Politics and Power in Serenissima: From the Doge‘s Palace to Venice’s Arsenale

Once you‘ve made your way around St Mark‘s Square, Rialto Bridge, and Venice‘s other most popular sights, you‘ll probably ask yourself: How did the floating city reach the heights that produced these wonders? How could the economy of a single city rival that of new nation states like France, England, and Spain? On this walking tour, I‘ll answer these questions about Serenissima (or, the Most Serene Republic, as Venice was known) as we trace the historical seats of power that laid the foundation for the Venetian Empire.

Our tour departs from the Doge‘s Palace, the seat of administrative power and home to the doges (chief magistrates) during Serenissima’s pinnacle. As you walk, you‘ll observe the grandeur of the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II and find out why it might be considered somewhat generous, considering the king‘s modest contributions to the kingdom. We‘ll pass the Ponte del Diavolo, the Devil‘s Bridge, and find the Church of San Giorgio dei Greci, St. George of the Greeks, where we‘ll hear one of the secrets to Venice‘s success: the city‘s relationship with the Byzantine Empire. Our tour finishes at the Arsenale, a medieval shipping yard that Dante Alighieri celebrated in his divine comedy. It was able to churn out fleets in a matter of weeks, which would take other world powers months if not years, allowing Venice to dominate the seas in the late Middle Ages and early modern age.

Along the way, you‘ll have a chance to:

• See the Campo San Zaccaria, the church dedicated to Saint Zechariah, father of Saint John the Baptist
• Hear a love story at the Sotoportego dei Preti, a hidden arrangement of bricks in the shape of a heart, also called the Heart of Bricks
• Discover where prisoners were detained at the Doge‘s Palace
• Find out why the Ponte della Paglia is called the Bridge of Sighs
• Learn about the relationship between Venice and the church
• Visit the area where Greeks fleeing from Ottoman Turks during the conquest of Constantinople took refuge

On this Venice tour, you‘ll find out the answers to questions such as:

• What happened when a commando with a homemade tank tried to take Saint Mark‘s Bell Tower?
• Where is the best place in Venice to watch the sunset?
• What happened to the doge that tried to stage a coup?
• Who was the only man to escape from Ponte della Paglia?
• Why are roads not called roads in Venice?
• What should you do if you fall in love with a sea serpent?

Join me on this hour-long walk through the Serene Republic and see the sites most travelers miss. You might even pick up a word or two of Venetian dialect!