| Venice with a guide: 21 Private Guided Tours to discover Venice |
TOUR n. 12
Copyright © by VENICEWITHAGUIDE 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
Tour infomation
Tour price: For a private party of Larger groups: quote on request
Entrance fees:
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Doges, palaces, patricians... Was everybody
in Venice rich? And were they all healthy?
Networks of private charitable structures had their origin in Venice
in medieval times and were further developed during the 16th century.
Inspired by religious piety, these organisations included shelters
and homes for abandoned babies, the infirm and needy, “beautiful
but poor girls” or for “ex high class courtesans wanting
to find the path to righteousness”. The Ospedale dei Derelitti
(known as the Ospedaletto) looked after the infirm, the elderly and
poor girls.
The orphans in residence, who specialised in choir singing
and often performed at public concerts, financed the decoration of
a music room where it was possible to perform musical excerpts in
front of a rich ‘connoisseur’ in the hope of finding…
a husband. The Scuola Grande di San Marco, now the local hospital,
has preserved an interesting collection of antique surgical instruments.
Between art, music and health, this is a truly unusual journey into
the surprising past of the poor and needy in the Serenissima Republic.
offering a wide range of city tours and itineraries in Venice.
Discover Venice, the City of the Doges!