Get ready to explore Venice like never before! Professor, author, and historian, Thomas Madden, PhD will be with us providing daily lectures about the history of this magnificent city. Make sure you do your pre-tour homework and read his book, Venice: A New History. Pack your bags - you're headed to the City of Canals!

Check in to the Palazzetto Pisani upon arrival and settle in! Take some time to soak in the sights and get acclimated to your new time zone before our first lecture with Thomas Madden PhD. 

Tonight's lecture will be held at 7:30PM and will cover the Birth of Venice (Ch. 1 & 2).  

After learning all about the origins of the city of Venice in the previous evening's lecture, today we will take off to the islands of Burano and Torcello to see where it all began. We will visit the Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello. Lunch will be included and is our welcome meal! 

Today's lecture will take place at 5:30PM and will cover the Merchant Republic to Maritime Empire (Ch. 4). 

At 9PM,  we will have a private guided night visit of the Basilica of San Marco. 

Today will involve more island adventures. First, we will depart for Murano where we will visit an authentic and fully functioning glass furnace and have free time for lunch. After, we will continue our journey to the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo. "Lazzaretto Nuovo (New Quarantine) was built later, in 1468, as a kind of way station for incoming ships and cargo, where crews and goods were sequestered and searched for signs of sickness." 

Our lecture today will be at 8PM covering the Fourth Crusade to the Black Death (and Marco Polo - Ch. 6, 7, & 9).  

Explore San Marco Square and the Doge's Palace. 

Our lecture today will be at 4:30PM and will cover Venice in the Age of the Renaissance (Ch. 14).  

We will be visiting many of the iconic sites of the city such as the one pictured above, the Rialto Bridge and surrounding area. 

The lecture this afternoon will be held at 4:30PM and will cover Masks, Opera, and Love (Ch. 16).  

Optional: Attend an evening concert performance at Interpreti Veneziani (arrival time 8:30PM, start time 9PM) 

Today, we will be visiting the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church as well as the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. 

Today's lecture will be held at 4:30PM and will be on War, Water, and Tourists (Ch. 19).

On our last and final day, we will be visiting the Jewish Ghetto and Cannaregio district (sestiere) of Venice. To conclude our evening and our beautiful time together, we will have our farewell dinner and of course, no trip to Venice would seem complete without a Gondola Ride. 

Although you will surely be sad to go, you will be even more glad you came! Memories of epic adventures in spectacular places with awesome people are true gifts of life!

Optional: Book an additional night to extend your stay so you can sleep in after your farewell dinner and spend a day exploring on your own!