Summer flair in Venice: Secret gardens, candlelight dinners, food tastings

Enjoy the story of a dreamy one-week summer retreat we held with 12 guests in a secret garden in Venice! Cooking with Nonna Lina, discovering our Castello neighborhood, foraging and eating out in the Lagoon, moonlight gardening, a mini Venet language class, and much more!

A virtual summer adventure in Venice

Set in a secret garden in Venice, this self-paced online experience with e-books (watch, listen, and read whenever you have time, return as often as you like) will show you the city during summer, the undestimated season: When the city is really lush and cool, and hidden gardens take center stage. "Summer in Venice" tells the story of a real culinary and garden retreat, so you can benefit from lots of ideas for your next stay in Venice, and in the meantime, learn to prepare Levantine-Venetian dishes at home!

Each day began with a luxurious breakfast on the San Zaccaria terrace gardens (you'll receive the recipes!), followed by a 2-3 hour themed walk. One day, we visited the secret churchyard of Sant'Antonin, exceptionally open during the Biennale. Next, we took in the view of Campo della Bragora from a dreamy loggia, diving into its surprising history. 

We tasted the best breakfast cakes and coffee, and visited the most beautiful lemon garden in Venice! Nothing overwhelming because of the heat, it was all about discovering the neighborhood in-depth. And then at noon, guests were invited to cook with Nonna Lina in the garden.

"Summer in Venice" will virtually re-live with you the summery flair of this retreat: Learn about rare botanical treasures, history secrets, and see two former spice gardens. 

And for the first time ever, there's a mini Venet class, the language still spoken in Venice, which our guests enjoyed in particular!

Estate a Venezia - Summer in Venice

One-week virtual retreat, completely self-paced. Virtual walks, magazine, videos, mini audio Venet class, garden visits, dinner and lunch recipes, and much more for you to discover the flair of a Venetian summer!

  • €28,00

    Special price until 20 August 2021. Regular price is EUR 32.

    Buy now

Seven days of summer flair in Venice

Day One - Saturday

Day One began with a relaxing breakfast on the terrace! Afterwards, our guests visted the the church of San Zaccaria next door, and also discovered the embroidered lace altar cloths made by Nonna Lina!  We walked on to Campo della Bragora, admired the lush silk tree and enjoyed coffee and torta greca at Pasticceria alla Bragora. A colorful orientation walk and first impression!



Day Two - Sunday

In our neighborhood, there's plenty of lush green – after all, Castello has the largest number of private gardens in Venice. We explored the Levantine part of Castello called le Gemelle – islands on both sides of Rio dei Greci, and part of the Ombriola archipelago. Yes, we were also exploring the ancient map of our neighborhood before visiting a special lemon garden.



Day Three - Monday

A culinary and botanical day starting with breakfast on a hidden campo filled with sunlight, and a refreshing drink made from Lagoon fruit on Il Loggione - a rooftop terrace with a special view! Guests enjoyed a cooking lesson held by Nonna Lina, who also took them into her private green oasis, filled with flowers, fruit trees, vegetables, and Lagoon herbs!

Day Four - Tuesday

Guests visited the green courtyards of San Giorgio dei Greci and Sant'Antonin (their favorite!). And a bit later, they discovered the secrets of making fish, Venetian style: Nonna Lina gave away her secrets about the fishing in the Lagoon and offered a fish BBQ with seafood and pesse de San Pie(t)ro (Saint Peter‘s Fish) - you'll receive the story and the recipes! 



Day Five - Wednesday

Another culinary secret was unveiled today, while guests tasted the best-known Venetian sweet bread - still loved and known all over the world, you'll discover the recipe. Our guests enjoyed a sweet and savoury Levantine breakfast served in a pastry store specializing in historical pastry recipes.



Day Six - Thursday

In the morning, we visited two spice gardens and enjoyed breakfast in one of them, in a cool courtyard! Afterwards, we left for the island Mazzorbo to witness the harvest of Lagoon herbs, blossoms, and vegetables, and enjoyed an outdoor cooking lesson and special lunch in a vineyard resort! 



Day Seven - Friday

We asked our guests which sort of dinner they‘d prefer – on the campo in the neighborhood, surrounded by circles of brilliant-white candles and white oleander, or an elegant dinner in a secret citrus garden in the neighborhood. Everyone chose the first ac .. so for them, it was to become a special journey back in time ..

You'll also receive 3 bonuses!

Colorful 70-PAGE E-BOOK "APERITIVI VENEZIANI" with bar and restaurant tips, summer drinks, and a full program for a day discovering Venetian summer aperitifs + 7 VENET AUDIO LANGUAGE LESSONS plus introduction to the language + ONLINE GUIDE TO EL REDENTOR, the best-loved Venetian summer feast, with menu and historical background.

See the detailed program

Start the summer online experience at your leisure: Videos, audio language lessons, retreat magazine (8 editions), recipes, history snippets, garden views, reading list, and much more!

    1. What's inside - A SUMMER WEEK IN VENICE

    2. How the online language class works

    3. The program of your summer week in Venice

    4. Reading list for your week in Venice

    5. Arriving in Venice

    6. The stage: White oleander, fragrant jasmine, and mimosa albizia

    7. Welcome Magazine

    1. A morning on La Terrazza

    2. Morning walk in Castello

    3. Retreat Magazine - Day One

    4. Venet - audio language lesson 1

    1. A visit to Sant'Antonin, exceptionally open

    2. Morning walk with aperitivo in Giardino Vivaldi

    3. Retreat Magazine - Day 2

    4. Venet - audio language lesson 2

    1. Santa Maria Formosa and aperitivo with a view from the rooftops

    2. Cooking lesson with Lina

    3. Retreat Magazine - Day 3

    4. Venet - audio language lesson 3

    1. Venezia greca - Visiting the Greek part of Venice

    2. La grigliata d'estate - Nonna Lina's fish BBQ on the terrace

    3. Retreat Magazine - Day 4

    4. Venet audio language lesson 4

    1. Eating a Levantine breakfast in Venice

    2. Cooking with Lina: All about Venetian sweet breads

    3. Retreat Magazine - Day 5

    4. Venet audio language class 5

About this course

  • €28,00
  • 41 lessons
  • 0 hours of video content

How you will benefit

A virtual summer week packed with lots of new insights, videos, audio lessons, and a colorful magazine! Imagine you could ..

  • Cook an easy Venetian menu with Lina's recipes, step by step, and delicious family recipes for cakes and summer desserts! You'll also see the lush markets in summer!

  • Explore the oldest neighborhood of Venice, and finally see private gardens, where spices were growing, and lush citrus fruit, never mentioned in guide books. You'll receive lots of ideas for your next visit!

  • Learn the basics of the Venetian language! Yes, we've included seven audio language lessons, for you to listen to and learn a little bit of Venexián (Venet)!

  • Discover white oleander gardens, fragrant silk tree blossoms, and the lush summer vegetables, berries and fruit in the oldest garden in Venice. You'll see Nonna Lina's garden and discover fragrant cake recipes and summer flower drinks!

Estate a Venezia - Summer in Venice

One-week virtual retreat, completely self-paced. Virtual walks, magazine, videos, mini Venet class with audio support, garden visits, dinner and lunch recipes, and much more for you to discover Venetian summer flair!

  • €28,00

    Special price until 20 August 2021. Regular price is EUR 32.

    Buy now