Bee apiary tour with local honey tasting

This private tour will take you to explore rural life on St Erasmo, the largest island in the northern lagoon.

Characterized by green areas, woods, and canals, St Erasmo is renowned for the fertile soil and lagoon flora, which has historically determined the island’s rural vocation. The island is also called ‘Venice’s veggie garden’ for the abundance of fresh produce and vast fields, where excellent vegetables and fruit are still grown today. In particular, purple artichokes, asparagus, and cardoons are distinctive produce of unique taste. White wine, such as Prosecco, also boasts a long tradition on the island, as it is celebrated each year on the Grape Must Festival. In this rural-lagoon context, beekeeping stands out. For this reason, the first destination of the tour is an apiary.

As finely tuned to the ecosystem on the island, this apiary has been operating for over thirty years and is still a rare example of rural business run in harmony with the environment. The use of natural beekeeping methods results in high quality honey, which is produced using flower varieties of the lagoon, where bees are free to fly and pollinate. A beekeeper will show you a honeybee colony and illustrate the colony’s social structure and common bee behaviour, along with the apiary’s bee-friendly extraction techniques. This is an exciting opportunity to understand and appreciate the hard work of these little creatures to make honey.

The visit to the apiary will be followed by local food tasting. Beekeepers will be preparing a range of delicacies for you to enjoy in the cosy atmosphere of the apiary owner’s home on the island. Traditional finger foods, vegetables, and fruit will be served with a selection of local honeys and Prosecco wine. This will be a great time to taste St Erasmo’s genuine flavours in a wonderfully sweet setting.

In conclusion, the tour is a fascinating experience to gain an insight into the lagoon’s micro-macro universe for both bee and marine enthusiasts, which will leave you an unforgettable memory of Greater Venice, off the tourist trail.

You may choose between 3 different packages: the standard one (visit + honey with prosecco tasting), the Wine package (visit + honey with local wine tasting) and the Deluxe tasting package (visit + lunch).

Example of Tasting Menu (duration: 3 hours)

• One cone of seasonal vegetables topped with ‘millefiori’ (wildflower) spring honey

• One ‘quiche’ tart made with zucchini pesto and ‘millefiori’ summer honey

• Crackers with either Piave’s seasoned cheese, or smoked ‘scamorza’ cheese, or St Daniele’s ham

• Venice’s sandbar flower honey

• Seasonal vegetables and fruits

• Panna-cotta made with ‘millefiori’ autumn honey

• Hazelnut honey and honeycomb

Lunch included in the Deluxe package (duration: 4 hours)

• Risotto

• Second course of fish depending on the season and seasonal vegetables

• One bottle of local prosecco and one bottle of Orto di Venezia wine