Venice Talks

In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica speaks with Simon and Jess from The History of Venice Podcast about the women who lived, worked and helped shape Venice across the centuries.
Moving beyond the better-known stories of noblewomen and courtesans, the conversation explores what everyday life was really like for Venetian women from different levels of society. From work and family life to money, independence, marriage and social expectations, Simon and Jess bring to light the stories of women whose contribution to Venice has often remained in the background.
The episode also looks at lesser-known female figures, the kinds of jobs women carried out and what historical records can reveal about their lives. A fascinating journey into another side of Venetian history: the city seen through the experiences of its women.
Show Key Notes
Simon and Jess from The History of Venice Podcast on telling the story of Venice through the people who lived it.
Lesser-known women whose stories deserve a place alongside Venice’s more famous female figures.
What everyday life looked like for women from different social classes.
The jobs and trades carried out by Venetian women.
Women as artisans, shopkeepers, servants, market sellers and workers.
Money, property and the economic independence available to women.
Marriage, widowhood and the options open to women outside traditional family structures.
The differences between the lives of noblewomen and working women.
Women from Venice’s different communities and backgrounds.
What archives, legal records and other historical sources can tell us about women’s lives.
How women contributed to the economic and social life of the Venetian Republic.
Why so many of these stories have remained less visible in traditional accounts of Venetian history.

Tune in for a journey beyond the familiar names and discover the women whose work, choices and everyday lives were part of the fabric of Venice.
Listen now and subscribe to Venice Talks for more stories about Venice, its history, its people and its culture.
And remember to follow and subscribe to Venice Talks so you never miss a new conversation with the people who make Venice the extraordinary, complex and endlessly fascinating city it is.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
Guest: Simon & Jess from History of Venice Podcast
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 (1 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at info@monicacesarato.com.

n this episode of Venice Talks, Monica speaks with drinks writer, podcaster and author Susan L. Schwartz about her new book, A Guide to Drinking in Venice.
Venice is a city where drinking is never just about what is in the glass. It is about ritual, place, history and the people behind the bar. Susan takes us through the research and stories behind the book, from traditional bacari and Venetian drinking habits to cocktails, wine, coffee and the changing bar scene of the city.
We also talk about what surprised her while researching the book, how Venice’s drinking culture differs from what visitors often expect and why understanding where and how Venetians drink can reveal so much about the city itself.
Key Notes from This Episode
How the idea for A Guide to Drinking in Venice began
What inspired Susan to dedicate an entire book to Venice’s drinking culture
The research behind the book and the people she met along the way
Why Venice is about much more than just Spritz
Bacari, wine bars, cocktail bars and the different ways of drinking in the city
The role of tradition in Venetian drinking culture
How Venice’s bar and cocktail scene has evolved in recent years
What visitors often misunderstand about drinking in Venice
Some of Susan’s favourite discoveries while researching the book
How a drink can become a way of understanding the history and identity of a place

If you love Venice, food, wine, cocktails and the stories hidden behind everyday Venetian rituals, this is an episode to listen to with a glass in hand.
Remember to follow and subscribe to Venice Talks so you never miss a new conversation with the people who make Venice the extraordinary, complex and endlessly fascinating city it is.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Vivace Media
Guest: Susan L. Schwartz from A Lush Life Manual
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 (1 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at info@monicacesarato.com.

What happens when two history lovers decide to tell the story of Venice from the very beginning?
In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica Cesarato is joined by Simon and Jess, the creators and hosts of The History of Venice Podcast, a chronological journey through the people, politics, conflicts and extraordinary events that shaped the Venetian Republic.
Simon and Jess share how their mutual fascination with Venice inspired them to begin the podcast, and what it is like to research, write and present such an ambitious historical project together.
We talk about the challenge of separating historical fact from legend, especially in a city where myths have been repeated for centuries. They explain how they approach conflicting sources, complex political events and the colourful personalities who brought Venetian history to life.
The conversation also explores how studying Venice’s past changes the way we experience the city today. Behind every bridge, campo and palace lies a story—and the deeper we look, the more Venice reveals itself as far more than a beautiful destination.
From the origins of the lagoon settlements to the rise of one of Europe’s most powerful republics, Simon and Jess invite listeners to discover the real history behind the Serenissima.
Key Notes from This Episode
In this episode, we talk about:
How Simon and Jess created The History of Venice Podcast
Their personal connection with Venice and its history
What it is like to produce a podcast together as a couple
How they divide the research, writing and presenting
The difficulties of separating Venetian history from legend
How they make complex historical events accessible
The personalities and stories that have surprised them most
Common misconceptions about the Venetian Republic
How historical research has changed the way they see Venice
What Venice’s past can teach us about the city today

Listen to The History of Venice Podcast to follow Simon and Jess on their chronological journey through more than a thousand years of Venetian history.
And remember to follow and subscribe to Venice Talks so you never miss a new conversation with the people who make Venice the extraordinary, complex and endlessly fascinating city it is.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
Guest: Simon & Jess from History of Venice Podcast
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 (1 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at info@monicacesarato.com.

