Veneto and Friuli – Two regions, four intertwined cultures

Arrival at Venezia airport, transfer to Verona, check-in at the hotel and guided tour of the city. We will start by visiting the main attractions of the Old Town such as the ancient Roman Arena, located in Piazza Bra; then we will continue our visit to Piazza delle Erbe, the Loggia del Consiglio, the house of Romeo and Juliet and the Synagogue of Verona, one of the biggest in Northern Italy with its fascinating building of rare beauty which has preserved the original furniture and decorations of the nineteenth century in their entirety. Return to the hotel in the evening, overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Padua “the erudite”. After checking in the hotel the tour will start from Via VIII Febbraio reaching the University, one of the oldest in the world established in 1222, where, depending on their availability at the time of our tour, we will visit the magnificent Palazzo Bo with its “anatomical theatre”, the Galileo Galilei’s Aula Magna, the “Hall of the forty” and the Aula di Medicina where the first lectures on medicine where originally given, then pass through Piazza delle Erbe, the ancient market square where open markets are still held, Palazzo della Ragione, the Duomo, Piazza dei Signori and Prato della Valle. We will end our tour in Padua in the area that used to border the ancient Jewish ghetto where Jews were forced to live from the Seventeenth century until the arrival of Napoleon in 1797. Here we will visit the Jewish Museum and the Padua Synagogue, the only currently operating in Padua (the Jewish community of Padua currently has about 200 members).
Before taking the bus to Venice we will have a “coffee break” at the old and charming Pedrocchi caffé, the best place in Padua to have an Italian coffee. Then we will head to Venice: overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning an early start will take us to the Jewish Ghetto, the first ever to be established in Europe. The term “Ghetto” comes from the Venetian word “gheto” which in the local dialect means “foundry” many of which were found close to where the Ghetto was established. Nowadays it is a lively and busy district of the city where we can still find the Jewish religious and administrative institutions and five old Synagogues, some of which can be still visited. Afternoon spent touring the city. We will admire Piazza San Marco where we can find the famous Basilica and the unique Bell Tower; the Ponte di Rialto and the Scala del Bovolo. In the evening, we will enjoy a walk through the picturesque calli, the typical Venetian winding and narrow alleys along the canals crossed by many little bridges.

Breakfast at the hotel. A boat tour to the islands of Murano, Torcello, Burano and Lido for an unforgettable day of art, history and traditions. These islands are the gems of the Venetian lagoon. Murano has a world famous glass manufacturing tradition that goes back for centuries where we will visit also an active furnace where the glass is made; Burano with its colourful houses, famous for its crochet lace creations; Torcello with only 10 inhabitants and its magic atmosphere, has outstanding Venetian Byzantine mosaics and beautiful views of Burano and Venice and finally the Lido of Venice beloved by so many poets and artists (Thomas Mann and Byron just to mention two). Fascinating with its lovely white beaches and liberty villas the Lido hosts every year the world famous Venice film Festival. We will come back to the hotel in the evening for overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Aquileia, founded by the Romans in 181 B.C. for defensive and trade purposes. It soon became one of the main ports of the Adriatic coast and consequently a big cosmopolitan city, crossroad of religions and cultures. We will visit the Archeological Park with the Roman ruins, included in the UNESCO heritage sites. Then we will visit the Museo Paleocristiano where also some Jewish artefacts are on display . Transfer to Trieste where we will start visiting the city. Accommodation at the hotel, overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel and continuation of the visit of the city. Trieste is the capital of the region Friuli Venezia Giulia in the north-east of Italy, it is a port situated along a narrow strip of land between the Adriatic sea and the Slovenian border on the Karst Plateau. The Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Slovenian influences are evident in its layout, which includes a medieval old town and an Austrian neoclassical quarter, reminiscent of the period the city was under the dominion of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Visit to the beautiful Trieste Synagogue, one of the largest in Europe, and its museum. Then proceed to the Risiera di San Sabba, the only concentration and extermination camp established by the Nazis in Italy used both as a transit as well as elimination camp of a large number of political prisoners and Jews. Return to the hotel. Shabbat prayers at the Synagogue if minyan is available. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Shabbat prayers at Synagogue if minyan is available. Rest of the day free.

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Gorizia, once known as “the Little Jerusalem on the Isonzo” (the local river crossing the city). We will meet our guide for a brief visit of the city where you can feel the typical atmosphere of a border town: in its Piazza della Transalpina until 2004 there was a wall dividing Italy from the former Yugoslavia which, after the civil war, was torn down so that now you can walk along the border with one foot in Italy and one in Slovenia. Thanks to its particular position, Gorizia has always been culturally influenced by the mixture of different civilizations: Latin, Slavic and Germanic. Nowadays the great history of this city is reflected in the architecture, the streets and the parks. Visit to the Jewish museum and the old Synagogue. Transfer to Cividale del Friuli, a lovely town and Unesco heritage site where the Jewish presence long gone can still be seen on its houses and at the local Archaeological National Museum. The first Jewish families of Cividale del Friuli date back to the Late Middle Ages. During the excavations carried out in the XIX century a Jewish graveyard was discovered near the old city walls in an area that used to be called “Giudaica”. Then, time permitting, on the way back to Trieste we will stop in beautiful Udine a little Venice on the mainland with its charming squares surrounded by lovely buildings with arcades and pay a visit to the Gallerie del Tiepolo located inside the Palazzo Patriarcale to admire some astonishing works of art, amongst which those of Giambattista Tiepolo, one of the greatest artists of the XVII century. We will then return to Trieste for overnight stay.Monday: Trieste – Flight back

Breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for the flight back.