Veneto is the most diverse region in Italy - North-east of Italy on the Adriatic Sea,  If you want to experience all that Italy has to offer in one relatively small geographical area, then, Veneto should be your destination.   Welcoming land of a great civilization.  Venice is the capital of Veneto, the most imaginative city in the world.

But it also means much more: the 20 km long open-air museum of the Brenta Canal, lined with Palladio's splendid villas, the spa resort of Abano and Montegrotto, and the whole of the magnificent northern Venetian border with the Dolomite mountain range that is the home to the world famous ski-resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo and are arguably the most beautiful range of mountains in Europe.  Besides the soaring peaks of the Dolomites, there is the Asiago plateau, and the Cadore Valley; the plains of Veneto are host to the ancient cities of  Verona with the Arena and balcony of Romeo and Giuglietta,  Padua's  university and the Basilica of St. Anthony; beaches of Caorle and Jesolo. 

Veneto, like a country within a country.  Whether travelling along scenic back-roads, strolling around peaceful hill towns or enjoying a glass of wine at a local vineyard, you'll discover the non-tourist side of Italy.

A day in the Veneto is the perfect compliment to your time in Venice, especially at the weekends when Venice can be crowded.   

Food & Wine
Venetian cuisine is known for its variety of dishes and ingredients. The cuisine is based largely on seafood, rice and peas, Venetian-style liver, Vicenza-style dried cod and one of the most representative dish is fish risotto which comes in a variety of forms, the most interesting one is the risotto alle seppie with a bright black color that's a result of the cuttlefish being cooked in its own ink.
But the Venice cuisine is famous also for its soups (especially in Caorle area, called brodetto di pesce), recommended where the cephaloped variety of fish concerne cuttlefish, octopus and squid.    Among the delicious wines that one can enjoy with the Venetian cuisine are:  Amarone, Soave, Prosecco, the Pinot, Valpolicella, Soave, Cabernet, Tocai, Cartizze and Bianco di Conegliano wines to name only a few.

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Venice

 

The city is divided into six districts -  Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Polo, San Marco, Cannaregio and Castello, they are stretched across 118 small isalnds connected by 354 bridges and divided by 177 canals.  It is placed at the center of the marshy Venetian lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy.    The  lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers, about 50 km from the delta Po.  The river Brenta flows into the lagoon and connects Venice with Padova.  The principal form of Venice, looking from above, has the form of a fish.

 

The Venice's lagoon is made up about 400 islands, it is a sort of cluster of small and large, joined and separated "water sisters": Mazzorbo, Sant' Erasmo, Giudecca, Lido, San Pietro in Volta, Pellestrina; the tiny Costanziaca, Ammiana, San Tommaso del Borgognoni and the "submerged churches" of Lio Piccolo; the abandoned San Secondo, Santo Spirito, San Giorgio in Alga, Poveglia, Sant'Angelo della Polvere, the Lazzaretto Vecchio and the Lazzaretto Nuovo, San Servolo, San Clemente, La Grazia and many others are just part of a much longer list. 

 

Murano, Burano and Torcello are, along with Venice itself, the most important representatives of the lagoon, of its beauty and art and of the craftmanship of the people of the ancient Venetian Republic.  Three islands, three worlds to explore and which are easy to reach from their "mother" town.

 

 

San Marco		Detail of a bas-relief in pink marble  situated on the southern facade of San Marco Basilica.

 

Venezia:  Stroll around and through the narrow alleys of the Venice.  Discover and appreciate the most traditional craftsmen workshop in Venice.   What about delighting with the deliciousness of the local cuisine and tasting the excellent local wines?   Would you like something relaxing, and be comfortably taken around on a boat?   Enjoy a tour of the Grand Canal and the smaller canals of Venice, or explore the appealing beauty of the Venetian Lagoon.   You’ll also find half day or full day excursions to discover the peculiar aspects of the Venetian Countryside with its famous Palladian Villas and it's famous wine routes.

 

 

Venezia: full day

You will enjoy a general overview of all the most important monuments in Venice: the Bridge of Sighs, the Doges Palace, and the Bell Tower.   You will see the Church of Saint Mark, then continue through the narrow alleys to discover some hidden treasuries and reach the Rialto Bridge.  A boat ride to Murano and the return through the Grand Canal.

