Venice Walking Tour: With Padua and Palladian Villas

Padua, one of the richest cities of the Roman Empire and seat of one of the world’s most ancient universities (founded in 1222) enjoyed a period of artistic excellence, led by Giotto, Donatello and Mantegna, in the 14C and 15C. The result is a city endowed with an immense heritage of art and architecture which we spend two days exploring before embarking on a day’s journey by boat along the Brenta Canal. We alight to visit three of the splendid 16C Palladian style villas built in the countryside by the wealthy Venetian nobility and eventually sail into the lagoon of Venice to disembark by the Piazza San Marco.

Assuming a previous acquaintance with Venice, the next five days focus on bringing fresh insights into this most famous of cities, transformed each day by tides and wind as well as constantly changing light. On foot, we seek out unusual churches in the quieter parishes and access some exceptional private collections through special appointments. We travel by boat to several less visited islands, attend a chamber music concert in an historic venue and, as a particular highlight, see a performance of Verdi’s opera ‘La Traviata’ in La Fenice, Venice’s celebrated opera house, now fully restored to its 18C splendour.

Late April is an excellent time for our Venice walking tour - normally sunny, cool and uncrowded.

HIGHLIGHTS of our Venice walking tour include:

Exploring the historic city of Padova (Padua), with Giotto’s frescoes in the Cappella degli Scrovegni
Attending a performance of Verdi’s opera 'La Traviata' in La Fenice, Venice’s celebrated 18C opera house
A journey by boat along the Brenta Canal, with guided visits to 3 of the Palladian-style 16C Villas
An 'Insider’s' tour of Venice, with access to private collections by special appointment and visits to islands away from the usual circuit
Enjoying the gourmet cuisine and wines of the Veneto with memorable meals in specially selected restaurants
Two historic hotels – a 4 star hotel in the heart of mediaeval Padua and a converted 17C palazzo (a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World) in Venice

Guests’ comments on this trip:

‘I found the whole experience wonderful; art, music, food and wine all contributed to a most memorable week.’

'A very interesting and imaginative itinerary. La Fenice was enchanting, it was like sitting in a velvet jewel box. Coming into the lagoon from the Brenta canal was a delightful way to approach Venice & the villas themselves were fascinating.'

‘Brilliant - truly the best holiday ever. It was like being shown round by a knowledgeable and long-standing friend.’

DAY 1
D included
After meeting by midday at Marco Polo airport, we have a short road transfer to Padua. An introductory walk takes us through the lovely oval piazza of Prato della Valle, with its statues and pools, laid out in 1775, and into the Oratory of St. George to admire the vivid 14C frescoes of the lives of St. George, St. Catherine and St. Lucy. We visit the venerated pilgrimage site of the Basilica of St Anthony, before settling into our very comfortable and welcoming 4-star historic hotel in the heart of mediaeval Padua. Before dinner, we enjoy an aperitivo in the neo-classical Caffè Pedrocchi (1831), haunt of intellectuals and politicians and a symbol of Padua, once famous because its doors never closed.

DAY 2
B, L, D included
Today is devoted to exploring Padua, beginning with an appointment to visit Giotto’s frescoes in the Cappella degli Scrovegni – commissioned in 1303, they represent a high point in the development of European art. We next visit the great frescoed hall of Palazzo della Ragione, built in 1218, and the fruit and vegetable markets on either side of it which have been held daily for the last 8 centuries, prior to a tour of Palazzo del Bò, the oldest part of Padua university. We see the wooden cattedra where Galileo Galilei once taught and the extraordinary anatomy theatre (1594), the first of its kind, before lunch in a jolly osteria serving authentic Padova cuisine. Following a visit to the 12C Baptistery of the Duomo, the walls of which were entirely frescoed by Giusto De Menabuoi in 1374-76, the remainder of the afternoon is spent seeing the Musei Civici degli Eremitani complex (including the magnificent Pinacoteca and a fine archaeological collection) at an individual pace. Dinner this evening is in an elegant enoteca in a cobbled lane beside our hotel.

