a typical Venetian scene Traghetto at S. Toma, photo by © Lesley Powell Painting (1870) of S. Marco by JW Bunney commissioned by Ruskin and in the Ruskin Collection in the Sheffield City Museum Titian's great 'Assunta' in the Frari. A powerful and, arguably, immodest Virgin, being presented in the Renaissance ideal John Ruskin who wrote the important 'Stones of Venice' and who, at the time, was responsible for changing the perception of Venice from a hedonistic playground to an immensely important treasure trove of art and architecture worth preserving. Grand Canal from the Accademia Bridge with Salute in background. In the second house on the left (Palazzo Barbaro) Whistler and Singer Sargent painted and Henry James lived and wrote. Isabella Stewart Gardner used this Palazzo as her base when she was collecting Renaissance art.

Venice Art Tours

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

The Guggenheim? You can't be serious!

 

 

S. Marco during flooding

 

 

Note that all houses on canals have water-gates through which the merchant's goods would enter and leave

 

 

 

Giovanni Bellini's great S. Giobbe Altarpiece at the Accademia. This painting single-handedly changed the altarpiece tradition from triptychs to single panel sacred conversations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Venice Art Tours and Howard Fitzpatrick 


Saluti! Thank you for visiting my website...

I offer private half-day art and general walking tours for travellers who wish to see the best of Venetian art, history,  and architecture. My walking tours (which last 4+ hours) are in English. I am an Anglo-American (pictured left) and live in the Dorsoduro area of Venice. The tours I provide are exclusively for you or your small group - no one else is mixed in. My  emphasis  is on private and personal tours, not groups, and you won't find the tours bland or  superficial. Since you will automatically become a member of the Arti Veneziane Cultural  Association, you may avail yourself of lectures and events during the year.

I have a B.A. (Art History & English), an M.A. (English), and an M.B.A. I have lived in New York,  Dublin, and Cambridge (England) before moving to Venice with my wife, novelist Laurie Graham, over nine years ago.

Venice Art Tours and I are highly recommended by Slow Travellers, among other groups and agencies.  P.S., Here's what people at Slow Travel say about me. Many thanks to those  customers who were kind enough to write about me.

Below are descriptions of the tours offered, pricing and practical information. There is an email link below. I look forward to hearing from you.....Howard

 

The Walking Tour                 click the box for the itinerary         

This four hour walking tour is for people who wish to learn Venice's art, history, and architecture, and at the  same time get a good feeling of what Venice is and was all about. I collect you at your hotel and  stroll to selected churches, squares and other locations, some well known, some not so well known.  We'll take a traghetto (gondola-ferry) across the Grand Canal and, of course, we'll take a coffee break along the way...

Some people may wish to visit the Jewish ghetto which can be incorporated into a Walking Tour. Let me know. Click here for information on the Jews in Venice's history.

"We all learned a lot and it made the subsequent museum and church visits much more interesting for all of us.  The girls remembered much of what you spoke about and were able to use it in our visits to the Vatican and the Uffizi Gallery.  You added a lot of value to our visit to Italy and just wanted to say thank you."  Eileen Serra, New York

 

The Renaissance Art Tour      click the box for the itinerary  

I collect you at your hotel and in four hours we visit key museums and churches. We look at some of  Venice's greatest art and we place Renaissance art into historical and art perspective, especially  comparing it to the same period in Florence. There'll be a stop for coffee and we'll take a traghetto  (gondola-ferry) across the Grand Canal....
 

"Many thanks for a wonderful tour of Venice and a chance to see the many splendors of the city under your excellent tutelage.  You introduced us to masters of art, previously a blur, and to the  wonderful "highlights" of the city.  Although the flooding was a nuisance to Venetians, we were delighted to see Venice as it's so often portrayed...under water.  Wishing you and yours happiness and health, we send our thanks and best wishes."      Barbara and Bill Charlton, Annapolis, MD

 

 

Practicalities and Prices   

Booking: Send an email suggesting a date. If the day is open and if you confirm it you need do nothing else except advise of a cancellation or postponement in advance. There is no cancellation fee.  

Membership Pricing for each tour is €250 (Euro) total for from one to 6 persons who are travelling together. For more than 6 people, send me an email. There will be a small additional charge to cover some entrance fees where appropriate. Credit cards (Visa, MC, AMEX) are always welcome, as are their bearers.  

Contact: by email (see link below to howardf99@yahoo.co.uk) or telephone:                +39 041 522 6249 or +39 348 392 0879 (cell). 

Thank you for visiting the website...here is the email link:    

Click here for a brief video of Howard on the Grand Canal.

Click here for some Venice ideas you will not find in most guide books. 

Click here for tips on visiting Venice (tipping, flooding, transportation, etc). 

Click here for information on church services in Venice.                                       

Click here for information on Laurie Graham's novels.

Click here for Howard's Blog.

© Howard Fitzpatrick, 2008   

            This website updated 9 August 2008.