisture, but by managing it over time. Senini now specify it for historic masonry, walls with rising damp and basements, and list projects from a retrofit on the island of Torcello in the Venetian lagoon to the Salesian convent in Turin.

Source: Senini, Bio Beton® 500 Venezia brochure, edition 07/2026, pp. 2, 6 and 8.

What’s in it

and what isn’t

Three ingredients

Selected fine hemp shiv (canapulo)

Dolomitic lime putty, aged eighteen months

Symbiotic microorganisms

None of these

Cement

Hydraulic binders

Mineral aggregates

Chemical additives

By the numbers

μ 4.5

vapour resistance factor

0.12 W/mK

thermal conductivity

500 kg/m³

dry density

EP3121156B1

European patent

Venezia achieves Euroclass B-s1-d0 to EN 13501-1 (European reaction-to-fire testing). It is Biosafe® certified for indoor air (emission testing to UNI EN 16516 and EN ISO 16000-6) and, as a hygroscopic material, takes up moisture when a room is humid and releases it as the air dries.

Source: Senini, Bio Beton® 500 Venezia technical data sheet and brochure, 07/2026, pp. 3, 4 and 6.

How the hemp lime render goes on

from Senini’s application tutorial

By hand

Hawk and trowel: a first coat worked into the wall, then the finish.

Or sprayed

Supplied ready to use, and pumpable for larger walls.

Questions

the ones specifiers ask first

Is Venezia the same as Venetian plaster?

No. It takes its name from the city, not from Venetian plaster. Venetian plaster is a polished lime-and-marble finish built up in thin layers; Venezia is hemp shiv in a lime putty, laid straight onto the wall and left textured or trowelled smooth.

Is it easy to install?

It takes practice rather than special tools. Plenty of people apply it themselves, and doing it yourself is both rewarding and a cheaper. The finish comes with a step by step install PDF when you buy it, and the video on this page shows the whole process, so you can see what you are taking on before you decide.

Does it need a base coat or mesh?

No base coat, and no mesh across the wall the way a standard render needs it. You mesh the critical points only: doors, windows and anywhere the substrate changes, where a wall can move a little. We give you full guidance on it.

Can it go on an external wall?

No. Venezia is an internal finish. Lime Plaster is our only external system.

What colours does it come in?

Senini’s two factory standards, Neutro and Cocciopesto, plus coloured earths mixed to your choice.

Is it breathable, and how does it handle humidity?

It is hygroscopic: it takes up moisture when a room is humid and gives it back as the air dries, so the wall works with the room rather than sealing it. Its vapour resistance factor is μ 4.5, similar to a hempcrete wall.

More natural wall finishes

the rest of the range

Talk to us about Venezia

We host people for a coffee at our spec house in Melbourne’s CBD. We can put you in touch with renderers who have worked with Venezia. The finish comes with an install PDF when you buy it, for the renderer doing the work or for you if you are applying it yourself. Price is for the complete recipe, materials only, per m² of wall, ex GST. Venezia is an internal finish; Lime Plaster is our only external system.

Visit our spec house in Melbourne

Order a sample card