Uncovering the Wealth & Power of Venice and Rome Tour

The Rialto market has stood at the heart of Venice’s community since the end of the 11th-century. Fresh produce from the farming island of Sant’Erazmo shines with bright colors, from the purple eggplant to the ruby tomatoes. The stalls encircle the Campo San Giacomo Rialto as locals venture to the coveted fish market in search of the freshest catch of the day. Vendors call out to passersby and draw attention to the clams and anchovies. After breakfast, your guide will meet you at your hotel and leads you along the cobblestone streets to what was once the center of the religious and civic life of the Venetian Republic, St. Mark’s Square.

The iconic basilica crowns the piazza with a gilded exterior and towering bulbous domes. Loggias wrap around the public open space and draw your attention to the famous pigeons that snack on the bird food strewn across the stone floor. After your introduction to the square, enter into the Doge’s Palace, the seat of power for the Venetian Republic in a structure rebuilt in the 14th-century. Ornamental and allegorical figures adorn the Porta della Carta as the Lion of St. Mark stands before a kneeling figure that represents Doge Francesco Foscari, alluding to an individual kneeling before the state.

Your guide will lead you through the opulence of the palace and highlight how each room, from the Golden Staircase to the Doge’s apartment, captures the wealth and artistic tradition of the decadent past. The room that may captivate you most is the Sala delle Quattro Porte, a group of chambers that show the sinister side of the government known as the Council of Ten. The court was in charge of the secret police who kept control over public and private life in the city. The room contains an elegant wood paneling with gilded paintings that depict Jupiter throwing thunderbolts and fighting against the vices. An open slot inside a mouth offered people a place to slip letters of denunciation to the council in private.

In the morning the shop windows open to elaborate displays of Venetian masks. Cafes fill the air with the scent of espresso and freshly baked brioche as bakeries place delicate cakes in the windows for passersby to see. After breakfast, you will step out into the refreshingly cool air to wander along the cobbled streets that wind around the city like a labyrinth. The city was once known by the nickname, “La Serenissima,” which meant, Most Serene, and you will soon see why.  Children play soccer in charming little squares as women sit in their doorways to shell peas and talk to neighbors from the window.

The Grand Palace of Ca’Rezzonico was erected in the 17th-century and has captured the grandeur of life near the end of the Venetian Republic. The ballroom contains lavish frescoes painted by Visconti and Battista Crosato to depict the wealthy lifestyle of the city’s nobles. Natural light spills in through the floor to ceiling windows and spreads across the elaborate colors of the historical paintings. The family’s private gondola is also on display to show how the style of the time and the taste of nobility. Make your way next to the San Trovaso Square to glimpse at the tradition of gondola making by artisan craftspeople. The boatyard was founded in the 17th-century and still contains upwards of 350 gondoliere, most often an occupation passed from father to son.

Enjoy a demonstration of the work as the craftsman shapes the mahogany, cherry, or oak base. A single gondola can take more than a month to create. Time to explore in the boatyard offers you a chance to see the gondolas at different stages of the process, including the final stage of its decoration. The boats move with grace along the water, propelled by the current and a gondolier’s paddle. After your visit concludes, you will meet a gondolier guide ready to show you the hidden art of rowing a gondola along the canals of Venice.

The pleasures of Venice and its decadent history lie beyond the connected islands of the historical center and stretch out into the lagoon at Murano, Burano, and Torcello. After breakfast, you will board a private boat to take you the one and a half mile journey across the water to the shores of Murano, the largest of the three major islands of the northern lagoon. The Murano canal divides the island and leads to the main square where fishermen sell the fresh catches of the day and the heat from the glass workshops mixes with the cool air of the canal forming a light mist.

The tradition of glassblowing on the island dates back to the 12th-century when the Doge ordered the kilns off of the main island to avoid fire. The industry grew to such prominence, and gave the Venetian Republic so much wealth, that glass workers rose to a nearly noble status. The illustrious past coincides with the republic’s anxiety that glassworkers would take the secrets of the craft to other states. The history of the craft, exhibiting the evolution of design, color, and taste fills the Glass Museum, which includes vials dating back to ancient Rome.

You will then visit a local workshop specializing in the art of Murano mirrors. The glassworker will blow a flat, elegant shape before etching geometric designs into the corners. Before the glass is treated, it will resemble a gorgeous display window without a reflective surface and offer you insight into the hidden history behind the elaborate work of art.

