Secret Venice

A guide will await you at Piazza San Marco, under the San Marco and San Todaro columns, with a sign indicating the name of the tour. After that, you will depart on foot toward the Campi di Sestiere Castello, an area far from the most popular tourist routes, mostly visited by Venetians.

In Sestiere Castello, the first stop will be Campo Santa Maria Formosa, one of the largest Campi in Venice, named after the church by the same name, opened in 1492. This area includes palaces that in the past were home to noble Venetian families: Casa Venier, Palazzo Priuli Ruzzini, Palazzo Morosini del Pestrin, Palazzi Donà, Palazzo Vitturi, Palazzo Malipiero Trevisan and Palazzo Querini Stampalia.
The visit will then continue to Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo is also named after the imposing Gothic-style Basilica located there, known as the favorite burial place of a large number of Doges and other illustrious Venetian personalities. The square also houses the equestrian monument to the leader Bartolomeo Colleoni, created in the 1580s by Verrocchio.
At the end of this stop, we will move on to Campo San Francesco della Vigna.

You will visit the monastery that is part of the Church of San Francesco della Vigna, built in 1554 in the Campo by the same name by Andrea Palladio and Jacopo Sansovino.
Today, it houses an ecumenical and multi-faith building for theological scholars, the first printed copy of the Koran, and numerous ancient Hebrew Bibles. It is often used as a location for cultural events, including some temporary Biennale exhibitions.
The monastery hosts the oldest vineyards in Venice, dating back to the thirteenth century and still used today for the production of a wine called “Harmonia Mundi,” consisting of Refosco del Friuli and Terodelgo del Trentino grapes.
At the end of this stop, you will head to the Sestiere di Cannaregio to visit the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli.

The Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli was built in 1489, at the behest of the nobleman Angelo Amadi, who wished for a place of worship where he could preserve the painting of the “Virgin and Child between two Saints” owned by him and with alleged miraculous powers.
It is a real marble marvel since its exterior, and interior walls are almost entirely made of this material. The Istria stone framework contains precious marbles: pavonazzetto, broccatello red, and bardiglio, making this building a precious jewel for its beauty and architectural value.
After admiring the church, the last stop awaits you: the Rialto market.

The last leg of this tour is dedicated to one of the oldest markets in Venice, the Rialto market, founded more than 900 years ago near the bridge by the same name.
It has always been a lively place for meetings, exchanges, and trade, and today as in the past, it hosts the fish, fruit and vegetable, and flower markets.
Here you can buy great quality food and wine products, such as fruits and vegetables from neighboring lands and fresh fish from the Adriatic Sea, which is key for preparing tasty typical Venetian dishes.
When the presentation is over, the guide will leave you free to visit the market, shop, or have lunch in one of the many taverns in the area.
A return to Piazza San Marco as a group is not planned.