The Veneto Region of Italy From Verona to Venice: the hidden beauties of Veneto
Trip Date: May 2 - 9, 2024
Price:
$15,850, Private Accommodations
Only 2 Spaces Left
This trip can also be customized as a private experience for families, solo travelers, couples, or groups of friends, over dates of your choosing. Contact Valise to enquire about creating a Private Journey during dates of your choosing.
An exceptional journey combining Architecture, Art, Interior Design, Gardens, Food and Wine
The Experience
Join me for an Insider's trip to discover the Veneto region - Venice, Verona and Lake Garda - as you have never experienced it before. For this trip, I am partnering with my colleague and close personal friend, Alessandro Cavazza de Altamer of Beyond The Gates.
Alessandro is our access to the most beautiful places in this region: palaces, villas, castles, and gardens which are often inaccessible to the public and set apart from traditional tourist destinations. Alessandro and I will accompany you on this private, guided journey that will be capped at a maximum of 8 guests.
Many of the homes we will tour were designed by Andrea Palladio, the Italian Renaissance architect considered to be one of the most influential individuals in the history of architecture.
His real name was Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, and he became renowned for his designs of villas, palaces, basilicas and monuments, especially in the Veneto region.
The trip is one-of-a-kind, with opportunities for experiences that are not available to the general public, including a stay in Alessandro’s family's private villa in Verona and a personal visit to Alessandros’ cousin’s spectacular island property in Lake Garda, Villa Cavazza. We will visit Palladian villas, notable gardens, ancient vineyards and historical monuments. We will cruise the lagoons of Venice, and end with a private evening visit to the San Marco Basilica. A very special journey!
Day 1
Arrival to Venice Airport (VCE)
Morning / Afternoon
Transfer from Venice Airport to your private villa in the countryside of Verona: a serene setting and a comfortable villa filled with Italian art and antiques.
Afternoon free to relax in the villa
Evening
Private dinner in the villa
Overnight stay in the villa
Day 2
Mantua: The City of Isabella d’Este
Morning
Breakfast at the Villa
Transfer to Mantua
Guided visit of Palazzo Te, built and decorated between 1525 and 1535, and the masterpiece of Giulio Romano (Rome 1499 - Mantua 1546), who conceived it as a place for the idleness of the prince, Federico II Gonzaga, and sumptuous receptions of the most distinguished guests.
Lunch on your own in Mantua
Afternoon
Walking tour of the city center
Guided visit of the Palazzo Ducale, built between the 14th and the 17th century mainly by the noble family of Gonzaga as their royal residence in the capital of their Duchy
Guided visit of Isabella d’Este’s studiolo.
Isabella d’Este, often described as “a woman with her own opinion", transformed Mantua into a cultural center by converting the ducal apartments into a museum. She invited writers, artists, and poets to her home to exchange ideas and corresponded frequently with a variety of prominent figures, letters that now provide us with a rare woman's point of view on Renaissance Italy. Her studiolo was designed to showcase her collections of rare and unusual objects including carved gemstones and cameos, along with important paintings and exquisite works of art such as bronzes and marble statuary attributed to Michangelo.
Transfer back to the villa
Evening
Dinner on your own in Verona or at the villa
Overnight stay in the villa
Day 3
Vicenza: Palladio's Villas and Tiepolo's Frescos
Morning
Breakfast at the Villa
Transfer to Vicenza
Guided visit to Villa Almerico Capra, also known as 'La Rotonda'. One of the most important among the Palladian villas in Vicenza and in the world, Palladio Villa ‘La Rotonda’ is an icon of world architecture and a universal masterpiece which is still privately owned today.
Guided visit to Villa Valmarana ai Nani, to see Tiepolo’s frescoes.
Villa Valmarana is still inhabited by the noble Valmarana family and is one of the most beautiful places to visit among the Italian Veneto Villas.
The Villa is considered one of the finest examples of 18th century painting and an admirable testimony to two geniuses such as Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo, who were called upon to fresco it in 1757 by the then owner, Giustino Valmarana.
Lunch at the villa
Afternoon
Visit to Villa Barbarigo and the Monumental Garden of Valsanzibio in the Padua countryside.
