Many guides and guidebooks can answer a lot of the ‘what’ questions about Venice, but very few can answer the harder ‘why’ questions. With these history walks in Venice, I try to explain why Venice is the way it is.
The over two hundred long form articles, lists and more than a hundred source translations on this site — and the newsletters and podcast episodes from Venetian Stories — should give an idea of the breadth and depth of the possible subjects for discussion during our walks.
All activities are bespoke, centred on what interests you about Venice and its history. I only do tours in small groups, to leave time and space for questions and interactions. There are no microphones or ear buds. The tours should be a dialogue, not a monologue; a conversation, not a speech.
My name is René Seindal, and I’m a Danish historian, living in Venice for almost two decades with my Venetian family. I am an authorised tour leader (accompagnatore turistico) in English, Italian and Danish. I’m also a guide on the Lazzaretto Nuovo island.
The tours are not as such targeted for children, but kids are very welcome, and I will do my best.
What others said
Wealth of knowledge
René was an excellent guide, and our walking tour with him was one of the highlights of our trip to Venice. He has a seemingly limitless and encyclopedic knowledge of all aspects of Venetian history and society. He tailored the tour to our interests while also sharing many interesting and unique stories.
Deep into Venice history
Rene brings Venice history to life from the first minute you meet him. His enthusiasm for the topic and the depth of his research are evident throughout the tour. And it turns out every corner has a story to tell that Rene knows so you aren’t rushing from one site to another. Wherever you are is a jumping off point for all sorts of topics that illustrate the broader narrative of Venetian history. Rene is also learning and discovering alongside you as Venice presents endless mysteries even to one steeped in its history and its culture. Highly recommended and the more questions you bring the more fun you will have!
★★★★★
One of the best tours we have ever had! — Ahmet
★★★★★
A memorable experience! — Julie
★★★★★
Interesting and insightful! — Samantha
★★★★★
Sunshine in the rain — Tim
★★★★★
Best experience of our Venice stay! — April
★★★★★
A must-do in Venice — IV
★★★★★
An engaging and passionate storyteller with an extraordinary depth of knowledge — Helen
★★★★★
Excellent insights into Venetian history — Tom
★★★★★
Wonderful, Informative and Enjoyable — Erica
★★★★★
A history master class — Alberto
★★★★★
We were riveted by the tour — Alicia
★★★★★
Simply brilliant — John
★★★★★
Thanks for a great few hours! Learned so much 🙂 — Amy
★★★★★
WOW, Rene is an amazing storyteller, historian and a scholar — Noy
★★★★★
Rene beats all other guides here 10 to 1 — Anna
★★★★★
Book this experience, you’ll thank me later! — Michael
★★★★★
I would totally recommend this experience!! 👌👍 — Amrita
★★★★☆
We loved the information so much — Katherine
★★★★★
Rene is incredibly knowledgeable — Jörg
Venetian Stories
Podcast
The Venetian Stories podcast is about the history of Venice. It is not a chronological narrative, but independent episodes, each 25–30 minutes.
Recent episodes:
Newsletter
The Venetian Stories newsletter is a sibling of the podcast, but not a twin. The newsletters might, or might not, treat the same subject.
Recent newsletters:
Writings on the
History of Venice
Between blog posts, long form articles, various lists, and translations from the Curiosità Veneziane and others reference works, there are over three hundred in-depth articles on this site.
Alternatively, consult the unified list of all the articles, or browse by names of persons or institutions, by location, through the glossary, or even by works referenced.
Recent writings
-
Chronology of the Lombard invasion
A list of some of the main events of the Lombard conquest of Byzantine Venetia and other parts of Italy.
-
The “Chronicon Altinate”
The “Chronicon Altinate” is one of the central medieval sources to early Venetian history, used extensively since it was written.
-
Kings of the Lombards
The Kingdom of the Lombards played a major role in early Venetian history, as it was the Lombard invasion of Italy in 568 which started the formation of later Venice.
In-depth article series
-
Venice treacle
Venice treacle, or theriac, was an ancient wonder medicine, an antidote for most poisons and a cure for most ailments, including the plague.
-
Strada Nova – from the Station to Rialto
Venice changed from a city which primarily existed for its inhabitants to a city dominated by tourism, and the Strada Nova was the first step.
-
The Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice never had an actual formal constitution, much less a written constitution. Neither did it have any kind of foundational event.
Most popular articles
-
A Chronology of the Black Plague in Venice
The black plague ravaged Venice for centuries, from the mid 1300s to the late 1700s. This is a chronology of some of the most important events.
-
Families in the Venetian Nobility
Lists of the houses or noble families of the Republic of Venice.
-
Old maps of Venice
Old maps are an important source for our understanding of how Venice looked and functioned in the past
Recent translated sources
-
Liber Pontificalis — John III
The “Liber Pontificalis” on how a Byzantine general invited the Lombards to come and possess Italy, if they pleased.
-
Pliny the Elder on Venetia
Excerpts related to “Venetia” and the “Veneti” from the “Naturalis Historia” by Pliny the Elder (1st century)
-
The invasion of Venetia — Paul the Deacon
The Lombard invasion of Venetia in 568 — from “Historia Langobardorum” by Paul the Deacon.
Free E-book download
An unreasonably short history of Venice is — surprise — an unreasonably short history of Venice, from the bitter start to the bitter end. In fact, it is so short, it can be read in a couple of hours, on the flight or in the airport. Seven chapters, each of around 3000 words, tell the History of Venice as succinctly as possible.
Read it online on the History of Venice web-site, or download the PDF or the e-book for your off-line reading pleasure. There is also a TL;DR version available online.
Looking for something?
Write a few words below and search through all the writings on the site …
A list of some of the sources and publications used to prepare this site.
Social media
You can follow History Walks Venice on several social media sites.
Mastodon and the Fediverse
History walks in Venice with a professional historian.
Follow History Walks in Venice
My Profile
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
Follow with RSS feeds
This site has several RSS feeds for the History of Venice articles, the newsletter and everything on this site, which can be used in any compatible reader.