Renovating in Venice

Meet Venice through the eyes of an architect who works and lives here, together with Viaggi di Architettura’s Renovating in Venice tour. You will learn about the various neighbourhoods: Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, Giudecca and San Marco and see a couple of properties on the market and get to understand a little about buying and renovating in Venice. Moreover, you can learn how living on the water can be both a challenge as well as a pleasure. If you are an architecture enthusiast, certain buildings and works you have to experience in person: pictures simply don’t do any justice to them. Several structures can be found across the neighbourhoods and are a must-see. Their historical noteworthiness is definitely worth joining our tour.

Restoring the old

When it comes to renovation in Venice, think of today’s bridges there. They are hardly the same as they were a couple of hundred years ago, upon construction. Most of them have already been reconstructed, or have at least been renovated two or three times since. The majority of them were made of wood and thus, prone to fires which tended to happen in the early days. After some time they could also rot away due to natural decay, therefore a replacement of these bridges was deemed necessary. Many of those bridges have now become stone structures.

Besides the bridges, some buildings have also been completely restored. Think of Fondaco dei Tedeschi, which has been renovated by OMA; with the addition of new entrances as well as wood-panelled escalators. The building is wholly restored into being a department store. Other renovated buildings include the contemporary apartments, historic canal side buildings located in Dorsoduro; the Palazzo Ducale in San Marco, which has expanded completely and the Ca’ d’Oro in Cannaregio, which is among the main attractions when it comes down to Venetian Gothic architecture and this palace has transformed into a museum. These are merely a few examples of the wonderful works we get to see in our Renovating in Venice tour.

 For information, reservations or special requests on routes dedicated to the city of Venice by Viaggi di Architettura.