The Places - a city built on an archipelago of 117 islets, Venice is remarkable in many ways. Unsullied by modern traffic, it's buildings retain much of their historic character and something of the magic of the place is reflected in our tour which starts and ends with the lagoon, after visiting the islands of Burano, Murano, Torcello and San Michele. The Music - Violinist, priest and most prolific composer, Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678 and spent most of his life there, associated for much of the time with the Ospedale della Piete, a charitable institution for girls, with a strong musical tradition. The music for the tour is taken from his collection of twelve concertos, L'Estro Armonico (Harmonic Inspiration), published in Amsterdam in 1711.