In 1949 Lucatello wins one of the studios offered as a prize by the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa of Venice (a legacy left to help young artists). The studio was a large room full of light, on the top floor of the Palazzo Carminati at San Stae. The view from its windows was a skyline dominated by a sea of roof–tops and parts of the characteristic red venetian houses. It was an exciting vision, which changed continuously with the light. Lucatello paints and exhibits The roof-tops and even sends them to the Venice Biennale, where he is awarded the Tursi prize.
In this period Shirle Goedike, an American painter, visits one of his one–man shows and becomes enthusiastic about these ‘rooftops’. When he returns to Los Angeles he talks about them to his Gallery, who invites the Venetian artist to exhibit overseas and later on offers him a contract.