The influence of the Venetian Republic spread from the Adriatic Sea and inland towards to foothills of the Italian Alps. After breakfast, you will venture to the mainland shores to reach to the historical university town of Padua.  Padua is home to a youthful atmosphere, a Renaissance culture, and the beginning of the Brenta Canal. The Brenta River fed the waterway and diverted to the Venetian lagoon to ease passage and trade between the city and the republic. You will have time to wander around the cobbled streets and visit the lavish anatomical theater, the first of its kind.   The theater was erected in the 16th-century near the shores of Brenta River. The walnut interior could hold up to 300 students encircling the dissection table. The Latinate inscription in the room states, “This is a place where the dead are pleased to help the living.”  The university was built in the 13th-century and housed visiting lecturers such as Galileo.

Your cruise will then set off down the canal and lead you back to Venice. The banks that once ran along open space and farmland now offer views to the mountains in between elaborate villas and sporadic villages have sprung up since the decline of the Venetian Empire. The villas remain as lustrous and elegant as the day they were built, and many date back to the mid 16th-century. You will stop at Villa Pisani, referred to as the “Queen of Venetian Villas,” due to its grand design, opulent décor, and remarkable garden. The estate was erected in the 18th-century and includes 114 rooms to celebrate the 114th Doge of Venice. The broad façade contains impressive statuary and elegant columns supported by caryatids. The ballroom will take your breath away as you notice the elaborate painting that covers the ceiling. The Pisani family sits on a puff of clouds, and the figures nearly burst from the ceiling as the blue sky recedes to provide a three-dimensional sensation.

Today you will replace the canals of Venice with the banks of the Arno River. The bulbous Byzantine domes of St. Mark’s Basilica will soon turn into the singular magnificent dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. The road to Rome is paved with history, majesty, and opulence as settlements date back the Etruscans. You will stop at a collection of towns and cities along the way to discover the distinct culture and common threads that lead from Venice down to Rome, beginning with the city of Ravenna. The city served as the capital of Western Roman Empire from the 5th to the 7th-centuries and nurtured creativity, embodied in the lavish churches and elegant mosaics preserved throughout the streets.

The epic poet Dante Alighieri once described the mosaics of Ravenna as a “Symphony of Color,” which also drew the likes of Lord Bryon. The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe contains a central apse mosaic that depicts the city’s patron saint juxtaposed against the verdant landscape. Before you reach Rome, the last city you will visit is Civita di Bagnoregio, situated atop a pinnacle above an expansive canyon. The Etruscan’s settled the area and cut stone passageways into the hillside more than 2,500 years ago. The town that you see was erected in the 12th-century, adorned with a Romanesque arch that leads you onto the smooth cobblestones of history.

Rome brims with activity at all hours of the day to continue its reputation as the center of the world dating back to the Roman Republic. The market in Campo di Fiori fills with locals in search of artisan goods, delicious produce, and gorgeous flowers. The sweet and herbaceous aroma of tulips and hydrangeas emanates from the florist stalls. Your day will begin at the ancient heart of Rome with a guided tour of the Colosseum. The famous arena was erected in the 1st-century AD with four stories that reach a height of nearly 180 feet above the Roman streets.

The exterior shines the color of hay in the morning light, but the rugged stone provides a dramatic impression. Your guide will take you into the arena where up to 50,000 spectators could watch the games. The scent of old stone fills the air as you wander through the maze of passageways once covered by the wooden stage that hid gladiators and wild animals waiting their turn to enter the stadium. The walls rise upwards of two-stories and once used elaborate machines to raise people and animals to the arena floor. The marvels of ancient Rome are endless, from the Forum to Capitoline Hill.

In the afternoon, you will venture to St. Peter’s Square to meet your guide on a behind the scenes tour of the Vatican Museums. The Basilica crowns the oval square with a dome that reaches 435 feet tall. Inside the museum, your guide will lead you up the lavish Bramante staircase to the Gabinetto delle Maschere. The most exciting part of the tour is when you enter the Cappella Noccolina, a 15th-century chapel that is closed the public that displays frescoes painted before Michelangelo was born.

In the morning, locals fill the cafes and stand at the counter to sip their espresso before heading to work. The aroma of fresh brioche fills the city, drifting from bakeries hidden in the meandering streets of the historical center. The thick, ancient pillars of the Pantheon glint in the rising sunlight as the former temple was erected in the 1st-century AD.  With a dome that reaches a height of 141 feet above the polished marble floor, Michelangelo and Brunelleschi were inspired by this space in their hopes of harmonious and lavish architectural feats. The dome contains an opening that reaches nearly 30 feet in diameter, which is also the only source of light in the structure. You have uncovered the truth of Rome as it’s in the ancient streets, Baroque palaces, and stunning museums that have preserved their majesty over the ages to easily captivate visitors and locals from around the world. After one last glorious Italian morning, your private transfer will meet you at your hotel and escort you the Fiumicino International Airport for your flight home.