Meet the owner who will lead you on a private, guided visit of the villa and of the garden, which was built between 1665 and 1696 by one of the wealthiest and most important families in Venice at the time, the Barbarigo family. The garden contains important sculptures and an approximately 400 year old Boxwood Labyrinth— likely to be the oldest one of its kind in the world— as well as trees between 300 and 900 years old and centuries-old specimens from four continents (Asia, America, Africa and Europe).
Evening
Dinner on your own in Verona or at the villa
Overnight stay in the villa
Day 4
Discovering Verona, its greatest wine and its hidden beauties
Morning
Transfer to an historic winery where Amarone is the focus.
Amarone della Valpolicella is an intensely flavored red wine made from dried (passito) grapes. It is one of the Veneto region's most prestigious red wines.
Enjoy a guided visit of an historic vineyard and an Amarone wine tasting
Lunch ion your own Verona
Afternoon
Guided visit of a privately owned garden in Verona
Walking City tour of Verona including time for shopping!
Evening
Dinner ion your own in Verona or at the villa Overnight stay in the villa
Day 5
Cruise Lake Garda
Morning
Transfer to Lake Garda
Guided visit to Isola del Garda and Villa Cavazza, an island and Venetian neo-Gothic Villa owned by Lady Charlotte Cavazza, Alessandro's cousin, who lives on the island with her family.
Lunch in a delicious restaurant on the shores of the lake
Afternoon
Slow cruise by vintage boat on Lake Garda to take in the dramatic beauty of the surroundings which are framed by the peaks of the snow capped Dolomites
Return to the villa
Dinner on your own in Verona or near the villa Overnight stay in the villa
Day 6
Palladio’s masterpiece and Venice
Morning
Villa check-out and transfer to the Venice mainland Guided visit to Villa Malcontenta, Palladio’s classical masterpiece.
One legend claims that the villa's nickname, Malcontenta, originates from the lady of the Foscari household, who was confined within its walls in solitude to serve a sentence for her dissolute conduct. It is said that she lived here for thirty years and was never seen coming out of the house or looking out of the windows.
Lunch on your own in Venice
Afternoon
Guided visit to Palazzo Grimani, an iconic and exceptional Roman-inspired building in the heart of Venice. Redesigned in the mid-16th century to showcase the Greco-Roman sculpture collection of Giovanni Grimani, this unique palace gives a fascinating insight into the luxury, wealth and creativity then to be found in the city
Wandering and shopping in Venice
Evening
Private and elegant dinner in a noble palace facing the Grand Canal
Overnight stay in a luxury boutique hotel
Day 7
A private cruise in the Venice lagoon and a very special night!
Morning
Cruise the lagoon in a beautifully restored historic boat
Private lunch onboard the boat
Afternoon
Visit the tiny island of Torcello to see the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, with its Venetian-Byzantine mosaics and views of nearby Burano from the bell tower
Late afternoon free for wandering and shopping in Venice
Evening
Farewell dinner in a local, notable restaurant
Private evening visit of the San Marco Basilica
Overnight stay in a luxury boutique hotel
Day 8
Morning
Hotel check-out and transfer to the Venice Airport
Itinerary is subject to change
You will arrive to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) on Day 1 and depart VCE on Day 8
Please contact Valise before booking these flights.
Detailed information will be sent to you after you register, including a packing list, tipping guidelines/cash needs, and some suggestions to help you prepare for the trip.
A non-refundable 30% deposit, per person, is required to confirm a reservation. The full balance is due 6 (six) weeks prior to the start date of the retreat, this amount is non-refundable upon payment. Cancellations less than six weeks prior to arrival are non-refundable.
This trip is limited to 8 guests
Trip Inclusions
Private accommodations or Shared Accommodations
All ground transportation
Daily Meals as specified in itinerary
All Activities as specified in itinerary
Trip Exclusions:
International flights
Alcoholic beverages other than those explicitly stated
Gratuities
Personal expenses such as laundry services
Travel insurance is strongly recommended
For more information, please contact Valise Travel Concierge