Saverio Pastor operates a workshop in the Dorsoduro district where he crafts the forcola, the uniquely shaped rowlock used to navigate Venetian gondolas. A forcola is carved from a single piece of walnut or cherry wood and lacks a flat…
Venetian Artisan Ateliers Walk
Walk with me through the historic sestieri to meet the master craftsmen keeping Venice's legendary, pre-industrial handmade traditions alive.
Listen to this tour in the Mira app →Walk it in street view
1. Pastor Saverio Le Forcole
2. Venetian Dreams Marisa Convento
Venetian Dreams is the workshop of Marisa Convento, a master artisan who preserves the traditional craft of the impiraresse, or bead-stringers. Housed within the space known as Bottega Cini in the Dorsoduro district, the shop displays…
3. Ca' Macana Original
Ca' Macana is a mask-making workshop in the Dorsoduro district that produces traditional papier-mâché masks using techniques dating back centuries. You can identify the shop by the handmade masks displayed in the windows and the artisans…
4. Legatoria Polliero Venezia
Legatoria Polliero is a bookbinding workshop and stationery shop located on the Campo dei Frari in the San Polo district. It occupies a small storefront near the well in the center of the square, characterized by its traditional display of…
5. Artigianato d'Arte di Vianello Mauro
Artigianato d'Arte di Vianello Mauro is a working glass studio tucked away on Calle dei Morti, near San Cassan square. The space is easily recognized by the presence of a lampworking torch, where master artisan Mauro Vianello transforms…
6. Veneziastampa
Veneziastampa occupies a quiet corner of Campo Santa Maria Mater Domini in the Santa Croce district. This print shop, founded in nineteen eighty-nine by Michele Costantini and Luca Valonta, maintains the historical Venetian tradition of…
7. Luigi Bevilacqua srl Weaving
The Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua is a historic weaving workshop located at Santa Croce thirteen-twenty. It is the last active mill in Venice to produce hand-woven fabrics using original eighteenth-century looms. These wooden machines, which…