ITALIAN ADVENTURE
There’s a quieter and more restful mood in Venice nowadays, and arriving on a small ship feels just right.
Since the summer of 2021, the biggest cruise ships have no longer sailed along the Giudecca Canal, towering over the crumbling palazzi and leaning bell towers. Now, they’re out of sight and, to the Venetians who campaigned against their presence, out of mind, docked at the ferry terminal across the lagoon.
Small ships, however, still occupy prime position in the city, docked at San Basilio on the Giudecca, an easy stroll via a latticework of greeny-blue canals to Piazza San Marco. Uniworld’s 126passenger SS La Venezia, arguably the sleekest of them all, offers week-long itineraries from here, spending a few nights in the city and making forays out to the islands of the Venice Lagoon. It’s a wonderfully relaxing and immersive way to see Venice.
The ship is like a floating palace, its opulent interiors inspired by the art nouveau designs of the late, legendary Spanish designer, Mariano Fortuny, whose factory is on Giudecca island, just across from San Basilio.
Swagged curtains in deep bronze, throne-like chairs with gilded detailing, intricate Murano glass light fittings, and bathrooms lined in grey and white marble feel decadently over the top, but combine to create an extravagantly beautiful effect.
All the excursions are included and there’s plenty to see. Over the course of a week, there are visits to a gondola yard and a mask-maker’s atelier, as well as a tour with the ship’s chef to the bustling Rialto fish market. Days out on the lagoon, sometimes wreathed in ethereal mist, sometimes shimmering in the sunlight, call at Murano, Torcello and jauntily coloured Burano, where the houses are painted in shades of shocking pink and lime green. On clear days, the jagged line of the Dolomites is clearly visible on the horizon.
The voyage is billed as a river cruise, and while most of the time is spent in Venice and on the lagoon, La Venezia does indeed venture into the River Po, water levels permitting, to get closer to the ancient cities of Bologna and Ferrara. If the water levels are too low, the ship simply docks at the arty fishing port of Chioggia, in the far south of the lagoon.
A day in Bologna is not to be missed; the porticoed terracotta palaces and
‘It’s a wonderfully relaxing and immersive way to see Venice’
leaning towers of the medieval centre are extraordinary, while the fruit and vegetable market, lined with shops selling huge wheels of aged Parmesan cheese, is a mouth-watering sight.
Uniworld’s excursions offer a chance to get deeper into the history of Venice too. There’s a visit to the ancient Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on sleepy Torcello Island. Founded in 639 AD, the basilica predates much of Venice >>
itself and is adorned with dazzling
11th century mosaics, brought to life by narration from a local art historian.
Perhaps the biggest treat is an after-hours visit to the Basilica San Marco, exclusively for Uniworld’s guests. Once the group has gathered, the lights slowly dim, until it’s pitch dark.
It’s an eerie moment. Suddenly, a single light flicks on, and then another one, casting shadows across the domed ceiling. Moment by moment, 86,000 square feet of shimmering gold mosaics are illuminated, some of them 800 years old.
For many, being inside such an iconic building without the crowds is one of the most enduring memories of ‘La Serenissima’ Venice.
✢ Seven nights all-inclusive, with all meals, tours, drinks, crew tips and flights, costs from £2,199pp, departing 10 April; uniworld.com
‘86,000 square feet of gold mosaics are illuminated’