Hidden venice

Venice has always been a city of innovation and skilled craftspeople. Glassworking, mask making, paper making and ship building are all crafts at which the venetians have excelled for centuries. One way to understand more about the culture of Venice is to visit some of these artisans and see them at work. On this guided tour to discover an authentic Venice you will visit two of these special workshops, a glass maker and a mask maker, and meet the craftspeople themselves. These artists still use techniques developed over centuries and the same types of materials originally used.

Our guide will show you around parts of the city and explain its history and culture through the work of these specialist artisans. You will find out the hidden secrets of Venice!

Hidden Venice -Venetian crafts in a unique setting

This is a tour unique to vivovenetia and a rare chance to understand how important these crafts still are to Venice. These are very specialist artists and what they make are sometimes unique in the world, inextricably linked to the essence of the city of Venice. We will meet the master glazier, who creates beautiful artifacts in Murano glass. Venetian glass has been made for over 1,500 years mainly on the island of Murano. There is  long tradition of innovation in glassmaking here and the finest glass working artisans are still creating and developing techniques to this day.

The glass factories became concentrated in Murano by law in 1291 in order to reduce the fire risk to the rest of the city. It also helped them to keep their glass making secrets to themselves! Today this is not the case, and the glass workshop we will visit is the in Castello area of Venice itself.

Hidden Venice – Venetian masks

The venetian carnival mask is perhaps the object which is most associated with Venice. It symbolises the party spirit which venetians were known for and has its roots in the permissive era of the eighteenth century where if know one knew who you were then anything goes! People wore masks all the time back then, but they became restricted to carnival time by law in an attempt to curb some of the worst behaviour which the masks concealed! The creation of these maks from papier mache and their elaborate decoration became an art form in itself.

The modern celebration of the Venice carnival has revived the fortunes of the carnival mask and they are now known throughout the world as something which symbolises the rich Italian history of this unique city.

A tour of the artisans will take you into authentic Venice!

We will take you on a half day trip to explain the story of the artisans of Venice. As you pass the rialto bridge you will see the glass shops, the grand canal will be busy with the vaporetto water buses heading to and from st marks square. Our journey will take you away from the usual tourist trail to discover the hidden gems of venice, its people and the stories of their lives and their work.

Experience the hidden venice with us and you will enjoy this special experience while you are staying in venice. You will be witnessing more of the life of real venetians living in the city which will give you a different perspective from the usual tourist attractions. You will witness true venetian life, hear the venetian dialect and learn about people that have plied their trade here passed down over generations.

Take a dip into the history of venice and understand the evolution of some of these skills. You will be contributing to the visibility of these crafts people whose livelihood is increasingly challenged by mass production.

Venice Artisans and tailor-made itineraries

Venice is a city rich in craft traditions. From the goldsmith shops to the great tailors, from eyewear to footwear, the city is dotted with many hand made treasures. Depending on your interests, we can create a personalized tour for you in the city with guides in Italian or other languages ​​which will stop in specific artisan shops.

Price

Adult: 39 EUR/pers

Children from 3 to 12 y.o: 19 EUR/pers

Children up to 2 y.o: free

Additional information

Meeting point: vaporetto stop ACTV Rialto MERCATO.

Semiprivate experience, for a maximum of 6 people.

The tour can be held in multiple languages.

Length

2 hours.

Availability

Tuesday to saturday, at 10.00 am and at 2.00 pm

Languages spoken

Italian, English, French, German, Spanish

Included

Guided tour

If you have any questions or would like more information on this tour please get in touch!

See our other Secret Venice experiences:

• Local Venice Tours: Discover a different city!

• Venice Unusual things to do: 3 paths for 3 different styles

• How Paper is Made: Visit of a Traditional Atelier in Venice

• Metal melting in an artistic foundry – Tour