SOMETHING AMISS IN THE SERENISSIMA

Unmask the dark side of the Serenissima on this exciting trail through the watery wonderland of Venice’s ancient republic. You will be led along a carefully planned route right to the heart of the city’s religious and political power and hear intriguing tales of scandal, conspiracies, breakouts and beheadings.

You begin your day with a leisurely stroll through Piazza San Marco and a guided tour of its most prized jewel: the Basilica of St. Mark. Located at the eastern end of the square, this one-thousand-year-old Gothic-Byzantine marvel was originally the powerful doges’ personal place of worship. It was not until 1807, when it became the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, that this private chapel was converted into the city’s cathedral. Step inside to hear how the construction of the building in 828 was intricately bound up with a theft and the survivors of a storm at sea. The church’s magnificently decorated interior, with its marble inlays, finely carved capitals and, above all, glimmering mosaics covering 8,000 square metres of vaults and domes is an uplifting spectacle that never fails to impress.

Next, make your way to the Doge’s Palace, the former residence of the Venetian rulers, and join a group tour led by an official guide from the museum. This special reservation grants access to quarters that are not included in regular visits, allowing our guests to wander through secret passageways and hidden chambers, gaining a privileged peek into Venice’s shadowy history. Walk past the splendid marble courtyard and enter the Pozzi through a narrow door. This was once a squalid, insalubrious detention area consisting of cramped, gloomy, poorly ventilated cells where prisoners were locked up in inhumane conditions. Located beneath sea level these dungeons were often subject to flooding during the acqua alta, the exceptional tide peaks that periodically still occur covering the city under one hundred centimetres of water. Graffiti and drawings carved on the walls by wretched prisoners provide visitors with a haunting insight into the lives of yesteryears’ detainees and a vivid picture of their anguish and despair.

Your trail will lead you through a series of administrative rooms where top-secret documents were kept safely under lock and key and judiciary officers, chancellors and the dreaded inquisitors used to carry out their daily activities. You will also see the Chamber of Torment, the interrogation room where confessions were extorted under torture, and the so-called Piombi, lead-covered cells located beneath the roof where Venetians convicted of political crimes were once imprisoned. From here Giacomo Casanova, who had been charged with blasphemy and possession of prohibited books, managed to escape in 1756 by boring a hole in the ceiling.

Your private guide will rejoin you as you emerge from this secret sally and accompany you up the gold-vaulted staircase, past the doges’ private apartments into the Hall of the Great Council. Here, you will gain a better understanding of the city’s political institutions and take a close look at the priceless works of art by local painters that embellish the walls. Inspired perhaps by the glitter of the golden mosaics in St. Mark’s Basilica and the shifting play of light on the canal waters, Venetian artists are known for their astonishing use of colour. An allegorical depiction of the Triumph of Venice by Veronese will draw your gaze to the ceiling while on the wall behind the doge’s throne you will see one of the widest canvas paintings in the world, the Paradise, created by Jacopo Tintoretto and his son Domenico between 1588 and 1592. To this duo we also owe the portraits of Venice’s first 76 doges represented on the frieze that runs beneath the ceiling. A macabre tale will explain why one of these paintings has been replaced with a black veil.

By the end of the tour an ominous shadow will have descended over the Serenissima, perhaps not so serene after all.