 

 

Murano		Rialto bridge

 

Venezia: full day

The Islands of the Venetian Lagoon: Murano, Burano and Torcello.

• Explore the three most famous islands of the Venetian Lagoon.  You will enjoy the worldwide known glass craftsmenship of Murano, the genuine atmosphere of Burano's fishermen village and the history of the earliest days in Torcello.

Venezia: half / full day

• Two extraordinary islands, two places of the spirit, which are surrounded by a unique solitude and which deserve a special mention: San Francesco del Deserto and San Lazzaro degli Armeni. These two isles have a very particular charm and beauty.  

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The Venetian Countryside and the Palladian Villas Tours

 

 

Andrea Palladio and one of his plans - Villa Pisani

 

In the 1500 the Venetian Republic was ready to exploit to the full the agricultural potential of its mainland territories. The government offered substantial subsidies for reclamation of marshlands and the aristocracy began to build beautiful villas on their country estates.

 

Palladio became the ideal architect who knew how to build cheaply and quickly and was also thoroughly versed in the newly fashionable architectural vocabulary of ancient and contemporary Roman buildings. He was not the only great architect employed on the Venetian mainland, but he was the most prolific. So elegantly did his villas combine the gentlemanly and the useful, that their style became the model for both British and American houses for the next three centuries.

 

Palladian Villas were intended to express the ideals of reason, humanity and civilisation in Renaissance life, and to provide practical settings from which the sophisticated merchants from Venice could exercise their privileges as landowners and their responsibilities as farmers – provisioning the cities where they too spent much of their lives. More than 2000 country residences were built throughout the Veneto between the 15^th and the 18^th Cs, it was the Civilization of the Villas.  

 

You will visit some of the most outstanding county houses along the banks of the Brenta river, or, if you have a full day to spend for this tour, we can reach the hills around the town of Treviso to enjoy the Palladian Villa Emo and Villa Maser

 

 

Villa Emo...

The Villa Emo by Andrea Palladio, unencumbered by lavish decoration, surrounded by elegant gardens, its simple form makes it one of Palladio's purest creations as a Villa architect. Enjoy the Zellotti's frescoes, one of Palladio's favourite frescoes artists, as we tour the villa.   And learn why many people regard this as the most beautiful of the Palladian Villas.

 

 

Villa Malcontenta...

The Villa Malcontenta by Andrea Palladio, along with its famous legend, is one of Palladio's most famous villas.   Built for the wealthy Foscari family, it sits in splendid isolation beside the waters of the Riviera Brenta Canal.   As we tour the interior we'll discuss how Palladio's architecture evolved.  The design of this Villa reflects the transition of Palladian architecture from his early years of imitating other architects to a period when he began to realize his own unique designs.

 

 

 

Villa Barbaro...

 

Villa Barbaro by Andrea Palladio, the most richly decorated of all Palladian villas, is famous for its delightful Veronese frescoes.  As we tour the interior, we'll discuss the beautiful frescoes of the Villa and the famous conflict between Palladio, the patron Marcantonio Barbaro and Veronese as they wrestled over the design and ideology of the building.

 

Providing the perfect interlude between villas, we'll visit the enchanting village of Asolo and take a leisurely lunch at a local Osteria where we'll enjoy delicious regional cuisine and some of the local wines. Asolo, "the pearl of Veneto", is arguably one of the most beautiful hill-towns in Italy.
 

The Roman military settlement in what is now the center of the city was to expand through the cardi and decumani that intersect at right angles.   This structure has been kept to the present day and is clearly visible from the air.   Further development has not reshaped the original map. Though the Roman city with its basalt-paved roads is mostly hidden from view it stands virtually intact about 6m below the surface.  Most palazzi and houses have cellars built on roman artifacts that are unfortunately rarely accessible to visitors.

Because of the value and importance of its many historical buildings, Verona has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Arena and the footpath that goes around it

• The Roman amphitheatre Arena is the most renowned veronese monument.  The name Arena comes from the Latin word for sand, which covered the area where the games and entertainments were held. It is oval in shape. Its internal axis measures 74 by 44 metres, and its external axis 152 by 123 metres.Of the outer ring being over 30 metres high, only the ala or "wing" survived the earthquake in 1117.  

