VENICE & THE VENETO … IN DEPTH WITH CARLA CASSANO

Three ways to explore the city and its surrounding region.

MARITIME VENICE: LIFE IN VENICE & THE VENETO

Boating enthusiast Carla takes you to a squero, a boatyard where gondolas are made by hand. You’ll not only learn what makes them unique, you’ll meet a gondolier with an American mother who tells a romantic story of how his parents met. Then you cross the canal in a gondola that Venetians use every day and have lunch in a trattoria popular with the locals. Next you meet Mauro, captain of Eolo, who takes you to the private island of Certosa to see his latest acquisition, a working boat-now cruise ship called Il Nuovo Tronfo. He will also recount the history of this island and some of his sailing adventures on the Adriatic. The day ends with dinner with the Captain.

A DAY IN VENICE…

Here’s Carla’s description of this day’s activities:

We walk to the Rialto and meet Rafaela, a leather crafter, who shows us how she creates unique items from hides. We visit the fish market, get tips on how to choose the freshest, watch people bargain, and see how this market still thrives after hundreds of years. We visit a palazzo where a wonderful woman from Vicenza has created a "hotel" where you are like her personal houseguests! She will show us the painstaking restoration that went into the palace; then we’ll enjoy a drink and light lunch in her beautiful garden.

…A NIGHT ON THE LAGOON

ROMANTIC DINNER ABOARD A HISTORIC “BRAGGOZZO”

(Note: This is a special add-on. Dinner on the Eolo normally costs 300 euros per person, but if it’s part of your InTouch program with host Carla Cassano, the price is 230 euros per person.)

The Eolo is one of the few remaining bragozzo boats, a typical flat-bottomed Venetian fishing boat, dating from 1946 and lovingly refitted in 1999 by Mauro Stoppa.

Board the Eolo around 6PM for an unforgettable evening: Mauro will point out some of the islands of the lagoon while we sip wonderful wines, and sail past Murano, past Burano, past Torcello... We drop anchor and Mauro starts cooking his magic: a dinner we’ll never forget! We get back at midnight, and the twinkling lights of the Grand Canal are like the end of a magic spell.

ARTISANS OF THE VENETO

From Venice, it’s a one-hour train ride to Bassano del Grappa, where Carla lives, and spend the day meeting dedicated artisans: a woman who restores paintings; a bottega where they still work pottery and do glazing themselves; a weaver, a lovely women who works with the mentally challenged making beautiful wall hangings and curtains on looms hundreds of years old...try your hand at weaving on the loom. Lunch is in the cellar of an enoteca where we taste some really wonderful local wines accompanied by a delicious lunch. Then we take a walk along the Brenta river and get in a raft with a naturalist who tells us how Bassano grew along the banks of this river. At the end of our river ride, we go up to the historic Ponte Vecchio, where we visit the secret rooms of a grappa maker under the bridge. (An additional excursion is possible for those hearty enough we take a 30-minute walk along the river to the atelier of a Brazilian painter who has lived in Bassano for almost 20 years; he will show us his work and we can have a drink with him in his garden.) For dinner, we go to a restaurant that was once commandeered by Napoleon and frequented by the Queen Mother and Mitterand; the cook got his training at one of the rare restaurants in Italy with 3 Michelin stars. Return to Venice in a private car with driver.

FOOD, WINE & COOKING EXCURSION

We take a private car to Follina, where we visit the Abbey, then have a coffee at the Relais & Chateaux hotel across the street and meet the friendly owner. Then we drive to Cison where we take part in a cooking class by Antonella. She's married to an Englishman-- you will make a meal together in her dream kitchen, and eat what you have created for lunch. After lunch we will visit a local winery. Next, a cable car ride up to Castelbrando, dating back some 2000 years, on the mountaintop. We’ll have an aperitivo at a restaurant known for its wine cellar (you'll never guess where they keep the Sauternes!) followed by a memorable dinner.