DAY 3
B, L, D included
We have an early start to board the Burchiello, a comfortable modern boat with full facilities, and spend most of the day on board, enjoying the peaceful country scenery and views of the 70 or so Palladian-inspired villas on either side of the canal. Our first visit is to the magnificent Villa Pisani, built for the family of Doge Alvise Pisani in 1720, once visited by Napoleon and the setting of the historic meeting between Hitler and Mussolini in 1934, seeing its frescoes (those in the ballroom are by G.B. Tiepolo), and the park, with its pools, orangeries, stables and ice-house. After passing through a series of locks and swing-bridges we visit the delightfully decorated Villa Widmann, commissioned in the early 18C by the Serimann family, Venetian nobles of Persian origin, then pause for a fish lunch in a restaurant overlooking the water. We continue our cruise to the splendid Villa Foscari, also known as La Malcontenta, designed by Andrea Palladio and now restored and still partly occupied by members of the Foscari family. Finally, we enter the lagoon and can soon discern the spires and domes of Venice, where we disembark by Piazza San Marco and take a water taxi to our elegant 4 star historic hotel (a converted 17C palazzo, furnished with antiques, and a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World). At dinner we sample such local seasonal dishes as grilled radicchio di Treviso and pheasant with polenta.

DAY 4
B, L, D included
We explore the Dorsoduro area, beginning with a private visit to the art collection of the Patriarch’s Seminary, which contains artworks retrieved from the churches and religious institutions suppressed - or destroyed - by Napoleon. From here, we meander along the Zattere making for the tiny, remote church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli, founded in the 7C and tucked away behind the port of Venice. Backtracking, we visit Sant’Angelo Raffaele, where the theme of Tobias and the Angel is depicted above the main door and on the organ doors, and nearby San Sebastiano, decorated by the Venetian master Paolo Veronese, and where he is buried. After lunch in a bustling osteria, we stroll back to San Pantalon to admire one of the world’s largest paintings - on the ceiling - by Fumiani, past the university and through Campo Santa Margherita, one of Venice’s prettiest squares. Avaporetto delivers us to the seaward end of the Salute where the New Contemporary Art Centre, housing Francois Pinault’s collection, has recently opened in the imaginatively restored Customs House. After dinner, we attend a concert in one of Venice’s delightful historic venues.

DAY 5
B, L, D included
A short stroll takes us through to the busy Grand Canal, past palazzi once occupied by Venetian noblemen and writers, composers and diplomats of many different nationalities, to the Rialto, Venice’s traditional centre of commerce. Our first port of call is the animated and colourful fish, fruit and vegetable markets, where the cries of traders and gulls fill the air. We cross the canal by ferry gondola and head towards the quiet calli and canals of Cannaregio, where we pause to visit Tintoretto’s grave in the Gothic church of Madonna dell’Orto. After lunch by the Canale di Cannaregio, we visit the delightful Renaissance church of San Giobbe. An exploration of the Ghetto follows (from the Venetian dialect geto, meaning a 16C iron-foundry), including a tour of three of the historic synagogues. After time to relax in our very comfortable hotel (perhaps indulging in the spa) we attend a performance of Verdi’s opera ‘La Traviata’ in the jewel-box like Teatro La Fenice.

DAY 6
B, L, D included
We cross the Canale della Giudecca to walk the entire length of the island of the Giudecca (just under a mile), enjoying magnificent views back across the water to Venice. Tiny Sant’Eufemia is one of Venice’s oldest churches, founded in 865, open by arrangement. We then visit two of the most celebrated churches designed by Andrea Palladio: the great domed Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore, commissioned by the Senate of Venice in thanksgiving for deliverance from the plague which devastated the city in 1575 and, on its own island, San Giorgio Maggiore. Here, we have a special tour of the adjoining Benedictine monastery, with its cloisters and library by Longhena and a splendid 16C refectory designed by Palladio, plus see the applied arts collections of the 16C Palazzo Cini. After a light lunch in a small local trattoria we catch a small boat to the Armenian monastery on the island of San Lazzaro, a beautifully green and tranquil oasis in the lagoon where Lord Byron studied the Armenian language. At dinner we again have the opportunity to appreciate the uncomplicated yet distinctive Venetian cuisine, based largely on fish - a chance, perhaps, to sample local ways of preparing baccalà, accompanied by fine DOC wines of the Veneto.

