Venice

The tour starts at 2.00pm on Wednesday 3 April, at Venice’s Marco Polo airport.

The tour ends at 12.00pm on Wednesday 17 April, at Venice’s Marco Polo airport.

Flights with Qatar and Emirates arrive in Venice in the mid-afternoon. A transfer to the hotel by water taxi is available for those arriving with these flights. After check-in there will be an orientation stroll of the district around our hotel followed by an early, light dinner in a local restaurant. (D)

Today we gain a sense of the geography of the Venetian lagoon and the city’s appearance in its earliest days. We travel by ferry to the peaceful lagoon islands of Burano and Torcello. On Torcello we view the 6th-century basilica with its mosaics and Byzantine decorations, as well as the small museum of the Venetian lagoon. We then enjoy a relaxed welcome lunch at the legendary Locanda Cipriani on Torcello before returning to our hotel for an evening talk. (B, L)

This morning we take a vaporetto to the Castello district, where Venice’s historic Arsenale is located, and we track the growth of the trading empire and shipping industry which developed to support it. We continue on to the district which has been the centre of Venice’s Adriatic and Greek communities for centuries. These communities helped maintain Venice’s stranglehold on the Eastern Mediterranean and left important monuments to their status in the city, including the only cycle of Carpaccio paintings still in situ. At the icon museum of San Giorgio dei Greci, we admire the significant collection of works created by Venetian, Cretan and Cypriot artists, and at the church of San Zaccaria, the extraordinary altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini. After a break for lunch, we visit the Scuola degli Schiavoni, the Slavic confraternal headquarters with a wonderful cycle of paintings by Carpaccio. This evening we have a private viewing of St Mark’s, so that we can enjoy the spectacular mosaics lit up without the bustle of the usual crowds. (B)

Today we travel to Ravenna, the Byzantine capital of Italy in the 5th-8th centuries. It is in Ravenna, after the fall of the Roman Empire, that the Byzantine visual style of gold-ground mosaics first developed. Here we view the UNESCO World Heritage-listed churches of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, San Vitale, and Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. We also examine evidence of the Gothic kingdom in Italy in the late 5th and early 6th century, including the Palace of Theodoric and the Neonian baptistery. (B)

This morning we take a guided tour of the Doge’s Palace, whose layout reflects the complex structure of the Venetian government itself. The palace is decorated with large canvases by Tintoretto, Veronese and others. We then continue to visit the tombs of Venice’s doges at Santi Giovanni e Paolo and Verrocchio’s magnificent equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni. In the afternoon, there is the option of visiting the Museo Correr, with its collection of artefacts relating to the history of Venice and a number of significant works by Bellini, Antonello da Messina and Canova. This evening we hope to attend a performance at the historic Fenice theatre (subject to the season’s program). (B)

This morning we visit the Galleria dell’Accademia, the main gallery of Venetian painting from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, displaying important works by Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Tiepolo and others. After a break for lunch, we visit the church of the Frari, with its outstanding collection of painting and sculpture, including Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin, and Tintoretto’s virtuoso performance in the nearby Scuola di San Rocco. The evening is at leisure after a talk in our hotel. (B)

This morning we visit the Rialto Markets, once Europe’s premier trade and finance hub, and take a private tour of Venice’s ghetto district and its synagogues. The Jews of Venice played an important role in the city and the ghetto has a fascinating history. After enjoying lunch together at Osteria da Rioba, a typical Venetian trattoria, we visit the Ca’ d’Oro, a 15th-century merchant’s palace on the Grand Canal, which is now a museum. The later afternoon is at leisure, with an early evening talk in our hotel. (B, L)

We spend the day exploring the nearby town of Padua, a prosperous centre since the Middle Ages whose university was the intellectual base of Venetian society. Highlights of the day include the flourishing produce markets, our guided visit to the anatomy theatre at the university, the monumental medieval Palazzo della Ragione and of course Giotto’s extraordinary fresco cycle in the Scrovegni Chapel, undertaken in the early 1300s. (B)

Today is free for you to relax or to explore some of Venice’s myriad of other sites independently. Your tour leader is happy to assist with advice. There is a talk in our hotel in the evening. (B)

We begin with a visit the Querini-Stampalia Museum, with a fine collection of Pietro Longhi and Gabriele Bella paintings that show us how Venetians lived from the Renaissance through to the Baroque. It also preserves a wonderful painting from the Bellini workshop. We break for a group lunch in the area before visiting the restored Ca’ Rezzonico, a lavish patrician’s palace from the 18th century. There is a talk this evening. (B, L)

In the 16th century, amid declining trade, the Venetian aristocracy sought to recreate the life of the ancients in the countryside. We travel to the mainland today to enjoy a full day visiting some of Palladio’s fine country villas, elegant variations in the classical style. We begin the day at the Villa Capra La Rotonda, Palladio’s celebrated centrally-planned pleasure villa, then continue to the Villa Valmarana. We pause for lunch in Vicenza, with its important civic buildings by Palladio and enjoy a visit to the Teatro Olimpico, before moving on to the Villa Barbaro at Maser. We return to Venice in the early evening. (B)

Venice in the 20th century became an international centre of modern art. Today we visit Ca’ Pesaro, containing the city’s collection of modern art, much of it collected at biennales from 1896 onwards. The collection includes works by Klimt, Chagall, Modigliani, the Italian Futurists and many others. After lunch, we continue on to the extraordinary Peggy Guggenheim Collection, located in one of the heiress’s residences, the 18th-century Palazzo Venier. The collection includes outstanding works by Dalí, Kandinsky, Pollock, Magritte, Mondrian and Picasso. There is a talk in our hotel this evening. (B)

Venetian glass has been highly prized since the Middle Ages. This morning, we explore this art in Venice by visiting Murano, whose fascinating history extends beyond glassmaking. The afternoon is at leisure, before an optional visit to the house and studio of a Venetian printmaker. (B)

This morning we travel to the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, where we visit the convent of the Armenian monks, a centre of learning and enlightenment for Venice for hundreds of years. Byron stayed on the island for a time, compiling an English-Armenian dictionary, and the monastery contains an eclectic collection including some very rare manuscripts. On our way back to Venice, we stop at the island of San Giorgio, home to a major Benedictine monastery since the early Middle Ages, and also Palladio’s most magnificent church. We enjoy the panoramic view from the belltower before meeting in the early evening for a farewell dinner. (B, D)

Today we depart Venice. A group transfer by private launch to Venice’s Marco Polo airport is available for those taking mid-afternoon flights back to Australia.