Ca’ di Dio, Venice, a Patricia Urquiola-designed hotel, opened at the end of last year and offers many unique experiences which allows guests to see a different side of Venice.
The Botanical Experience offers a special tour of the lagoons accompanied by Botanist Gabriele Bisetto.
Gabriele shares the secrets on lagoon life and explains how the herbs and plants are used in the restaurants and bar at Ca’ di Dio.
Guests will set sail from Ca’ di Dio to the colourful Burano Island. From here, they will embark upon their discoveries on Bisetto’s traditional boat called a ‘caorlina’. The caorlina has a flat bottom which allows the boat to get close to the island banks.
The route follows the traditional wooden structures called bricole, along the navigable canals from the Bacino di San Marco.
After travelling along the San Felice Canal, the boat will enter the heart of the northern lagoon, a silent and highly evocative place where the sandbank plants continuously change.
The lagoon is full of channels, gullies, and small channels knowns as ghebi, which branch out in a volute shape between ditches, mudflats, and sandbanks.
Gabriele will explain how the water rises and falls due to the sun and moon and how the ebb and flow creates the perfect environment for the flora and fauna.
Back at Ca’ di Dio, Chef Raimondo Squeo, who heads up the kitchen, will explain how the lagoon inspires the cuisine served at Vero Restaurant (pictured, above).
The Venetian dishes are revisited with a modern touch yet respect the seasonality of the ingredients. Gabriele Bisetto has worked with the Ca’ di Dio team to help produce a special gin made with salt from the lagoon.
Ca’ di Dio offers rooms from €460 per night on a B&B basis, based on two people sharing. The Botanical Experience starts from €211 per person in a private excursion for up to 8 people.
