This original tour of Venice offers a guided visit of the area between St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge going through the peculiar locations of the so called “Minor Venice”: the La Fenice Theatre, the Scala del Bovolo and Rialto Bridge, examples of the long series of unique sites that together contribute to creating that alchemy known to the world as Venice.
During this fascinating tour of Venice on foot an experienced tourist guide will narrate unusual anecdotes and historical facts from the thousand year long history of Venice until the present day. You will admire from the outside some of the most characteristic places of Venice and the celebrated Rialto Bridge¸ the hub of the ancient merchant area of Rialto and you will be immersed in the traditional atmosphere of Venice.
The tour will commence with the guided visit of the exteriors of the renowned La Fenice Theatre, the main opera theatre in Venice unfortunately destroyed by fires on several occasions.
Located in the St Mark’s area, this famous theatre was designed in 1790 by Giannantonio Selva and has hosted, throughout the 19th century, many openings of great Italian authors such as Rossini, Bellini, Verdi and Donizetti.
The next stage of the tour will be the extraordinary Scala del Bovolo: hidden away at the end of a narrow alleyway, it forms the elegant external staircase of the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo.
Considered one of the most representative examples of the transition from Gothic to Renaissance, it is formed by a series of superimposed loggias linking the levels of the spiral staircase, called “bovolo” in Venetian dialect, housed inside a cylindrical tower with a plethora of rising columned arches.
We will then enter Rialto - the oldest part of Venice – the traditional location of the Venice market.
The operational centre of the trade empire of the Venice Republic, Rialto is today characterized by a dense urban network of monumental edifices, houses, shops and inns that represent the most genuine traditions and customs of the real soul of Venice.
The Rialto area is dominated by the renowned Rialto Bridge, the oldest crossing over the Canal Grande. Around 1250, the former floating bride, dating to the 12th century, was replaced by a wooden bridge formed by two inclined ramps joined in the middle by a movable section that could be raised to allow for the passage of high boats. Only in 1551 the Venice Republic launched a tender for the construction of a stone bridge. Great architects such as Sansovino, Pallaio and Vignola joined the competition but their plans were not successful. The present Rialto Bridge, designed by Antonio da Ponte and his nephew Antonio Contin, has a structure very similar to the preceding wooden bridge with rows of shops on both sides.