Discover tours in the city of Venice
We offer different kind of tours in the wonderful city of Venice
THE JEWISH GHETTO
VENICE AND THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
For centuries, the Venetian economy was based primarely on trade: luxury goods such as spices, silk and pigments that were imported from the Middle and the Far East.
No wonder the city became a real melting pot of different cultures and people: Greeks, Armenians, Persians and Turks spent the winter before taking to the Sea again to return home. Many settled on a permanent basis. Laws and regulations regarding different nationalities had to be issued and, in 1516, the Jews were the only ones to be granted their own quarter.
A fascinating history of prejudice and hospitality, important to more deeply understand the origins of the jewish ghetto in Venice.
Visits will be presented by local tourist guide Laura.
FOREIGN COMMUNITIES IN VENICE
PART 1: GREEKS, GERMANS, ALBANIANS, DALMATIANS AND ARMENIANS
Towards the end of the 15th C the French envoy Philippe de Commynes reported that in Venice most of the people were foreigners.
Venice was indeed a very cosmopolitan city at that time, attracting merchants and pilgrims from all over Europe: Greeks, Dalmatians and Albanians, Germans, Armenians and Jews settled down and acquired Venetian citizenship.
A fascinating journey exploring the sites connected with these foreign communities and disclosing the wise and open minded Venetian politics regarding them.
Visits will be presented by local tourist guide Laura.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TINTORETTO
THE WORK OF A REBELLIOUS GENIUS IN HIS NATIVE VENICE
Jacopo Tintoretto was born in Venice between 1518 and 1519. In a city dominated by the great Titian, Tintoretto’s career proved hard and explosive.
The Miracle of the Slave in 1548 was a big scandal and gave him a name, yet it didn’t make his path any easier. Innovative, inconsistent, Tintoretto painted out of passion and Venice preserves still his most amazing masterpieces.
To admire them, you have to walk through the labyrinthic city:” Tintoretto is Venice, although he never painted Venice”, wrote Jean Paul Sartre.
Visits will be presented by local tourist guide Laura.
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CASTELLO AND THE ARSENALE
THE HEART OF VENETIAN POWER
One of the six districts of Venice, Castello started as little more than a swamp until the area was reclaimed and widened when the Arsenal – the Venetian State Shipyard – was established at its edge in the early 13th C.
Almost 3000 shipbuilders lived in the vicinity and as a result, Castello is different: small, humble homes (instead of palaces!), narrow backstreets, old wells, washing hanging on lines...it's genuine, laid-back and quaint.
Situated right outside the grand entrance of the Arsenal, The Naval Museum is very worth a visit to understand how it all functioned: old maps of the city, models of galleys, traditional boats, the Bucintoro, Peggy Guggenheim's gondola…and more!
Visits will be presented by local tourist guide Laura.
VENETIAN HOMES
A UNIQUE EXAMPLE OF ARCHITECTURE
Venetian architecture is quite unique; a combination of different styles derived from the relationship this maritime state had, especially with the East.
The palaces, the abodes of wealthy merchants, still stand in all their beauty and grandeur. However, they offer not just a beautiful surface...they were designed to be extremely practical too.
Let me take you to learn about the development of Venetian buildings, how they could be built on marshes, how they evolved over time, and how they functioned from mere huts to grand monuments!
Visits will be presented by local tourist guide Laura.
LIDO AND THE BELLE EPOQUE
THE URBAN AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE LIDO
In addition to being my home, Lido is one of the three barrier islands that protect and separate Venice and her lagoon from the open sea.
Lido remained a rather deserted island for centuries and everything changed towards the end of the 19th C when science and medicine understood the benefits of sun and sea therapy. The island became the object of a very interesting and graceful urban development with hotels, residential villas built in Liberty style (the Italian equivalent of Art Nouveau), cafès and restaurants, attracting an elite of travellers who spent the whole summer there.
Thomas Mann left a memorable portrait of those years in his novel Death in Venice, later a movie by Luchino Visconti. An interesting page of history, an invitation to learn about a reality so close to Venice and yet so different.
Visits will be presented by local tourist guide Laura.