HIDDEN TREASURES

Anecdotes and Curiosities about Venice and the Veneto region: secrets revealed by a tour guide

Discover, through the legends and mysteries told by our tour guide Francesca, a different side of this wonderful region.

Hidden Treasures is a weekly column on venetoinside dedicated to those who wish to learn about legends, secrets and mysteries of the hidden Venice and the Veneto region... Curated by Francesca – an expert tour guide from Venice – Hidden Treasures wants to share the hidden treasures of Venice and Veneto through anecdotes, secrets, legends, mysteries and curiosities, a different and rarely discussed side of Venice, the Venetian lagoon and the Veneto region.

History and folklore, mysterious places and famous works of art, monuments and ancient traditions: our guide will open for you the doors to discover all the hidden secrets of Venice and Veneto! With an original series of stories, anecdotes and curiosities of Venice and its region, all based on a foundation of historical fact, week after week Francesca will reveal fascinating aspects of history, art, culture and the traditions of some incredible places.

Hidden Treasures is a real guide to the lesser-known Venice and Veneto to uncover the mysteries still hidden. Make yourself comfortable! Expect an exciting reading based on anecdotes, legends and hidden Venice secrets that will tantalize your curiosity even more about the city, the lagoon and its wonderful region.

The Hidden Treasures of Venice and curiosities column is also present on the Facebook page of venetoinside! In order not to miss any of the anecdotes that we publish every week, go to our page and click 'like' button!

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Highlights

The leaning bell tower on the island of Burano in the Venice lagoon

The Venice lagoon has many small islands just waiting to be discovered! Burano is certainly one of them: houses with brightly colours, princess laces, delicious cookies and much more! One of the symbols of the island is the leaning tower of St. Martin's Church, built in the sixteenth century. Attributed to the architect Andrea Tirali, who built it between 1703 and 1714, it has a square plan and is 6,20 metre wide at the bottom and 53 meters high. Its brick cusp is surmounted by an Istrian stone which is larger than the top: this element served originally as the base for the bronze angel destroyed by the hurricane that struck the island on 25 September, 1867. It was later replaced with an iron cross. The structure became unstable already during the construction stage, which progressed slowly until the Second World War, when an acceleration of the problem forced the City of Venice to carry out static consolidation works, which ended in 1970. If you wish to visit the island of Burano and its hidden corners we would like to suggest two fascinating tours led by an expert local guide: Burano Secret Corners and Guided tour of Burano and the island of San Francesco del Deserto. They follow the same route, with the latter including an additional visit to the monastery of San Francesco del Deserto.