Back in the days when I was a student living in Venice, before Google Maps and GPS systems, getting lost was a frequent occurrence. I’d often find myself wandering around the picturesque waterways, stumbling across tiny squares, crumbling bridges and hidden, narrow walkways, in the quest to find somewhere. One minute, I could be a piazza teaming with tourists and, next, it was not uncommon to suddenly find myself in a narrow calle, with no one around, hearing the echoes of my footsteps against the lapping of the green-hued canal water. Coming from London and knowing my way around that vast city, this, at first, felt like a painful start to becoming a resident here. Yet, quickly, this feeling was superseded by a sense of joy, especially when discovering hidden treasures off the beaten track. Going off the tourist paths is the fastest way to discover the real sense of this ancient city.
The city’s haphazard signage often hindered, not helped, me in trying to find a specific address. In Venice, street names can be found in both Venetian dialect and pure Italian (there’s no rhyme or reason); numbers of buildings are not necessarily in methodical order; some streets have no names, while others might be labelled according to what district it is found in (there are six zones or ‘sestieri’ in Venice). In short, you find your way around the calli, campi and fondamenti, by getting lost—it’s all part of the thrill of discovering this extraordinary city, whether you live there or simply are a visitor.
Launching this month, and capturing this notion of the ‘unseen’ side of Venice, is Life View by Aperol, the famous orange spritz drink that has its roots in the city. Powered by Google technology, Life View, hosted on Google Maps Street View, invites viewers to travel on previously uncaptured waterways in just a few clicks. Using brand new 360⁰ footage, it allows viewers to explore Venice for themselves through an interactive map. The aim, says the brand, is to capture and share the real lives of Venetians, inviting the world take a new view of the city’s famous waterways.
To uncover these ‘secrets’ of Venice, Aperol ended up creating a new boat for the project. It is the only boat that, due to its shape and size, can enter and navigate through all the canals of Venice. As a result,over ten canalshave been identifiedthat didn’t previously exist on Google Street View including Rio Brazzo, Rio Lustraferi & more.
“The innovative footage brings a sense of immersion, capturing the spontaneous interactions that occur between the locals who work and live on the canals,” says the brand. Supporting local Venetian organizations, the content sees specialized glass-blowing artists from Wave Murano Glass, the generationally maintained Gondolier Association and sporting organisation, Venice on Board, interacting with other authentic Venetians.”
The footage of Google Maps’ Life View opens with Terrazza Aperol’s head chef Samuele Silvestri and sous chef Andrea Dei Rossi as he journeys along a lesser-known, waterway to pick up fresh produce from local supplier Donna Gnora. The interaction between the locals is captured at eye-level, bringing an immersive perspective and authentic story-telling to travelers.
The footage also reveals exactly how generations of Venetians continue to keep the unique tradition and craft of gondolas alive in a modern world. From Venice’s Gondolier Association, Benedetta and Aldo Reato, together with the current president of the Association, Andrea Balbi, share a day in the life of navigating some of the known and lesser-known canals of Venice. Alongside this, viewers are taken to local artisan, Lorenzo della Toffola of the Squero San Trovaso, to give viewers an insight into the specific methods used to restore and repair gondolas.
Artist and Wave Murano Glass founder, Roberto Beltrami, together with his team, is also featured, to give a nod to the rich history of artists in Venice, as he unveils a piece of art that he has been working on using recycled Aperol bottles. The art piece was crafted using 40 recycled Aperol bottles, donated by Terrazza Aperol.
Aperol has deep roots in Venice; having being created in 1919 by founders Luigi and Silvio Barbieri at the International Trade Fair of Padova. Soon the drink’s lively orange hue quickly caught the attention of the nearby city of Venice, as local bars started to serve the drink as the perfect aperitivo moment, alongside bite-size snacks—known as cicchetti in Venice.
Campari Group chief marketing officer, Julka Villa, says: “Venice, the city where the aperitivo culture flourished, is at the core of Aperol’s long heritage. It has informed our values and shaped our distinctive style. To uncover, share and celebrate Venice in its entirety is our way of giving back to the city and Venetians. It is so much more than the classic Instagram photos we are used to seeing, and through this initiative we hope to share the depth of the joy that is there to explore above the surface of the famous waterways.”
Aperol’s ‘Life View’, powered by Google technology, launches here this month, and the interactive map can be seen here.
