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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Prostitution in Venice
In ancient Venice prostitution was considered a necessary evil, where more harm would come from a ban than from a…
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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…
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Differentiated rubbish collection in Venice
Venice had an organised system of differentiated garbage collections from the 1400s, to keep the city clean and the canals…
What others said
Magnificent experience: “We’ve been several times in Venice, but with Rene we saw and understood the hidden history and had a magnificent and individual experience, which was worth every penny. Our three hour tour was both exciting and interesting and went over in no time. Rene has an incredible knowledge about history in general and especially of Venetian history. He may not just answer ‘every’ question by telling dates and facts; instead he’ll start showing a salty stone or a hidden graffiti and explaining from there on links between history and today.
This was a fascinating tour, Rene is extremely knowledgeable. It was quite long (3 hours) so be prepared, but every minute packed with interesting information which I’m sure you couldn’t get elsewhere. Rene’s English is excellent too.
It was the best thing we did in Venice. We booked the tour on our first full day and afterwards, the insight we learned from Rene were used throughout our 4 days vacation. I’m a history nerd and his account and survey of Venice were accurate. Moreover, Rene was very passionate and his encyclopedic and street knowledge makes him an excellent companion to walk around this amazing city.
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 €30/person for the first two hours, and €10/person for each additional hour.
Children under five can come for free, and children fourteen or younger for €10.
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 if you want to come, please drop me a message, preferably at least the day before.
Private tours
A two-hour private tour is minimum €160 for the group, or €30/person. Longer tours are charged at €50 for each additional hour.
A private tour can start at a time and place of your choosing, and we can concentrate on whatever subjects you want.
You can use this link to book an private tour directly in my calendar. You get a confirmation email, and I’m notified when you click the confirmation link in that email.