Imagine Venice at the height of its power, being the most influential person there…and having this view in your backyard.
Tag Archives: private venice tours
Murano Walk
A quick peek at what it looks like when you hop off the vaporetto and walk past some of the restaurants and glass shops that line the sidewalk and canal. As much as I love watching travel shows on TV and seeing canned professional shots executed from afar, these brief, more personal shots our clients captured are way more intimate and give you a better feel for what it’s really like.
Cicchetti In Venezia
I generally disagree with Rick Steve’s assessment that aren’t “non-touristy” restaurants in Venice. But one surefire way to get the flavor of Venice is stopping for prosecco and the Venetian version of small plates/tapas known as cicchetti–fresh ingredients and diverse flavors. Some of the more fun things to eat in Venice.
Venezia
Love this shot. Great color juxtapositions are a Venice trademark. Come back to this spot on a rainy day and the perspective and experience will be entirely different and in a very dramatic way. It’s pretty crowded in this area in the summer time, but we’ll typically walk past it several times on various outings during a three or four night tour of Venice which gives you a chance to see it from various perspectives.
Yeah, He’s Been At This A While
It’s no exaggeration: when Doug’s in Venice, Italian people ask *HIM* for directions. He’s got that kind of expertise. Here’s a great shot of him with a group of students in San Marco in 1992; he’s being guiding people through Italy longer than many readers have been alive.
It’s hard to put into words, but I’ll try–if you travel to Italy and don’t avail yourself of the opportunity to have Doug guide you, it’s a shame, as you’re missing out on something special. There’s no amount of browsing TripAdvisor.com and reading Frommers and blogs like this one that can serve as a substitute for his insights. Don’t miss out!
Mama Isa’s Gnocchi con Porcini
This looks insanely delicious. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the way porcinis are integrated into northern Italian cuisine. The savory, rich flavors…yes!
We love sending clients to her classes, as they’re both informative and delicious. Let us know if you’d like us to coordinate one for you.
Venice at Night
It really is magical.
Venice’s Lions
Doug Sassi told me a story he’d learned in his Venice travels about how the Austrians, after getting the Veneto handed over to them via the Treaty of Campo-Formio, deciding to humiliate the once proud Venetians by chiseling off the lions from the town’s wellheads. Scattered around the city in various piazze, the Venetians had sculpted–as a symbol of their prowess, naturally–lots of wellheads with these gargoyle-ish lions. The Austrians figured they’d give the Venetians what-for by knocking them all off.
They only missed a few. And as Doug had been told by his Venetian friends, they were on the more remote islands in the lagoon.
Doug challenged me to find one on a trip back in 2001; I was there for a week and didn’t see any and had largely given up. Needing to make room for more risotto and gelato, I went out for a run in Venice one evening to see the city and get lost on purpose, and spotted this guy out of the corner of my eye.
The kicker: it’s located only steps from Piazza San Marco in a quiet corner of castello. For me it felt like finding another version of the Mona Lisa in a coffee shop next to the Louvre; how had the Austrians missed this guy, right here in the heart of Venice’s decadence?
No extra charge on one of our tours for us to let you in on the secret of where to find this rare little treasure.
Venice for Visitors hotel directions
If you’re a do it yourself type, this is a handy site. Even if you’re on a tour and want to explore on your own a bit this’ll be a handy one to bookmark as getting back to your hotel is generally an enjoyable thing to be able to do.
A word on doing it yourself–we’re really not against it per se even though it runs counter to our business model. We’ve had lots of clients go with us a time or two and then be able to navigate Italy on their own, and we think that’s great! Nobody can be an expert at everything, and while going to sites like Tripadvisor can give you general hints about the things you want to see and how to get there, there’s also no substitute for the personal insight someone like Doug Sassi can give you. Someone who’s been doing this for going on four decades and has professional art/art historian underpinnings can lend a perspective that the Internet just can’t duplicate I don’t think. It’s YOUR trip and you don’t want to waste your time getting lost, hoping to get lucky with a good non-tourist-trap restaurants, waiting in lines you don’t have to, etc.
There’s no real downside to traveling with Doug Sassi. Our tours are customized to let you travel at your pace and you’re never hamstrung into more or fewer activities than you want or need, and you can have plenty of time to explore on your own. Why not have your own private Italy expert showing you the ropes on your first trip or two?
Welcome
I remember my first trip to Italy with Dad. I was 14. I’d never been out of the country. I couldn’t sleep with excitement on the plane, and I landed beat, bleary eyed, and amazed at everything. We hopped on a shuttle bus to the hotel and even though my mind was racing with “wow, so this is Rome!”..I fell asleep.
I spent the next three weeks amazed at all the things my Dad knew and had my worldview forever changed by seeing an amazing culture up close.
Sassi Italy Tours is all about sharing the amazement that 14 year old boy experienced with the rest of the world. We’re here to share culture, art, food, wine, history, architecture, and the dolce vita in a private, intimate setting that offers a deep immersion in all that is wonderful about Italy. I’m biased for obvious reasons, but I really do think people who travel to Italy without Doug Sassi’s perspective are missing out.
Come travel with us. Continue reading Welcome
Sassi Italy Tours 