VENICE MASTER ARTISANS: GONDOLAS & MASKS
VENICE MASTER ARTISANS: GONDOLAS & MASKS
Due to its unique urban setting, Venice is an open-air stage.
Its hidden courtyards, original Palazzi, and picturesque squares are perfect places for performances.
At Carnival, people disguise themselves and stroll through narrow streets, sip a hot chocolate in fancy cafés, join private parties to revive the atmosphere of the legendary 18th-century Mardi Gras, celebrated in the whole world.
One of the most desirable treats is a gondola tour on the Grand Canal while listening to old Venetian melodies and the best Operas Arias.
This tour deals with masks and gondolas, from traditional ones to the latest materials used by talented artisans.
Meet your professional guide at the hotel, get on a private taxi and enjoy a pleasant ride through winding canals.
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It won’t take long to reach Dorsoduro district and get off at Roberto Tramontin yard, one of the four surviving boatyards in town.
It is popularly known as Squero, a term deriving from technical tools used daily by apprentices.
Gondolas are still manufactured on the site according to rules handed over from generation to generation.
Expert boat makers will tell us about Tramontin family and the founder Domenico, who started the business in 1884, a few decades after the Unification of Italy.
Raw materials, measures, proportions, shape, and color of the gondola are based on a set of rules agreed by the Guild of Gondola makers.
Its unique asymmetrical design fits the gondolier demand and Venice peculiar features: a city with 150 canals, low bridges, shallow saltwater, and daily tides.
We suggest you to interact with the master artisan and get acquainted with the curiosities and the secrets of this fascinating job.
Then we proceed on foot to San Polo district to visit an old mask workshop.
During a demo led by a skilled craftsman, you will learn about Carnival, “Commedia dell’Arte” played in local theatre, the history of masks, their use, and why they differ from one another.
Discover how to make and decorate paper-maché masks with bright colors, or by applying gorgeous gold foil ornaments.
Have fun and book right now “Venice.Masks and velvets tour“.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Tramontin gondola-making dockyard
- Tragicomica mask-makers
- Private watertaxi ride in the heart of venice
MORE ABOUT
THIS TOUR
Throughout the centuries Venice has provided superior quality handmade products exported in the entire world for powerful social classes, such as the clergy, aristocracy, and military hierarchies.
Today the simple word “Venice” still conjures up an atmosphere of sensual luxury, sophisticated elegance, and a myriad of joyful tactile and visual sensations.
Silk fabrics, glass, paper, leather, wood, and marble are the most frequently used materials.
Your guide will lead you to some outstanding workshops where the tradition of handmade craftsmanship is authentic and alive.
Depending on the availability of the ateliers, we propose the following itineraries, each of them lasting three hours.
DRESS CODE AND ADVICE
- No dress code required
COST
- This tour lasts three hours and costs 370 euros up to six people (not per person), only private parties.
- Due to the availability of the workshops, this itinerary does not operate on Saturdays and Sundays
- Fees: for both workshops min. 280 euros up to six people (not per person).
CONTACT US
WALKS INSIDE ITALY
ART CITY WALKS aff. Network Giv
San Polo 1541 30125 VENICE, ITALY
C.F. e P. Iva 04331170276
Prot. 2016/16140 del 25-2-2016
Polizza Europ Assistance 8957877
