A gondola, a pigeon, the the Bridge of Sighs. Venice is strangled by the sequence of these stereotyped pictures. Perhaps, the means for understanding this city lies in revealing its quotidian history, and in letting its piazzas, and its rocks, and its house kitchens, and its palaces' halls speak. Venice, like other cities, has acquired its present configuration as the result of actions of people who had lived here, who had coped up with the natural environment, and who had optimized that according to their needs. The route aims to disclose the development of urban culture, recounting it in a cronological/logical,sequential way:
The origins of the city: from its founding as Byzantine refugees' camp till its becoming, due to sound economic policy, the most important “marketplace” of Europe. Strolling along the market area, the visior, with the help of the guide, immagines the first settlement, the first commercial marinas, shops, the “red lights” quarter. Passing over the Rialto Bridge one runs against the adjacent ancient chambers of commerce and the Treasury. Then, one discovers the treatment of social aspects in the late medieval times, by visiting the charitable institution of St. Mark's School.
A short trip on the vaporetto and the visitor gets landing in the 'nerve and heart' of the Venetian State:shipbuilding factory 'Arsenal'. Here, beginning from the 12th century the hands of the legendary “arsenaloti” workers created ships for the Venetian Republic's Fleet, that allowed the city gain the hegemony over the Mediterranean. Presently it's the location of the Biennale. The monumental architecture of the factory, places for the charter, and the houses of the worker's quarter impress as well as the view of Venice from the 'front door', that is from where the foreign merchants of the past had the first view of it.
The story of Venice's Struggle against the Ottoman Empire for the dominion of the Mediterranean area, and the story of the immigration of Mediterranean peoples to Venice and creation of ethnical comunities, till Venice's transformation into a multi-national 'global city', will be narrated while strolling along the Riva degli Schiavoni (Yugoslavians), once a chaotic cattle-market, than turned into an elegant seaside promenade by the 17th century, and inside the Greek quarter, that used to be the most important center of Greek art and book-printing till the beginning of the 20th century.
During the visit of the 'Remote Command Place' of Venice-the-global-city, the St. Mark's Square, the guide will enterprise an attempt to erase a pompous guest-hall appearance, that the square is reputed to have. At the same time, the cohesive meccanism that brings together in the Square religious (St. Mark's Basilica), political (Palazzo Ducale) and economical (Dzekka) power, will be brought in light. The way of how the form of the buildings reflects their functions and how they relate between themselves while forming the Square's ensemble, characterized by such a pleasant “imperfect beauty”, will be explained in a detailed way. One can go up the 98 meter-high bell-tower to enjoy a panoramic view of the city and its lagoon.
The maximum rise of the Venetian culture on the eve Venice's immersion in the of dusk, with the beginning of a century of transoceanic navigation, will be illustrated while crossing the Canal Grande in a 1-euro gondola, and stepping into the Dorsoduro sestier where to get stunned by the grandiose baroque structures, both public(Salute Cathedral, Customs, Salt warehouse, San Giorgio Maggiore) and private(PalazzoVenier, Palazzo Dario). Surprisingly, one runs against the signs of an abrupt unexpected decline -the unfinished buildings. From Dorsoduro one gets a view of Giudecca Island – the clou place of 19th and 20th century Venice, the place of its “industrial revolution”, where most of its factories and workers' quarters are concentrated. Nowadays it's the cebrity-home-owners' favourite angle of Venice.
At the end of the tour the participants will get acquainted with the most significant places of Venice, as an overall picture of the Venetian society will be drawn by the guide in a consequent manner, without skipping, and 'white spots'.