The Reinvention of a Grand Palazzo
Patricia Cleveland-Peck investigates the restoration that has transformed Palazzo Papadopoli into the Aman Canal Grande Hotel in Venice… It really all comes down to the writer Andrea di Robilant: if he hadn’t More...
Gondola – Italia Icons
Think of transport in Venice and you think of the gondola, but this is a relationship that has been developed in large part by the city’s tourism industry. As a working boat, there are better options. A gondolier More...
The Mysteries of Giorgione
As an exhibition of some of his surviving works is shown in London, Carolyn Lyons explains why this Venetian artist was so influential, and how little we know about what he actually painted… Giorgione – ‘Big More...
48 Hours on The Venetian Islands
Venice native Sara Scarpa takes us out of town on a long cycle ride from Lido to Pellestrina, and then on a boat trip to Murano, Burano and Torcello. This is an introduction to the beautiful Venetian Islands… Visitors More...
The Arsenale – Past Italia
In the eastern Castello district of Venice lies a huge dockyard where revolutionary building techniques took shipbuilding and military manufacturing into the next level This dockyard has been thought to have existed More...
Boating for Beginners
Lisa Gerard-Sharp discovers that skippering your own boat is the best way to see Venice at a leisurely pace – and it’s easier than you’d think… Henry James thought that, “Everyone interesting, appealing, More...
Sacro Monte di Varese
High in the hills overlooking Varese is one of the most remarkable hidden treasures you could wish to behold – the rarely seen frescoes of the Sacro Monte de Varese As far as hidden secrets go, the Sacro Monte More...
Top Ten Italian Holiday Destinations
Mario Matassa reveals his choice of the top ten holiday resorts in Italy. From the mountains to the sea, for food fans or culture vultures, there’s a destination for everyone… In a country synonymous with More...
The columns of the Palazzo Ducale, Venice
The sculptural decoration on the three exposed corners of the Ducale Palace proclaims the fragility of man. Venice is a wonder which never ceases to amaze me. It often seems, when I look at old favourites, that More...
Past Italia! The Salute
Artists’ inspiration and magnificent feat of engineering, but the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute on Venice’s Grand Canal was originally built to stave off the plague The year is 1629 and a great plague More...