DAY 7
B, L, D included
We devote a day to exploring some of the most interesting islands of the lagoon, first taking a boat to the island of Torcello, purported to be the original site of the founding of the city of Venice in 452 AD, where the 7C cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta contains an extraordinary Veneto-Byzantine mosaic of the Last Judgement. After a lunch of risotto di pesce on the nearby colourful island of Burano, renowned for its lace-making and gaily painted houses, we continue by boat to the atmospheric cemetery island of San Michele. We see Codussi’s San Michele in Isola, the first Renaissance church in Venice, and walk among cypress trees to find the gravestones of Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Diaghilev and Ezra Pound, then return by boat in time to take the opportunity for some specialist shopping – Venetian handmade paper products, glass, Carnival masks and boat pennants.

DAY 8
B included
There is time to pursue individual interests today - perhaps seeing the collections of the Accademia or the Guggenheim, or revisiting the Basilica of San Marco - before we depart for a final boat ride across the lagoon to the airport.

Per person sharing: TBC
TBC deposit per person
TBC double for single supplement

Please note that the double room for single use supplement is imposed by the hotels and not by Kudu Travel. Single rooms at a lower cost may be available, please enquire. If you are willing to share but no other suitable guest books on the trip, we regret that the supplement will be payable.

Price includes

All accommodation for Days 1 through 8, on a twin shared basis
All meals (with wine at lunches and dinners) as included in the daily notation
All land and water transportation as described except during free periods
Guided tours of the Palladian style villas on the Brenta canal trip
All entrance and sightseeing fees except during free periods
One ticket for a performance in La Fenice and one concert ticket as described in the itinerary
Gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff (appreciation for tour leaders is entirely at your discretion)

Price does not include

International transportation to and from Venice
Trip cancellation, medical or other insurance
Immunisations, prescriptions or other medical requirements
Passport, visa and health documentation
Personal expenses (laundry, alcohol besides wine with group lunches and dinners, free time activities, etc.)
Meals noted as excepted in the daily notation
Transport and transfer of excess baggage

VALUE FOR MONEY - SO MUCH IS INCLUDED

On Kudu trips you will only need money for postcards, presents to take home, the odd G & T or an irresistible ice cream. Festival and opera tickets, museum and gallery entrances, National Park fees, all meals (with a very few exceptions specified in individual itineraries), wine with lunch and dinner, access to specialist books carried by the guides, gratuities for porters and hotel and restaurant staff, boat rides, train trips, internal flights, wine tastings, 4WDs with drivers, the services of skilled local guides and trackers etc are ALL INCLUDED in the cost of your holiday.

We are confident that, like previous very satisfied guests, you will discover that our tours give you excellent value for money.

2 nights in Padua, in a very comfortable 4-star historic hotel in the mediaeval heart of the city
5 nights in Venice, in a 4 star historic hotel (a converted 17C palazzo, furnished with antiques, and a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World)

Visa and Health Requirements
Visitors from the EU, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand currently require a valid passport, but not a visa, for entry to Italy. If you are a national of any other country, please check visa regulations with your nearest Embassy of Italy.

At present there are no specific and compulsory health requirements for entry to Italy. Residents of countries in the EU can only claim free (emergency) medical treatment in Italy by presenting their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). You may also wish to check the advice given to travellers by the Department of Health and the FCO.

Insurance
It is essential, and a condition of booking, that you protect yourself with a suitable travel insurance policy as soon as you book a trip. Follow this link for a quote for a policy available to UK residents. If you are already insured, or a non-UK resident, please inform us of your policy at the time of booking.

Size of party
This trip will run with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 14 guests.