venice in depth

• Unpack your bags on this residential-style tour, with a long stay in a central hotel in Venice

• Discover Venice’s history and culture on themed walking tours, that take you beyond the well-worn tourist track and into the city’s more quiet, residential districts

• Admire the best Venetian art, from works by Bellini, Titian and Tintoretto still in their original locations, to collections of historic and modern art in less-visited museums

• Enjoy a private guided tour of St Mark’s golden mosaics shimmering in the evening light

• Explore the lagoon, with an excursion to Byzantine Torcello and colourful Burano

• Visit Padua and Vicenza, two key terraferma towns, with art and architecture from Giotto to Palladio and Tiepolo

TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER – ARRIVAL (D)
At 5.00pm we gather at the hotel for a briefing and orientation stroll of our neighbourhood. This is followed by a light dinner in a local restaurant. First of eleven nights in Venice.

WEDNESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER – SAN MARCO & CASTELLO (B, L)
The maritime republic of Venice, La Serenissima, lasted more than 1,000 years, and as land was reclaimed its islands expanded greatly in size. For much of its history, Venice’s islands were connected by few bridges, so each district took on a unique character. Our tour is designed around walking tours of these districts, and we begin today in the one that was the indisputable political and spiritual centre of the city. Traversing Piazza San Marco, we learn how Venice’s economic and political fortunes can be tracked in the façade of the basilica, and in nearby San Zaccaria we discover a wonderful altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini. One of his last documented works, it bears all the hallmarks of his mature style. Continuing into the quiet Castello district, we explore the early city’s growing ties – commercial and diplomatic – across the medieval Mediterranean. These are particularly evident at the Scuola dalmata di San Giorgio, which preserves a wonderful cycle of fantastical scenes painted by Vittore Carpaccio. An unfolding restoration project is returning these works to their fifteenth-century glory. After a welcome lunch, there is time at leisure before an evening talk in our hotel.

THURSDAY 25 SEPTEMBER - BURANO & TORCELLO (B, L)
Today we head out into the northern reaches of the lagoon to gain a sense of the city’s earliest history. The first documented settlement in the Venetian lagoon has been identified on Torcello, which was later abandoned due to successive waves of malaria. It preserves one of Venice’s most beautiful sites, a beautifully proportioned basilica with superlative Byzantine mosaics, a mosaic floor in coloured marbles, and a belltower that offers an evocative panorama across the nearby islands. These include Burano, where we enjoy lunch together before exploring the island. Its colourful fishing villages were painted by local fishermen, according to legend, to allow them to find their way back home in the wintry fogs of the lagoon. Later, the women of the island developed a reputation for fine lace-making, a tradition that is celebrated in the island’s museum. After time for lunch on Burano, we return to the hotel for a talk and evening at leisure.

FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER - BURANO & TORCELLO (B)
Much of Venice’s success as a vibrant and wealthy maritime republic lies in the marriage of its government with its economic and cultural sectors. We begin the day at the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, affectionately contracted to San Zanipolo by locals. This vast Dominican basilica was the resting place for successive generations of dogi, their tombs decorated by the likes of the Bellini family and Lorenzo Lotto. The square outside the church is a pleasant place for a coffee break, before we continue to Santa Maria dei Miracoli, a tiny and very beautiful church that is an excellent example of Venetian Renaissance architecture. After lunch at leisure, we meet a local guide at the Doge’s Palace, to learn about Venice’s complicated political system. It resulted in the election of a doge, the duke who acted as figurehead and chief diplomat of the Most Serene Republic, but whose political powers were held in check by an aristocratic senate. Today, the Doge’s Palace is an extraordinary repository of paintings, sculpture and furniture from the sixteenth century to the extinction of the Republic in 1797. The evening is at leisure.

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER - VICENZA (B)
Vicenza, about an hour by train from Venice, is an elegant provincial town and world famous for its Renaissance architecture. On arrival, we take a short journey to two of the outstanding villas on its outskirts. The Villa Valmarana ai Nani, a suburban villa on a hill overlooking Vicenza, is celebrated for its cycle of frescoes, painted by Giambattista Tiepolo in 1754 at the height of his powers and international celebrity. Its closest neighbour is the Villa Capra La Rotonda, an iconic sixteenth-century work by Andrea Palladiothat combines a strict geometry of circles and squares with a classic Greco-Roman temple. Returning to Vicenza, after a lunch at leisure we visit Palladio’s Teatro Olimpico. This is one of the only surviving theatres of the Italian Renaissance. We continue our explorations of Vicenza on foot, before returning to Venice by local train.

SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER - RIALTO & CANNAREGIO (B)
Behind the scenic beauty, art, architecture and music, Venice was a commercial city, whose beating heart was the Rialto district. This morning we explore this still-vibrant district of the city, with its daily market, before crossing the Grand Canal to the Ghetto. This neighbourhood in Cannaregio was the residence for Jewish merchants, financiers and medical professionals, attracted to Venice by its commercial potential. We explore this history and its continuing cultural imprint in Venice on a guided tour. After a break for lunch, we journey up the Grand Canal by private taxis to visit the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni. This island had been part of the medieval city’s quarantine system and a hospital for lepers, before it was given to a group of Armenian monks seeking refuge from the Ottoman Empire. It subsequently became a key centre of learning, and our guided tour includes its library, which has an extraordinary selection of ancient and medieval manuscripts. Returning to Venice, the evening is at leisure.

MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER - SAN POLO & SAN MARCO (B)
This morning we explore the San Polo district, much of which remains a quiet residential neighbourhood. But even here, there are stunning masterpieces of Renaissance art. In Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, we encounter exceptional paintings by Giovanni Bellini and Titian, as well as the final resting place of Monteverdi and an extraordinary funerary monument to Canova. Afterwards, we survey the outstanding contribution of Domenico Tintoretto, over the course of 25 years, to the nearby Scuola Grande di San Rocco. There is time at leisure to explore other nearby sites, such as the Ca’ Rezzonico or Museo Fortuny, before a private evening tour with our guide. This offers us the opportunity to admire the splendid golden mosaics of St Mark’s Basilica as they shimmer and glow in the evening light.

TUESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER - THE ACCADEMIA & DORSODURO (B)
Venice’s unique character and astounding wealth is very much reflected in its visual arts. Venetian painters such as Giovanni and Gentile Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and Tiepolo are rated among the greatest in Western art. We spend the morning at the recently refurbished Accademia galleries, still the best place to get an overview of Venetian painting. After our visit, we explore the Dorsoduro neighbourhood, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, an exceptional collection of art most of which was collected by Peggy from the 1920s to 1960s. In the late afternoon, we cross the Giudecca canal and visit the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Directly across from the Piazzetta di San Marco, this island was inhabited since the ninth century by Benedictines, and the belltower of its church – ascended by a modern elevator! – offers an unparalleled view over the rooftops and campanili of Venice. The church is also one of the most successful Venetian projects of the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, the proportions of its façade dominating the view from the Palazzo Ducale and perfectly continued by the aisles, side chapels and main altar inside.

WEDNESDAY 1 OCTOBER – PALLADIO, SCARPA & VALDOBIADDENE (B, L)
Following Venice’s conquest of the terraferma, the Veneto became a haven for Venetian patricians to develop their country estates. Today we visit the mainland, stopping first to visit Palladio’s Villa di Maser, a stunning manor house which encapsulates the design principles of the architect. The elegant exterior is complemented by Paolo Veronese’s explosion of playful colorismo veneto frescoes and trompe l’oeil cleverly merging the interiors with scenery from the windows. We then visit another architectural masterpiece: the nearby Tomba Brion. This tomb and funerary chapel were designed by Carlo Scarpa for the Brion family, who made a mint through their well-designed electrical products. Scarpa felt that this work was one of his greatest achievements, so much so that he elected to be buried beside it! We then travel to the Valdobiaddene, the heart of the Prosecco industry, for a country lunch. Returning to Venice, the evening is at leisure.

THURSDAY 2 OCTOBER - PADUA(B)
We begin today by making the short trip by train to Padua, whose medieval fresco cycles have attained UNESCO World Heritage status. Our first visit in Padua is to the Eremitani church, decorated with significant frescoes by Andrea Mantegna, a foremost Renaissance painter. Bombed during World War II, the Eremitani and its artistic masterpieces have been painstakingly restored. We continue to the nearby Scrovegni Chapel to admire the extraordinary, and wonderfully preserved, frescoes by Giotto painted in the early 1300s. After lunch at leisure in the elegant city centre, we visit the baptistery, spectacularly frescoed by Giusto de’ Menabuoi, a follower of Giotto. Nearby, at Palazzo Bo and the Anatomical Theatre, we take a guided tour to discover how Padua’s university changed its medieval fortunes and sponsored the career of such leading lights as Galileo. Returning to Venice by train, the evening is at leisure .

FRIDAY 3 OCTOBER - PALACE MUSEUMS (B, D)
Some of Venice’s finest museums today are in grand palaces that were family residences until relatively recently. Today we visit a selection of these, beginning at the Querini Stampalia, a Renaissance palace renovated by Carlo Scarpa in the 1960s. Today the museum has a fantastic collection of Venetian painting, including an extensive series of genre paintings by Pietro Longhi showing scenes of daily life in eighteenth-century Venice. We then visit the nearby Palazzo Grimani, once the residence of one of Venice’s most famous families. It is an excellent example of Renaissance architecture and much of its lavish interior decoration is intact. After a break for lunch, we visit Ca’ Pesaro, Venice’s museum of modern art. The museum was created by Duchess Felicità Bevilacqua La Masa in the 1890s as both Italy’s first museum dedicated to modern art and as studio space for a generation of young artists who would define modern art in Italy in the early twentieth century. The later afternoon is at leisure, before we enjoy a farewell dinner together at a restaurant near our hotel. Final of eleven nights in Venice.

SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER – DEPARTURE (B)
The tour ends at the hotel after breakfast. Our travel partner, Mary Rossi Travel, will be pleased to advise on any further travel arrangements.

Hotel Al Codega 4*, Venice, 11 nights
https://www.hotelalcodega.com The four-star Hotel Al Codega is ideal for a long stay in Venice. It is a family-run establishment with just 21 rooms, meaning our group will occupy most of the rooms. Located in a hidden courtyard between St Mark’s and the Rialto, it is both quiet and central. The rooms are simple with modernized bathrooms; a number of them look onto narrow alleyways. The buffet breakfast, with pastries and other tempting delights still made in-house, is legendary.

• 11 nights’ accommodation at a central 4* hotel, including breakfast

• 5 lunches or dinners, including drinks

• All ground transport and entrance fees to sites as mentioned in the itinerary, including unlimited use of the public water bus for the duration of the tour

• All guided tours, as mentioned in the itinerary

• Commentary by and expertise of an Australian tour leader throughout

A $1,000pp deposit is required at the time of booking to hold your place on tour.

We will invoice you for final payment for the tour, due on 10 July 2025.

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