Cicchetti, Another Eating Option for Venice

It can be a little tough to find Italian food in Venice that’s good, authentic, and doesn’t break the bank. That’s why we want to let you in on a little secret: Venice’scicchetti tradition. (And stay tuned for a later post on our favorite restaurants in Venice!).

Pronounced “chee-KET-eeh,” cicchetti are Venice’s answer to Milan’s aperitivo and to Spain’s tapas. They’re small plates of food, usually nibbled over glasses of wine and among friends in the evening or at lunchtime. Served at bàcari (“BAH-car-eeh”), small, local bars hidden all over Venice, they’re also cheap, ranging from about €1 to €3. What’s on offer depends on the place; some bàcari lean toward fried offerings, while others specialize in fresh fish, meats, cheeses… the list goes on.

Try it as a pre-dinner snack, or make a whole meal out of it by ordering several plates. We like the idea of a cicchetti “crawl” ourselves. Especially because your meal of cicchetti probably comes cheaper, better, and in a more local atmosphere than food in most restaurants in Venice!

Cicchetti at a bar in Venice

Some tips: First, for an evening cicchetti crawl, make sure you start early (at about 6pm), since many bàcari close at 8pm or 9pm. Of course, if you’re just getting used to the Italian tradition of eating at 8 or 9pm, then that earliness might not be so bad!

Second, if you’re someone who can’t stand crowds or the possibility of having to wait in line and/or stand while eating, then be prepared to sacrifice—or at least seek out bàcari that are off the beaten path. Bàcari are where Venetians come to socialize and relax, and some of the more popular places, including those listed below, can get quite packed… which we think adds to your people-watching potential, but can be a little frustrating if you were hoping for a quiet, tranquil dinner!

Just to get you started, here are some of Venice’s most-loved places to find delicious cicchetti:

Ca’ d’Oro/Alla Vedova. Calle del Pistor, Cannaregio 3912. One of the most famous bàcari in Venice, this one’s both away from the city’s crowds and on the cheap (€1) end of things, ideal if you’re on a budget. Don’t miss the polpette, meatballs made of pork.

La Cantina. Calle San Felice, 3689. A stone’s throw from Alla Vedova, La Cantina features inventive dishes, using fresh ingredients like beef tongue or fresh ricotta. A local favorite.

This isn't just a popular area for tourists... it has some of the best bàcari in town!

All’Arco. Calle Arco, San Polo 436. Another one of Venice’s most-loved spots, All’Arco, near the Ponte Rialto, is packed at lunchtime with shoppers from the local fish market. Everything from calamari to liver to shrimp is on offer, and if it’s available, don’t miss the hot sandwich of boiled beef sausage and mustard.

Do Mori. Sestiere San Polo 429, Calle dei Do Mori. Myth has it that Casanova frequented this bàcaro, also near the Rialto Bridge. Even if he didn’t, it’s still thought to be the oldest in Venice, dating back to 1462. Ask for the “francobollo” (postage stamp)—a tiny sandwich with various fillings, it’s the house specialty.

Do Spade

Do Spade. Calle delle Do Spade, 19 S. Polo 860. Another bàcaro dating back to the 15th century, Do Spade has lots of seafood on offer, as well as a variety of vegetable and cheese spreads.

Cantinone–già Schiavi.Ponte San Trovaso, Dorsoduro 992. This family-run bàcaro, located across from a gondola workshop, boasts raw fish, meats, more than 30 wines available by the glass, and much more. Crowded with Venetians in the evening!

Al Ponte. Calle Larga Giacinto Gallina. One of the cheapest bàcari—and, therefore, places to eat—in all of Venice, Al Ponte has pasta and fish plates and a welcoming atmosphere.

Banco Giro. Campo San Giacometto, San Polo 122. A Grand Canal view, a variety of cheeses, fish, and wine, and a lively atmosphere. What’s not to like?

When biking through Padua be sure to visit the Scrovegni Chapel

Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

Giotto had to be creative to overcome the obstacles caused by the chapel's architecture -- you can even see how he extended the wall paintings up into the ceiling to try to balance it all!

Located an easy 25- or 45-minute train ride from Venice, Padua has a lot to boast about: mythical ties to the city of Troy, the second-oldest university in Italy (and one where Galileo taught)… and an incredible 14th-century chapel that’s one of Italy’s top sites for pilgrims. Art history pilgrims, that is.