Before Peggy Guggenheim became one of the most influential collectors of modern art—and before Palazzo Venier dei Leoni became her Venetian home and museum—she opened a small but remarkably ambitious gallery in London.
In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica Cesarato speaks with Gražina Subelytė, curator at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, about the exhibition Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector.
The exhibition explores the crucial years of 1938 and 1939, when Peggy founded Guggenheim Jeune, her first London gallery. During its brief eighteen-month existence, the gallery presented more than twenty exhibitions, promoted abstraction and Surrealism, introduced London audiences to major European artists and helped Peggy develop the vision that would eventually shape her celebrated collection.
Gražina guides us through this formative period, revealing a Peggy Guggenheim who was still learning, experimenting and finding her place in the international art world. We discuss the artists, advisers and friendships that influenced her, the radical exhibitions she organised and the archival discoveries that offer a more complex understanding of her development as a collector.
The conversation also explores the role of women artists within Guggenheim Jeune, the gallery’s controversial contemporary sculpture exhibition and the first signs of Peggy’s dream of creating a museum of modern art.
Presented inside Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, the exhibition allows visitors to look back at the moment when Peggy’s extraordinary story was only beginning—and to understand how her London years laid the foundations for the collection we know in Venice today.
Key Notes from This Episode
Gražina Subelytė’s journey into art history and curatorial work
Peggy Guggenheim’s life before she became a legendary collector
The opening of Guggenheim Jeune in London in 1938
How Marcel Duchamp, Samuel Beckett and Mary Reynolds influenced Peggy’s artistic education
The gallery’s extraordinary programme of more than twenty exhibitions in eighteen months
Kandinsky’s first solo exhibition in London
Peggy’s support for abstraction, Surrealism and experimental contemporary art
The role of women artists
The controversial contemporary sculpture exhibition
Letters, photographs and archival documents that reveal a more personal side of Peggy
The origins of Peggy’s ambition to establish a museum of modern art
How the London years anticipated the collection now housed in Venice

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Venice Talks and discover the story of Peggy Guggenheim before Venice—when a small London gallery became the starting point for one of the most important collections of modern art in the world.
Follow Venice Talks on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss a new conversation about the people, history, art and culture shaping Venice.
Follow Monica Cesarato and Venice Talks for new episodes, behind-the-scenes stories and more voices from the lagoon.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
Guest: Gražina Subelytė curator at Peggy Guggenheim Collection
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 (1 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at info@monicacesarato.com.

In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica speaks with Sara Cattani, co-founder of Staging Alive, a new Venetian project created to bring fresh, joyful and high-quality live entertainment formats to the city.
From musical theatre to live performance, from historical costumes to private productions, Sara’s work asks an important question: can Venice still be a place that creates culture, rather than only a place where culture is consumed?
Together, we talk about the need for more accessible, inclusive and entertaining cultural experiences in Venice — shows that can speak to residents, visitors and new audiences without losing quality or identity.
The conversation also takes us inside Atelier Le Boudoir, the new spin-off connected to the historic costumes of Atelier Pietro Longhi: not a large costume warehouse, but a hidden dressing room near Campo della Bragora, surrounded by artisans and Venetian life.
A conversation about theatre, costumes, creativity, courage, and the dream of seeing Venice once again as a port of departure for new ideas.
In this episode:
How Staging Alive was born and what Sara felt was missing in Venice
Why musical theatre and joyful entertainment deserve more space in the city
The divide between “tourist product” and “local product”
How to create cultural experiences that can speak to different audiences
The role of fun, beauty and lightness in contemporary culture
The story behind Atelier Le Boudoir
The legacy of the historical costumes from Atelier Pietro Longhi
What it means to build a creative company in Venice today
Why Venice should not only be a destination, but a place that produces ideas
The dream of bringing Venetian creativity beyond the lagoon

Follow Sara and her projects:
Staging Alive
Atelier Le Boudoir

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.
✨ Credits:
Hosted by Monica Cesarato
Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media
Guest: Sara Cattani for Staging Alive and Atelier Le Boudoir

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 (1 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at info@monicacesarato.com.