The whole construction was completed around 30 A.D. which is the third largest in Italy, after Rome's Colosseum and the arena at Capua.   An outdoor  Roman Arena,  2000 year old and it's still going strong!  Today the Arena is set in the historical centre just at the end of Piazza Brà.   

 

When the Romans built it, the monument was located at the margins of the urban area, outside the circle of the walls.   Through time it became the very symbol of the town, The Arena has always served the special purpose of spectacular events (gladiators fightings during Romans age).  

 

Today the Arena hosts concerts, open-air works and entertainments and during the summer months, ever since 1913 operas have been held there inside.   It is the largest open air theatre, of its kind, and the the largest opera stage in the world.  The internal tiers of steps can seat about 30,000 spectators  under the stars, everyone from Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion, U2 and Sting have sung there as well as numerous operas.   Make sure you get tickets early.

Open hours: 9.30-18.00  Holidays: 13.30-17.00 Closed: Monday.  Entrance: 1,50 euros Every summer
 

Remains of Porta dei Leoni

• Porta dei Leoni
  Approx. 300 metres from Juliet's house on Via Cappello is Porta dei Leoni.  Erected in the I century as an entrance gate for the Roman Verona (the other gate was Porta Borsari).
   

You will have a few hours to visit the house of Juliet (Romeo’s girlfriend),

• Verona is the setting of the story of Romeo and Juliet, made famous by William Shakespeare.   Although the earliest version of the story is set in Siena, not Verona — the move was made in Luigi da Porto's - Historia  Novellamente Ritrovata di Due Nobili Amanti, published about 1530.  From Port's villa di Montorso Vicentino, during a convalence over a bad wound he had received during a war, la guerra della Lega di Cambrai, he wrote the tormented love affair of Romeo and Juliet, from which William Shakespeare got his inspiration for his most famous tragedy, Romeo e Giulietta.

- A balcony falsely claiming historical connection to the fictional lovers has become a tourist attraction for lovers; the short passageway leading to the balcony is covered with slips of paper,  scribbled names of themselves and their love ones on the walls (graffiti) left by visitors, and a bronze statue of Juliet stands under the balcony, one breast polished by those touching it for luck.

Slips of papers and grafiti left by visitors		Bronze statue of Juliet

Two households, both alike in dignity
(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene)

—William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, The Prologue
 

There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence-banished is banish'd from the world,
And world's exile is death.

—William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene III

• Juliet's bed is not from the IV^th century, but from the 20^th century when it was built and used for the love scene in Zeffirelli's film Romeo and Juliet in 1968.   This film won two Oscars, for the Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. Zeffirelli was also nominated for Best Director, and the film was nominated for Best Picture, but both of these awards actually went to Oliver!, directed by Carol Reed, which was a musical based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

Casa di Giuletta (Juliet's House), the heroin of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".		Juliet's bed

• At the back of the Cloister of Juliet's grave is a wonderful bronze frieze of 10 panels depicting the story of Rome and Juliet.   It is the work of the artist Sergio Pasetto. Most people will make their way to Juliet's house to see the famed balcony but few make thier way over to the other side of town to see her grave.

Juliet's tomb		Amphora

Piazza dell'Erbe		Mercato
Column with St Mark's Lion on top - more details at right  - Piazza dell'Erbe

• Piazza dell'Erbe -  used to be the Roman Forum and was rebuilt by Cangrande I and Cansignorio della Scala, lords of Verona, using material (such as marble blocks and statues) from roman spas and villas.   But now it's a wonderful open air market surrounded by historic buidings with frescos, peppered with sculptures and you'l find some of the most exclusive shops around the city.   Piazza Erbe has a lively atmosphere with colourful stalls sheltered by the great off-white umbrellas, here in the piazza you can go for a cheap meal. 
   