The chapel was built by Enrico Scrovegni in 1302, after his father’s practice of lending out money at super-high interest rates — something seen as so sinful, it landed the man in Dante’s Inferno — filled him with such guilt he built a chapel with the family’s earnings. (He dedicated it to to the “Virgin of Charity”).

Scrovegni commissioned the Florentine painter Giotto for the frescoes. The result is the earliest work that’s accepted as being by Giotto’s own hand. For art historians, that means it’s the keystone for deciding if later pieces (like those in the Basilica of San Francesco, below) were by Giotto, too. Like Michelangelo more than two centuries later, Giotto had to grapple with how to lay his fresco cycle out on a barrel-vaulted building. And, like Michelangelo, it’s fair to say he did, well, a pretty good job!

The space on the right, planned that way by Giotto, makes it look like poor Joachim is being thrust into an empty, lonely abyss

The whole story of the New Testament is laid out here, starting with the heartbreaking Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple. The panel shows Joachim, the Virgin’s father, being literally pushed out of the temple by a priest, Joachim’s offering rejected because he remains childless; the anguish on Joachim’s face is palpable.

The narrative continues through to Christ’s life, with the famous frescoes of the Lamentation andKiss of Judas.

Giotto was a master of emotion -- just look at the anguish on Mary's face

Don’t miss the Last Judgment, either, a fantasy of all the horrific tortures that await the damned. Few paintings in art history could be more frightening! This was one piece that influenced Michelangelo for his own version of the Last Judgment.

A detail of Giotto's Last Judgment, complete with a monster eating the damned. Eek!

In all of the frescoes, you can see just why Giotto was so groundbreaking, he’s known as one of the fathers of the Renaissance. Giotto’s use of space and volume, and his two-point perspective scheme (which unites both painting and architecture in the tricky-to-paint chapel), show an understanding of perspective that heralded the beginning of the Renaissance.

It’s the emotion of the figures, though, that really set Giotto apart, making him one of the only artists of his day who knew how to paint saints to look and interact like real people. And, almost 800 years later, Giotto’s ability to invoke emotion still takes your breath away.

6 Things To Know Before You Get To Venice

Enchanting, fascinating, and beautiful, Venice remains one of the most-visited places in Italy. That said? No matter how much you’ve read up on the city, some things about it can be surprising! Here, the top six things we wish we’d known about Venice on our travels there.

1. You will get lost in Venice, often — even with the world’s best maps

The kind of sight you just stumble across in Venice... especially when lost!

I know people who have visited Venice and had it all: lots of previous experience in the city, fluent Italian, and an iPad with GPS-style Google maps. They still got lost (and I find myself confused sometimes after all the years I have been in the city). Venice is a confusing, winding, maze of medieval streets, with the frequent obstacle of a canal blocking your path.

Of course, that’s part of Venice’s charm. There’s nothing better than being lost in such an eerily beautiful city. Unless, that is, you want to get to places and see sites in a limited amount of time.

This made one thing in particular strike home for us: While it’s always virtually impossible to really “see” or “do” a whole city in just one day, it’s even harder in Venice. So, if you’re looking to check things off the list in a limited amount of time, then either consider extending that amount of time a bit more than you might have originally thought necessary — or consider taking a tour. Because we’ve realized that, while a guide is fantastic for bringing sites alive with stories, or giving insider’s tips to a city, in Venice, a guide is also just crucial for getting you from point A to point B. Seriously.

2. All those ferries are expensive; In general, the cheapest way to get around Venice is, simply, to walk. But sometimes, your feet just can’t take it anymore. Not to mention that part of the fun of Venice is the way in which it’s just like a normal city… except that instead of streets, there are canals, and instead of buses and trains, there are boats!

The problem? These boats can be pricey. And we don’t even mean the water taxis. A ticket that lets you travel on the boats for 60 minutes along the Grand Canal, including switches, costs €7.00. To take a traghetto across the Grand Canal for just one trip, it’s €.50

If you plan to use the boat as much as you would, say, the metro in Rome, therefore, that can add up quickly. But one thing we’ve realized: Most people won’t use the boats in Venice as much as they would use the bus elsewhere. That’s largely because so much of the beauty of Venice (as well as where many hotels and restaurants are!) is in its back streets and piazzas — places that, often times, the boats just can’t get to.

