Take a look at Renaissance-era Venice, a time of new artistic trends, emerging trade routes, wealth and wonder. Led by a social historian with in-depth knowledge about the Renaissance period, the tour takes in Venice’s hidden sights that indicate how life was centuries ago. If time permits, pay a visit to the Museum of Fabric and Costume History at Palazzo Mocenigo for an insight into the clothing fashions and Renaissance style. As this is a private tour, you have the benefit of personalized attention from your guide.

Travel into the past and learn about daily life in Renaissance Venice. The Renaissance, which lasted roughly from 1350 to 1550, was a prosperous time for the city, and with this private tour you’ll discover a lot about the lives of the Venetians in their golden age.

Meet your guide, a scholar of the city and the time period, in central Venice and begin a stroll through the city and over some of its many bridges. The guide might point out a symbol over a doorway or note the name of a bridge and explain how this reveals a great deal about what life was like for merchants and traders, fishmongers and artists. Learn about the social and political functions of the city’s squares and open spaces. And find out what some of the decorative motifs affixed to the façades of houses and palaces show about the politics and class issues of the time.

The tour also covers the clothing fashions, personal hygiene, etiquette, sex lives and leisure time of Venetians during the time period.

If time allows and you wish to see the Museum of Fabric and Costume History, inside the Palazzo Mocenigo (entry fee not included in tour price), your guide will accompany you, and the tour will end there. Get an up close look at the clothing of the day as the guide explains in further detail the function of fashion during the Venetian Renaissance.