After meeting your local guide at a convenient place let’s start this walking tour through the sestiere of Cannaregio. We’ll first approach one of the largest buildings in Venice the seat of the school of Misericordia and its older one too nearby. This will be the right place to introduced you to the Venetian system of brotherhoods and their lavish expenditure to make their seats the most ornate in Venice.
After reaching a spot offering a wide view over the lagoon, we’ll proceed now to the old church of Saint Cristopher a true art case housing inside an altarpiece by Cima but above all a few of the earliest masterpieces of Tintoretto including his own grave. 2018 celebrates the 500th anniversary of his birth.
His house is very near to the church but also to a unique small open area where five embedded statues called the ‘moors’ will ‘tell’ us their story of medieval merchants.
And is time already to enter the ghetto, the first enclosed compulsory area for Jews opened 500 years ago. This little area of Venice is an important hub of Jewish history. Jews of diverse provenance gathered here each one leaving its mark. Once a strict Jewish area, the ghetto is now a charming part of Venice.
In the last part of the tour, upon your choice we’ll enter and visit one of the two workshops where glass the most traditional of Venetian crafts is transformed in smooth mosaic tiles and unique single beads.
At the Orsoni atelier be ready to follow all the steps of mosaic production from the furnace where glass melts to the final element, the diminute pieces in countless tones of colors. But this is no just a place of production but also of research and design.
Glass beads contributed largely to the economy of Venice through the centuries, a cheap alternative to real gems and jewels that still could offer an unlimited variety of shapes and colors to became a cult item for ladies at any time. SUV is the largest glass beads producer in Venice and we’ll have the chance to visit the workshop where beads are made and designed including the owner’s collection.
This tour is done upon the artisan availability. And entrance is fee is requested.
