Tour Details
Duration
3 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
- Rialto Neighborhood
- St. Mark's Square
- Campo San Giovanni e Paolo
- Campo Santa Maria Formosa
Photos & Highlights
- Experience an exploration on how Venetian architecture has evolved from antiquity to today, along with the key influence of Carlo Scarpa
- Led by an architectural history expert
Select a date
Tour Description
Venice's architecture is unlike that of anywhere else in the world—owing, of course, to its natural context. Everything is built on stilts in the middle of a lagoon. In this Venice architecture tour we'll join a local architect or historian for an in-depth look at how Venetian architecture has evolved from antiquity to today, applying a critical eye to how the city has developed from such implausible origins. This is an excellent walking tour of Venice not only for people with an interest in architecture, but also for generalists looking to more fully comprehend the city.
Venice Architecture Tour
We'll begin our tour in Piazza San Marco, the political seat of Venice, with a discussion of the first settlement in the Venetian lagoon and the subsequent rise to power of the Venetian Republic. We will spend our time dissecting the form and function of these immense structures and their importance in glorifying the Venetian Republic to the outside world. We will then meander toward Campo San Zaccaria, where we will have the chance to discuss the mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles of this unusual church complex. Next on our tour is Campo Santa Maria Formosa, where we'll learn about the role of public and private spaces in historic Venice and see the modern interventions of Carlo Scarpa on the 16th century Palazzo Querini-Stampalia. We will also fit in a visit to Campo San Giovanni e Paolo to admire the Gothic church and stop for a coffee or gelato.
Walking Tour of Venice
We will then make our way toward the Rialto to explore architecture in the historic commercial and trade district, from the surrounding former merchant quarters to the bridge itself. For a significant part of the city's history, this was the only bridge across the Grand Canal, the current structure being the third incarnation.
Take Aways
By the end of our time together, we will not only have marveled at the opulence of Venetian architecture but will have developed a deeper appreciation for the forces that have shaped the nature of the city, as well as the feats of engineering necessary to sustain these structures for hundreds of years.
For those looking to dig deeper into the technical challenges of keeping Venice afloat, see our Ecology of Venice Tour.
Experts
Where You'll Start
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161 Reviews
Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
She was great! Everything worked. We paid for a third spot so the tour would go on and although we weren't sure it would be worth the expense, it definitely was. Susan was informative, helpful, tailored her info to our interests and a really nice person. We've always had good experiences on Context tours, but this one was truly exceptional.
Steven
Reviewed on:
Sep 2, 2013
This tour got off to a difficult start, because one of us was sick and it was pouring down rain for a good part
of the time. Matteo was very flexible and considerate, and he made sure we stayed as dry as possible.
The tour could not follow the structure he had planned because of the weather, so we focused it on St.
Mark's Square and the Basilica, about which he had much of interest to say. His comments and visual
materials during a break about building practices in Venice and how the proliferation of canals affected the
architecture of the city were fascinating. As for what didn't work, perhaps just because of the weather,
the break stretched out a little too long.
Nancy
Reviewed on:
Jun 8, 2013
We got to have Matteo for two separate tours and he was just sensational in each> the Architecture of Venice, which we had to ourselves, was really impressive both for me (who's been to the city many times) and to the boys, who lapped up his every word. He specifically tailored our tour to their interests and they just loved it...he's a real gem.
The meeting place for this tour was hard for us to get to in time - luckily, since we were the only clients registered, Matteo was flexible enough to change the meeting location to be closer to us, which saved us a lot of time, and we were very grateful!
Victoria
Reviewed on:
May 17, 2013
