Dream of Italy published two special issues profiling more than 70 of the best tour guides and tour companies in Italy. This list of tour guides (only accessible to subscribers) is a must-read for anyone planning a trip to Italy. Here’s a profile of one of the best tour guides in Venice and the Veneto (updated 2018):
VENICE/VENETO: Cristina Gregorin
(39) 041 5202434
www.slow-venice.com
www.contemporary-venice.com
Rates: 75€ per hour for up to four people. Each extra person pays 2.50€ per hour.
Originally from Trieste in neighboring Friuli, Cristina Gregorin has lived in Venice for more than 20 years. In addition to being a licensed tourist guide, she holds a Ph.D. in German literature, with a focus on architecture, history and foreign languages. Passionate about Venetian arts and crafts, Gregorin is moreover the author of the book Venice Master Artisans, an elegantly illustrated volume that features thirty Venetian artisans, including painters, sculptors, gondola makers and glass makers.
Gregorin’s way of looking at her surroundings is what makes her tours unique. From a practical standpoint, she aspires never to suggest too dense of a schedule, and instead offering her clients a broader painting of the role Venice played in history and art.
This way, the city becomes more than just a romantic gondola tour, fun masks and tasty food; it is a beautiful world, replete with old traditions and habits that Gregorin brings to life again through her vivid explanations. In short, as a guest, you come to experience how the past has shaped Venice, and the world as a whole, today. As such, her tours, which focus on Venice and the Palladian villas of the Veneto, are best suited for adults. — I.B.