In some cases, though, you might plan to take the boats more than a handful of times. So if walking abilities are limited in your group, or if your hotel is conveniently located right near one of the ferry stops, then consider getting one of Venice’s all-inclusive transport passes, good for 12, 24, 36, 48, or 72 hours, or 7 days. To really get bang for your buck, don’t wait until you’re in Venice to buy these: in the “middle/high season” we’re in right now, a 72-hour pass costs €33 on the spot, or €28.05 if you book it through the website Venice Connected. (To get the online discounted rate, you must book at least 7 days in advance). Again, though, remember: To make this particular pass, for example, “worth it,” you’d have to take the €7.00 boats five times or more to merit getting a pass, rather than paying per go. And if you’re like most people, you probably wouldn’t take the boats that often.

As well as "free" transport, the Rolling Venice card gets you discount on sites like the Doge's Palace, here

A couple of other things to keep in mind on the transport front. First, kids under 5 travel free. Second, although there aren’t any reductions for children aged 6 to 14 (they get the adult rate), there is, oddly enough, an option for a reduced fare for youths aged 14 to 29. To take advantage, buy the Rolling Venice card at a variety of points around the city. It costs €4, and with that card, the 3-day pass is just €18. It also gives discounts to various sites around the city.

3. You can legally board Venice’s public transport without a ticket…

…as long as you immediately notify the boat personnel and buy a ticket on the spot. Otherwise, if the boat is “spot-checked” for tickets, you can be told you’ll have to pay hundreds of euros in fines. Make sure, too, that you always validate your tickets by running them through the small, yellow or white machines near the entrance.

4. If you want to eat like a Venetian, it’s worth having some restaurants in mind ahead of time

If you want food this good in Venice, you have to know where to look!

It’s no secret that Venice is touristy. In fact, tourists vastly outnumber Venetians — by some 15 million to 60,000. And whenever you get that kind of imbalance, the same, unfortunate trend tends to happen: Local, cheap, authentic eating establishments are edged out… and replaced by expensive, at-best-mediocre restaurants that hawk things like “tourist menus” and “happy hours” (neither of which you’d see at Italy’s most authentic trattorias!).

If part of the fun of the trip for Italy for you is the food, then have a plan for Venice — or at least a few places jotted down. We recently had clients who said they didn’t do this… and wound up spending €40 per person or more on food so bad, they said it was inedible. The other option? If you’re taking a tour with us in Venice then, of course, ask your tour guide where you can go that’s authentic and inexpensive!

5. Not all free boat rides to Murano are free

Want to see the famous Murano glassblowers? Then be careful how you get there!

Often, tourists will be offered a “free” ride to Murano to visit the glass factories. Usually, these are, in fact, free — but trouble can come if you don’t wind up buying any of the (generally very expensive) glass. That “free” ride? Turns out, it might not be round-trip. Instead, you might be given a ticket to get on a normal boat… or nothing at all. If you want to avoid awkwardness (and frustration), consider either booking your own transfer to the island, or going by water bus, shelling out that €7.00 for the number 41, 42, or, in season, number 5 water buses. Your stop is Colonna or Faro, for glass factories, or Museo, for the Glass Museum.

6. Sitting down at a cafe in Venice costs more than anywhere else in Italy

You may have heard this before: Anywhere in Italy, when you sit down with that coffee at a cafe or bar, the price goes up. If you drink the same coffee, and eat the same pastry, standing at the counter, the price is lower. (That’s why you’ll see so many Italians eating at the counter).

If you want to have your coffee with a view of this piazza, be prepared to pay!

In Venice, though, the price difference is even bigger than elsewhere. Take a seat with that cappuccino, and you can expect to pay three, four times what you would standing. Decide to take a seat at a cafe on the Piazza San Marco you could pay as much as 15 euro. Some cafes also tack a huge surcharge onto the bill — and, annoyingly, that surcharge isn’t for servizio, it isn’t for pane e coperto… it’s for “listening to the band” that they have playing at the tables. To avoid those kinds of surcharges, or the stress of worrying about them, stay away from eating at major tourist sites — and always take your coffee at the counter.