Celebrating Venice's food culture and gardens
.. and a peek into generations-old family recipes: While Venetian history is well-documented, the culinary heritage of the Republic of Venice is very little known. So there's a lot to discover, for both first-time visitors and those of you who know Venice well!
For 2021 and the years to come, we've prepared a new guide for you: Enter the quiz below and discover your favorite travel style, and lots of tips for your next stay!
Laguna in Cucina
A Food Memoir of Venice and the Lagoon
Elizabeth Salthouse writes about us on L'Italo-Americano
55,000 Venetians live in the historic center. Their numbers are down from 150,000 two centuries ago but this core of residents holds a deep love for their home: Iris and her grandmother are passionate to show people that there's much, much more to Venice than just St Mark's, beautiful though it is. So they write about the hidden, private side of Venice. From courtyard gardens to secet orchards, medicinal botany to vegetable patches. Most lie behind anonymus, vertiginous, red brick walls, totally unknown to passers-by or their guidebooks, and astonishingly gardens cover almost half the surface area of the city.
Often the only clue you'll have to being near a secret sanctuary is a waft of heavy vanilla, Jasmine or lemon balmas you pass by. And most of the time you're probably no more than just a few feet away from an old vineyard, an ageing convent garden or, as Iris puts it, the second Venice, known only to residents. If you're lucky she'll take you there through her writing or in person. And if we're lucky Venice, her history and her gardens will survive in the safe hands of Venetians like Iris and her grandmother Lina.
Are these online experiences for me?
YES, if one or more of these points sound interesting to you.
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You would like to travel virtually to the Lagoon, discover unknown islands (there are more than 2000, amongst them 78 larger ones, almost never mentioned in guide books). And, you want to visit Venice virtually and access the online experiences any time, when YOU have time, via any of your devices (computer, laptop, mobile phone).
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You want to know the complete story of Venice, her secret history, those parts NOT told in books, from the Venetian perspective.
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You want to collect resources to plan your next culinary trip to Venice and into the Lagoon. And you want to taste delicous, organic, home-made Venetian food on site, while supporting Venetian family businesses.
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You want to learn to cook Venetian dishes at home! Easy natural dishes, for everyday life. And easy, seasonal and sophisticated menus for family feasts. In short - you miss Venetian food and would like to learn to cook it yourself, but haven't figured out its secrets yet.
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You want to dive into a lush Venetian experience, and have the opportunity to ask questions to our Venetian team in a private group (NOT on Facebook but hosted here on the Platform). Every week, you receive prompts, news, recipes from Venice, and can ask any question about Venice and food you have.