Anywhere you look, hidden history stares back at you.
An inconspicuous sign on a wall tells a story about long forgotten crafts and social welfare in the 15th century. Ancient graffiti under a portico reminds us how public transport worked in the 18th and 19th centuries. An oddly placed altar shows how faith was used to fight crime. History is all over.
The humblest of little signs on a wall hides a story worth being retold.
Even a short walk down the calli with a knowledgeable guide can teach you as much as a shelf full of guidebooks.
The Hidden History tour
I will meet you at your hotel, or at the restaurant where you’ve had lunch, or wherever it suits you in Venice, and we’ll walk around the city together, searching for messages from the past.
This is not a tour of great monuments and famous places. That’s all in the guidebooks, and you won’t need to for that. Rather, it is a search for all those little messages past Venetians have left around the city, that we don’t see even if they’re just in front of us.
We’ll talk about how social welfare worked in the renaissance, about the ancient links between Venice and the Byzantine Empire, about the Venetian trade on the Levant, and much, much more.
The hidden history is in front of our eyes, but we don’t always see it.
These articles cover some of the subjects we might cover on a hidden history walk:
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Long live the doge
Viva il doge – Long live the doge – the writing on the wall celebrating the election of Andrea Gritto as doge in april 1523
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The Fall of Venice
The fall of Venice on May 12th, 1797, was the result of a war that the Republic of Venice formally wasn’t even party to.
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Prostitution in Venice
In ancient Venice prostitution was considered a necessary evil, where more harm would come from a ban than from a de facto acceptance
What others said
We really enjoyed our tour with René. What stood out most was the flexible and conversational nature of it, combined with René’s remarkable knowledge of Venice’s history. He took his time answering our many follow-up questions about the city’s past, politics, and architecture. He also showed us fascinating details and places of historical significance that we would have completely missed on our own.
We appreciated being able to ask questions that had come up during our individual museum visits, and René provided thoughtful, engaging context based on his broad archival knowledge.
This was a very different experience from a traditional walking tour. Instead of covering many parts of the city, we focused on rich details around the square where we met, while also discussing the broader history of Venice. It was both insightful and personal, and we highly recommend it!
We met with René after a morning of pouring rain in Venice. We were met just outside one of the churches and Rene explained the rise and development Venice with fantastic details and interesting facts. We had 5 adults and 3 children in the group, a difficult group to keep entertained. His broad knowledge ranging from architecture, arts, engineering to the aristocracy was a delight and a wonderful part of the day. We had a great time and would definitely recommend René for any of his tours.
We did a tour with Rene where he explained the history of Venice, how the water system worked, how ordinary people lived, the historical political hierarchy, trade, wars and many more fascinating things about Venice. It was so enlightening and fascinating that we immediately booked him again to do another tour the next day. His knowledge and ability to explain 1000+ years of history was incredible. He’s also a lovely person who is very easy to talk to and was happy to answer all of our random curious questions. If we come back to Venice, his tours will be a critical part of our holiday. This is not an ordinary tour. This is an experience with a real historian! Our time in Venice was enriched so much and then the following days we looked at things differently, noticing details and understanding some of the meanings in the buildings and design. Thank you Rene!
Prices and booking
The hidden history walking tour can be two or more hours. The more time we spend together, the more we’ll see and explore.
Group tours
Groups can be from two to eight persons, so everybody can see and hear everything. The tour lasts 2-2½ hours.
The price for group tours is €40/person for the first two hours, and €15/person for each additional hour.
Children under five can come for free, and children fourteen or younger for €15.
Group tours usually start in Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo, either at 10am or 2pm.
Please note that I don’t do these tours every day, so don’t just show up. I might not be there. If you want to come, please check the calendar of scheduled tours and use the links there to send me a mail, preferably at least the day before.
Private tours
A private tour can start at a time and place of your choosing, and we can concentrate on whatever subjects you want.
A two-hour private tour is minimum €200 for the group, or €40/person. Longer tours are charged at €75, or €15/person, for each additional hour.
You can use this link to book a private tour directly in my calendar. You’ll get a confirmation email, and I will be notified immediately when you click the link in that email.
Meeting place and time
Group tours usually start in the Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo in central Venice.