Venice Talks

In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica speaks with Sergio Vidal of Atelier Martina Vidal Venezia, a family atelier that has safeguarded the art of Burano lace for four generations.
They talk about patience as a creative act, about heritage that does not live in museums but in the hands of artisans, and about the quiet strength required to carry an ancient craft into the present without losing its soul.
This conversation moves through memory, responsibility, beauty, and the fragile power of thread that, stitch after stitch, still tells the story of Venice.
Listen slowly. Venice is speaking softly.
Episode key notes
The Vidal family history and the roots of their lace tradition in Burano
What it truly means to preserve a craft that cannot be rushed
The balance between tradition and innovation inside the atelier
The role of artisans in keeping Venice culturally alive
Why Burano lace is far more than decoration or souvenir
The human and emotional side of working with a centuries old technique
The future of lace and why younger generations should care

If you love Venice, craftsmanship, and the stories behind the hands that make beauty possible, this episode is for you.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
Guest: Sergio Vidal from Atelier Martina Vidal
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Send me a short audio clip (1 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at [email protected].

Beyond the Facade: Not Just Churches
In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica Cesarato sits down with Monica Gambarotto for an informal conversation that drifts away from the usual itineraries and into a quieter Venice.
Together, they explore five churches that rarely make it onto must see lists, yet reveal something essential about the city. These are not monuments to rush through, but places shaped by neighborhoods, communities, silence, and time.
This is a walk through Venice when the crowds thin out, where churches are not just places of worship, but mirrors of everyday life, forgotten histories, and layered identities.
Listen slowly. Venice is speaking softly.
Episode key notes
Why Venetian churches still matter beyond faith and tourism
What it means to look past façades and guidebook highlights
Madonna dell’Orto and the idea of the neighborhood church
Tintoretto, daily life, and sacred spaces that feel lived in
San Sebastiano and the power of a single artistic voice
How Veronese transforms a church into a continuous visual story
San Francesco della Vigna as a place of balance, silence, and authority
Architecture as a language of power and restraint
San Pietro di Castello, once Venice’s cathedral, now far from the spotlight
Geography, distance, and the feeling of being outside the usual Venice
San Giorgio dei Greci and Venice as a crossroads of cultures
What lesser known churches reveal about identity, imperfection, and belonging
How slowing down changes the way we see Venice

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
Guest: Monica Gambarotto
If you love hearing the voices of Venice, subscribe and leave a review — it helps others discover these stories too.
💌 Want to share your own Venice?
Send me a short audio clip (2 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at [email protected].

In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica Cesarato sits down with Matteo Seguso, Murano glass engraver, to explore the world of engraved glass, craftsmanship, and time.
The conversation moves inside the workshop and the gesture. We talk about engraving as a language, about the discipline of the hand, and about what it means to carry a centuries-old craft into the present without turning it into nostalgia.
From Murano to the international stage, this episode reflects on tradition as a living practice, on the responsibility of making by hand today, and on why glass, when worked slowly, still has stories to tell.
Key Notes
Murano glass engraving and its role today
Working glass by hand: time, discipline, and precision
Tradition as a living, evolving practice
Craftsmanship versus mass production
The relationship between material, gesture, and identity
Teaching and passing on knowledge
The future of handmade work in a fast, digital world

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
Guest: Matteo Seguso
If you love hearing the voices of Venice, subscribe and leave a review — it helps others discover these stories too.
💌 Want to share your own Venice?
Send me a short audio clip (2 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at [email protected].

Venice never stands still. It simply changes rhythm.
In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica Cesarato sits down with Romena Brugnerotto to walk through Venice’s 2026 cultural calendar, one month at a time. From the first signs of Carnival to the quiet glow of Christmas, this conversation follows the city as it moves through exhibitions, festivals, celebrations, and shared rituals.
No lists to memorise, no pressure to see everything. Just a clear, human overview of what will shape Venice in 2026, told through events that matter and moments that define the year.
Whether you live in Venice, return to it often, or are planning your next visit, this episode is an invitation to listen closely and choose your own season.
Key Notes
How Carnival opens the cultural year in Venice
The most anticipated exhibitions and art spaces of 2026
The Biennale across art, dance, and music
Summer concerts in Piazza San Marco
Cinema, craftsmanship, and creativity in early autumn
Fashion, glass, and design in the quieter months
Christmas in Venice and the city’s winter mood

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
Guest: Romena Brugnerotto from RomInVenice
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Send me a short audio clip (2 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at [email protected].

Venice is a museum without walls — but behind her doors, each palace tells a different story.
In this episode, Monica takes you through the city’s most fascinating museums — places where beauty, history, and imagination still breathe.
In this episode:
🕯️ Ca’ Rezzonico — the Museum of Eighteenth-Century Venice, where frescoes, chandeliers, and candlelight revive the world of Tiepolo and Longhi.
🎭 Casa di Carlo Goldoni — the intimate home of Venice’s great playwright, filled with laughter, marionettes, and the rhythm of daily life.
💎 Palazzo Mocenigo — a sensual journey through silk, scent, and Venetian elegance.
🌙 Palazzo Fortuny — Mariano Fortuny’s poetic atelier, where fabric, light, and invention meet.
🏛️ Palazzo Grimani — a Renaissance collector’s dream, filled with myth, marble, and classical echoes.
📚 Fondazione Querini Stampalia — art, architecture, and reflection in perfect balance, with Carlo Scarpa’s serene touch.
🦴 Museo di Storia Naturale — fossils, skeletons, and the living science behind the lagoon.
🎨 Ca’ Pesaro — a Baroque palace reborn as a home for modern art, where Klimt, Rodin, and Boccioni share space with the shimmer of the Grand Canal.
🪞 Palazzo Cini Gallery — an elegant Dorsoduro haven of Renaissance treasures, from Botticelli to Piero di Cosimo.
🧵 Museo del Merletto, Burano — a hymn to patience and grace, where women turned thread and air into lace.

💬 A gentle walk through palaces, studios, and stories — discovering the many ways Venice keeps her art alive.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.

✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
If you love hearing the voices of Venice, subscribe and leave a review — it helps others discover these stories too.
💌 Want to share your own Venice?
Send me a short audio clip (2 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at [email protected].