Venetian arts and crafts

Gondola builders and the true icon of Venice Gondola builders: they are the ones that turned the gondola into the most iconic image of Venice. Is there still anybody that doesn’t connect it to [...]

Fishermen know the Venetian lagoon as no one else. This is the thought that struck my mind after meeting Giuseppe Rossi or, as everyone calls him, “Bepi Suste” from Burano.  Fishermen and the [...]

Ikona Gallery and the International School of Photography by Živa Kraus Ikona Gallery is a small photography gallery in Campo del Ghetto Novo in Venice. In 2019 the gallery will be 40 years old. [...]

Luthiers create musical instruments and it is thanks to them if we can hear that sound which is “a pleasure for the ears, a joy for the soul and a true delight for the eyes”. So Baldassarre [...]

A boat as an icon of Venice A boat is for sure the most iconic thing you can imagine describing the city of Venice. I am sure you are thinking of a black lacquered, slow and silent gondola, [...]

Perfume in Venice has ancient and exotic roots The story of perfume in Venice started around a thousand years ago thanks to a Greek byzantine lady, Maria Argyropoulos. St. Peter Damian described [...]

David Dalla Venezia and his atelier in Venice It was some rainy afternoon in November a few years ago when David Dalla Venezia showed his atelier in Venice to my small group of teen-agers. I [...]

How the Accademia Gallery in Venice was born The year the Accademia gallery in Venice was born was devastating. In 1807 Napoleon’s troops looted the city. Guilds and brotherhoods were closed down [...]

Weaving a story about silk velvet in Venice has been a fascinating experience. So much involved. Technology, inventiveness, courage and challenges. And emotions. Weaving is… rhythm and sounds In [...]

When Venetians loved gold more than Midas did St Mark’s square and its gilded monuments Have a look at the paintings in the Accademia Gallery by Gentile Bellini. You will discover gold leaf [...]