GEMS of NORTHERN ITALY RIVER CRUISE 2022

Venice – Padua – PO Delta– Ferrara – Chioggia – Murano – Burano – Lido  & The Venice Lagoon​  

Exclusive Access to Sites & People of Italy & Jewish Italy that Only KRC Can Bring you! 

Encounter unforgettable sights on this odyssey through Northern Italy that begins and ends in legendary Venice, the “Queen of the Adriatic.” Our exploration of Northern Italy rewards the curious traveler with amazing experiences rich in Jewish history & heritage in Ferrara, Padua, Lido, and Venice.  Unlike any other tour vacation, you will be treated to exclusive tours and in-depth interaction with local Jewish communities. Each of our enchanting locales is yours to uncover filled with over 2000 years of Jewish history and heritage brought to life on the Kosher River Cruises the “Gems of Northern Italy.”  

Cruise & Tour Itinerary

Venice

Day 1 Monday: Venice Embarkation 

Arrive Venice and board the luxurious La Venezia.  Afternoon welcome reception, orientation, and a welcome cruise along Venice’s magical Giudecca Canal to San Marco, enjoy a welcome cocktail on the top deck with Saint Mark’s Basilica and the Canal Grande as your backdrop followed by dinner. 

Day 2: Tuesday: Venice & Jewish Venice 

Today you will embark on your own personal voyage of discovery through this enchanting city.  Our expert guides will show you iconic sites as well as quiet lanes and secret spots only known to locals. Begin with a walking discovery tour with morning private tour at Doge’s Palace.  Then afternoon we continue our exploration of the rich Jewish history & heritage of Venice including meeting with the local Jewish community.   

Featured Excursions & Highlights 

• Venice walking discovery tour beginning with morning private tour at the Doge’s Palace 
• Afternoon Jewish Venice  
• Afternoon lectures & programming 
• Evening entertainment 

Day 3: Wednesday: The Venetian Islands & Padua  

Your morning begins with a leisurely onboard cruising with guided commentary on the upper outdoor deck exploring the northern lagoon of Venice and its captivating islands.   

After lunch we depart to explore the picturesque ancient city of Padua including its wonderfully preserved Jewish sites and still active Jewish community. Experience a walking discovery tour of the old town & Jewish quarter.  The city is a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large communal piazza, and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione, which once surrounded the ancient walls like a moat. The Jewish community of Padova belongs to one of the oldest in Italy with the Sinagoga Tedesca (now the Museum of Jewish Padova) dedicated in 1525 in the heart of the Jewish quarter, and the 16th century Italian Rite Synagogue, which is still used by the small 170 members of the Jewish community, and a Jewish cemetery dating from the 16th century.   

Featured Excursions & Highlights 

• Morning guided cruise of the northern lagoon 
• Afternoon Padua tour 
• Sabering ceremony 
• Evening entertainment 

Day 4: Thursday: Bologna & Ferrara 

Chioggia: This morning, you’ll admire the greatest sites of charming and coastal Chioggia; sometimes called “Little Venice” at the southern end of the lagoon. This picturesque fishing village is a popular place for artists where the seaside air and sweeping views are simply spectacular.  From here you will have two tour options: A guided village walking tour or guided biking tour.

Ferrara (afternoon tour): Ferrara is a town in Northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 27 miles northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the mainstream of the Po River. The town has broad streets and numerous palaces dating from the Renaissance when it hosted the court of the House of Este. For its beauty and cultural importance, it has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Jewish community of Ferrara, which has a continuous presence from the Middle Ages to the present day, played an important role when Ferrara enjoyed its greatest splendor in the 15th and 16th century, with the duke Ercole I d’Este. The Jewish settlement, located in three streets forming a triangle near the cathedral, became a ghetto in 1627. Apart from a few years under Napoleon and during the 1848 revolution, the ghetto lasted until Italian unification in 1859. The synagogue “Scuola Tedesca” – the “German Shul” – is the only surviving representative of the several synagogues that once flourished in Ferrara. It is located in the historic Jewish community building built in 1485, which once housed two other synagogues, destroyed by fascists during World War II. Nowadays it is home to Ferrara’s small but active Jewish community numbering several hundred. 

Featured Excursions: 

• Chioggia tour: choice of walking tour or bike tour
• Ferrara city tour 
• Lecture program 
• Evening entertainment  

Day 5: Friday Po River Delta & Burano:

Po River Delta:  From Chioggia you will have two tour options; climb aboard a bragozzo for a ride through the canals for a guided exploration of the Islands and wildlife of the Po Delta or set off for the Euganean hills to discover one of Europe’s most majestic castles the Castello del Catajo. Here, enjoy a guided tour of a palace so beautiful that it became a resort for the Habsburg Dynasty before being returned to Italy following the first world war. After marveling at its frescoed walls, continue for a guided walk around its beautiful gardens or take some free time for yourself to explore as you please before returning to the ship for lunch.   

Afternoon we sail and dock for Shabbat at the magical Island of Burano, famous for its lace-makers and houses painted in eye-popping colors. 

Friday evening prepare for a magical Shabbat on-board as Venice glitters in the background  

Featured Excursions: 

• Option 1: Bragozzo (small boat) guided canal ride and Po delta wildlife tour 

• Option 2: Castello del Catajo tour 
• Afternoon lecture and programming 
• Shabbat in Burano  

Day 6: Shabbat Burano  

Spend a leisurely Shabbat on-board with new and old friends.   

Afternoon optional walking tour of Burano.  

Day 7: Sunday: The Magic Islands of Venice – Lido & Murano 

Today you will exploring the artisan famous glass making Island of Murano and the Jewish cemetery at the Lido.    

The Lido Jewish Cemetery: In 1386 the Venetian Republic granted its Jewish community land for a cemetery at San Nicolò on the Lido, the thin strip of land separating the Venetian lagoon from the Adriatic Sea. The cemetery was gradually enlarged and eventually enclosed, for both aesthetic and protective reasons, by a tall hedge. The community within the Ghetto Nuovo consisted of immigrants and refugees from a wide geographic area. After 1492 and the expulsion of the Jewish community from Spain, many Jewish families from the Iberian Peninsula arrived in Venice. As a result, there are a variety of tombstone engravings, with inscriptions in Hebrew, Spanish and Portuguese, often denoting country of origin; stone-carved coats of arms or family emblems, like the jug and basin or blessing hands also indicate genealogical provenance. Similarly, stylistic differences in the gravestones’ architecture reflect their dates of construction, earlier markers tending to be less elaborate and later ones, like the sarcophagi favored in the 18th century, being more ornately decorated. 

Next, we sail to the Island of Murano, renowned for its long tradition of glassmaking. Here guests will have a guided tour of the glass works learning and viewing the artisans at work then have the opportunity to shop for original and authentic world-famous Murano glass. 

Return to the ship for lunch as we sail back to Venice.  In the afternoon a guide will lead us to the Rialto shopping district for some last-minute shopping. 

Featured Excursions: 

• Lido Cemetery tour 
• Murano excursion with factory visit  
• Afternoon guided shopping in Venice 
• Lecture program 
• Farewell dinner 
• Evening entertainment 

Day 8: Monday: Disembark 
Morning departure and transfer to Venice Marco Polo International Airport for your flight home.  

*Please note itinerary, mooring, and casting off times are subject to change.  It may be necessary to make changes due to climatic conditions, alterations to cruise schedules, or other operational factors.