The City of Music: Venice Private Walking Tour

Between the 1600s and the 1700s Venice was home to around thirty theatres, but music was played everywhere in the city, from its palaces to its churches.
Famous throughout Europe were the ‘putte’ orchestras from the four charitable institutions that helped poor orphans. The children learnt singing and performing and their concerts were held in the churches annexed to the institutions.

We’ll start our visit at the Pietà Church where Antonio Vivaldi worked as a violin and concert teacher. The church, which was designed with particular attention to the acoustics, was beautifully decorated by Giambattista Tiepolo.

We’ll then head to the Music Room of the Ospedaletto. The eighteenth-century fresco of this charming room was financed by the youths to honour their teachers.

Our visit ends at the Fenice, one of the most important opera houses in Europe, and an exceptional witness to the troubled years under French and Austrian occupation.