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…
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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…
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Palazzo Morosini
Palazzo Morosini is a mixed Venetian Gothic and Renaissance palace in the Castello Sestiere which is unfortunately inaccessible to the…
What others said
Rene showed us a lot about the city that is less known, but helps a lot to understand the history and soul of Venice! The tour was not too fast and full of details! Also Rene had an answer to all our questions. He really is an enthusiastic and devoted guide!
Excellent experience off the beaten tracks of conventional guided tours in Venice. René’s tour will offer you a vivid and well-achieved combination of funded historical knowledge and its routing within Venice’s fascinating microcosmos.
René is a very nice guy who certainly knows what he is doing. By showing small objects on the historic buildings and squares (e.g. antique graffiti that you normally would not notice) he explains the history and everyday life of Venice and the Venetians. He is very well structured (you can tell he is a trained historian) and puts everything he explains into the historic perspective. I do recommend a tour with him, especially if you want to go off the beaten track (e.g. the more residential areas of historic Venice). At the end of the tour René suggested a fantastic restaurant that we wouldn’t have found ourselves.
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 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 €160 for the group, or €30/person. Longer tours are charged at €50, or €10/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.