This interesting tour starts from the Venice's commercial quarter near Rialto bridge and concentrates on the ancient area of San Polo. Here the banks, brokers and merchants conducted their affairs by day, and the renowned courtesans by night!

In a city where the west met the east, exotic items like silk and oriental spices were traded along with copper and wood. Many of the courtesans or mistresses lived in sumptuous apartments, were accomplished musicians and brilliant conversationalists - they were even secretly used as spies for the State.

The second part of this tour allows you to admire the Gothic Frari church which dwarfs the Eastern section of San Polo - built by Franciscans in around 1250. You will admire its striking interior, one of the city's largest places of worship, for its sheer size and for the quality of its art masterpieces - the most famous being Titian's Assumption.

A day out into the countryside, as you visit the charming walled town of Marostica with its castle. The town is famous for a living game of chess that is held once a year on a giant chessboard in the main square.

Then on to the peaceful town of Bassano del Grappa, synonymous with its production of the firewater of the mountains known as Grappa! Crossing the celebrated Palladian bridge over the river Brenta you will visit the famous distillery situated right on the bridge and an opportunity to stock up on a bottle or two.

Your next stop on the tour is Asolo, or 'the Pearl of the Vent", situated among the cypress clad foothills of the Dolomites, with its tiny pavements and archways, and the castle of Caterina Cornaro the Queen of Cyprus.

Robert Browning was one of the many poets who fell in love with Asolo. There will be time for an optional lunch, either in an excellent local Osteria, or if you prefer the famous Hotel Cipriani.

For centuries Venice was a republic of immense power; controlling trade routes in the Adriatic, and waging successful wars with rival states. Ruled by a doge, who had his powers controlled by a cabinet, Venice was a proud and rich republic, known as la Serenissima, the most serene. Every year the Doge would take part in a symbolic ceremony, the Marriage of the Sea, to celebrate Venice's mastery over the ocean.

Like most great powers, however, Venice's glory was followed by a decline. La Serenissima lost her chattels in wars, and the city's trade routes declined in importance after the discovery of the New World. By the eighteenth century, Venice was already seeking profits from the tourist trade, leasing fine 'palazzi' to foreign travelers.

Venice is composed of more than a hundred tiny islets, packed closely together around canals. The city is in a lagoon, protected by the longer island of Venice Lido. Venice is famously sinking. Every year high water levels (acqua alta) threaten the city's fabric, and it has long been feared that the beautiful city will one day disappear beneath the water. Many ideas (and funds) have been put forward to protect the endangered heritage site; current plans include a giant water-gate.