Segreti Veneziani
The Venice you thought you knew,
seen with thirty years of keys.
Five days in the quiet winter city. Five guests. The doors, courtyards, ateliers and tables that three decades of Venetian friendships have opened, now opened to you.
12 to 16 January 2027
THE PREMISE
There is the Venice of visitors, and there is the Venice of Venetians.
You have likely been to Venice before. Most guests of this retreat have. What you have not done is walk through the calli at first light in January with the only people who know where every closed door leads.
Thirty years ago I came to Venice to race local regattas, in the years of Il Moro di Venezia and the America's Cup. That is where the Venetian friendships began. For more than two decades since, I have been coming back as a photographer, slowly coming to know la Venezia dei Veneziani, the Venice that Venetians keep to themselves. A gondola squero at Giudecca. A handful of ateliers keeping old Venetian trades alive. Tables in restaurants that remain Venetian treasures, away from the tourist streams.
Segreti Veneziani is a five day retreat built from those years. Not a workshop, not a tour. Five guests, one residence, a local guide who has lived here his whole life, and time. A great deal of time.
THE DAYS
Canaletto's Venice
An afternoon at the Gallerie dell'Accademia, guided by Manuel. We focus on the Venetian masters, Canaletto above all. Not a tour with a microphone. A conversation, one painting at a time, about how a Venetian painter saw this city centuries before the camera existed.
Five days shaped by the light, the tide, and three decades of friendships.
Tables you cannot book
Lunches and dinners are taken where locals eat. A few of these rooms seat twelve and have no sign above the door. This is not a gastronomic promise, it is simply how we live in Venice for the week.
First light
We start before the city does. The January fog lifts off the canals with the first gondoliers, and the light is the kind that keeps photographers quiet. Breakfast happens later, in the café that opens for the workers.
A city behind doors
Over the week we enter courtyards, ateliers and private homes that are not on any route. Our local guide has lived in Venice his entire life. Much of what we see is offered because of him, not because of bookings.
Water and Shortcuts
We move as Venetians do, mostly by vaporetto, and we know the shortcuts. In a labyrinth, that is a big difference.
Time, unhurried
There is always an afternoon in the schedule with nothing in it. You walk, you get lost, you find something. The discipline of this retreat is to allow a place to arrive rather than to collect it.
TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS ONE CITY
Venice reads in two voices. Water, and stone.
Jürg Kaufmann
THE NAUTICAL VENICE
The lagoon, the boats, the light on the water before the city wakes. Thirty years of Venice, more than two decades photographing it from its canals. The traditions of the gondola, the local hidden restaurants and culinary treasures, the quiet waters at dawn before the motors start. This is the half of the city I know best, and the half I lead across the week.
Manuel Martini
THE ARCHITECTURAL VENICE
Stone, proportion, the way a palazzo holds a campo. Sight lines composed five centuries ago that are still exactly there, if you know how to look. Manuel is an architectural photographer. Across the week he leads the reading of Venice as built form, the session at the Gallerie dell'Accademia on Canaletto and the Venetian masters, and the Chamonix 4x5 afternoon that follows.
PRACTICAL
The details, quietly settled.
DATES
12 to 16 January 2027
Five days, four nights. Begins at 4pm Tuesday, ends 5pm Saturday.
LANGUAGES
German & English
The team also speaks Italian, Spanish and French.
RESIDENCE
Residenza Ducato
A private boutique residence in the heart of the city, close to San Marco. Single occupancy throughout.
LEVEL
Any
From first serious camera to working amateur. The practice is seeing, not technique.
GROUP
Five guests
Two leaders in residence: Jürg Kaufmann and Manuel Martini. One Venetian guide.
MOVEMENT
On foot & by vaporetto
Comfortable walking for several hours a day through the calli.
This retreat is designed for
Guests who have been to Venice before and want to see the version of the city most visitors never meet.
People with a good camera who want to get more from it. No prior experience assumed, and help is there whenever you want it.
Guests who value the calibre of the residence, the quality of the tables, and the discretion of the group as much as the photography itself.
People who read a book to the end before starting the next one.
It is probably not for
Photographers looking for advanced technical instruction on equipment workshop.
Guests who want a traditional workshop with daily lecture blocks and assignments.
Travellers who prefer large group tours and a packed sightseeing itinerary.
Those looking primarily for social media content rather than a collection of considered images.
YOUR INVESTMENT
CHF 3’190
Rate held for reservations confirmed by 31 August 2026. Thereafter CHF 3,490. A 50 percent deposit reserves your place; balance due thirty days before arrival.
Everything is taken care of
PER PERSON
INCLUSIVE
Four nights single occupancy at Residenza Ducato
Transfer from Santa Lucia station on arrival and departure
Vaporetto travel pass for the duration of the retreat
Jürg's and Manuel’s personal guidance throughout
NOT INCLUDED
Travel to and from Venice
Meals and drinks
Travel and personal insurance
Offered once per year as part of the Residenza Ducato experience programme.
THE INVITATION
We would be delighted to welcome you
Five days in Venice, with three decades of keys at the door.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What you may want to know
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Yes. Most of our guests have a good camera they have never fully used. The retreat is built around a way of seeing, not a list of techniques. If you would like technical help during the week, the two leaders are available for it. If you would prefer to simply walk and photograph without instruction, that is equally welcome.
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Because at six the retreat changes shape. Some of the rooms we enter, the tables we sit at, the conversations we have with Venetian friends, simply cannot accommodate more. Five is the number at which the week retains its intimacy and its access.
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The one you already own. A mirrorless or DSLR body, one or two lenses. If you own a tripod, bring it. An iPhone is welcome as a second tool, not as the primary one. We do not send a kit list in advance because it becomes a distraction from the actual point.
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It is cold. It is almost never miserable. January is when the city empties, the light becomes extraordinary, the fog holds until mid morning, and the tables all have space. The locals prefer their city in winter. There is a reason for that.
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No. Most guests arrive alone. The group is small enough that, by the second dinner, you know each other. Residenza Ducato is single occupancy throughout, so each guest has their own room and their own privacy when they want it.
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A small, considered body of work made over five days. One sheet of 4x5 film, processed and returned. A set of places and a handful of Venetian friends who will remain after the week is over. And, typically, a changed relationship to the city itself.
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A short note through the form below. We respond within two working days with dates confirmed and the full brief. Before a place is held we have a short conversation by phone or video. A 30 percent deposit reserves the reservation; balance is due thirty days before arrival.
TESTIMONIALS
"A premium experience. Two photographers reveal a completely different city, far from tourist crowds. It resonates on multiple levels: visually, gastronomically, personally."
Lukas Müller, January 2025
"Jürg Kaufmann opened doors to us that normally remain closed. We experienced Venice at sunrise almost to ourselves, with access to people and places that represent the real Venice."
Sandra Dimo, January 2025
Jürg & Manuel raise my photography and composition, and the technical handling of the material, to a new personal level. An insider who does not just look through the lens, but opens doors that without his network remain closed."
Markus Walker, January 2026
JANUARY 2027