• Above the white tops of the umbrellas can be seen the column with the Lion of St. Mark on top; the fountain of Madonna Verona, constructed under Cansignorio in 1368; the so-called "Berlina", a small marble loggia dating from the 16^th century;  a Gothic tabernacle with elegant cuspidate decoration and finally the Gardello tower at the end of the square.  On the same side is another tower, the Lamberti Tower, begun in 1172 and 272 feet high. 

Defending tower		Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore

 

• Just a foot from the Old Market you can find a defending tower which is hidden and interpolated in between new buildings. It was obviously a part of the city walls and defending system of the town. In fact, it is in the same line as the Hexagonal Tower of Portoni Bra and the city walls behind the Vecchia Guardia.

• The Basilica of San Zeno is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture. The present structure was erected, for the most part from 1123-1135 and is the 3rd on this site, over the 4^th century shrine to Verona's patron saint, St. Zeno (died 380). The splendid façade dominates the large square, and is flanked with a beautiful 72 meter tall bell tower, which is mentioned by Dante in Canto 18 of Purgatory in the Divine Comedy. The bell tower was part of a prior building destroyed during an earthquake in the beginning of the XII century.

• Piazza dei Signori - this charming square uses to be the governmental centre of Verona for many centuries.   The 12^th century Palazzo del Comune and the Palazzo dei Tribunali are impressive buildings facing the square as well as the Torre dei Lamberti and the beautiful Loggia del Consiglo from the early Renaissance. In the middle stands the Dante monument  because he had resided in Verona for a while.

• Natural history museum contains one of the most valuable collections of fossils and archaeological remains of Europe.   

• Castelvecchio Museum features an interesting collection of sculptures, statues and paintings in a magnificent castle with a beautiful view, built in 1354-1356.   Restored by renowned architect Carlo Scarpa from 1969-70, and 1975.
   

Dante - piazza dei Signori		Loggia del Consiglio (left) - Palazzo del Prefettura (right)
Arche Scaligere - The tombs of the family Scaligere		Duomo

• Duomo - In a small square, which complements it to calculated effect, is Santa Maria Matricolare, the Cathedral of Verona.    Built on the site of a previous Early Christian church and consecrated in 1187, the Cathedral has a fascade which is a perfect composite of Romanesque and Gothic forms.   The grandiose porch, consisting of a double baldachin supported by columns resting on stylised lion figures, is particularly striking. The portal is the work of Nicola, the same artist who was responsible for the porch of San Zeno; here he sculpted various figures, including prophets and animals etc,.
   

Verona was the birthplace of Catullus, and the town that Julius Caesar selected for his relaxing stays. In its history many important names passed and events happened that were relevant for the European history, like Theodoric the Great, king of Ostrogoths, Alboin and Rosamunda, the Lombard Dukes, Charlemagne and Pippin of Italy, Berengar I, Dante.  Conclaves were held here, as were important congresses.   Verona was in the travel diaries of Goethe, Stendhal and Paul Valéry.

Vicenza:  

The city of Vicenza has one of the highest ratios of monumental buildings to population in Italy.  Once inside the Medieval quarters of centre of the city you'll be overwhelmed by the beauty and splendour of the surroundings that invite the visitor to explore the cobbled streets lined with elegant shops, where architectural gems by the likes of Palladio are waiting to be discovered.   

The villas in the province of Vicenza

Along our roads, half-hidden, behind rich vegetation, often not seen by the hurried traveler, there are many buildings reminding the past times when living and spending hours at home and in the country meant intense pleasure: The villas of the province of Vicenza.

The tour incorporates a great variety of works by Andrea Palladio including his Villa Rotonda, Teatro Olimpico, Basilica, Villa Godi, a drive along the famous Riviera Brenta to see the Villa Malcontenta, as well as other lesser known Palladian Villas hidden away in the Vicentine countryside.

Some of them of incomparable splendor, others of modest make, some perfectly restructured in their original beauty, others neglected and weather-beaten, constitute the original diversity of the Province of Vicenza.

Andrea Palladio has left the prestigious sign of an unrepeatable time, when the munificence of a few great families has matched with the technical skills of humble artisans whose work, together with the genius of the great architect, has left one of the best examples of human inventiveness.

Palladio is an unicum, but many architects have followed his path by accepting or defying his inheritance: Scamozzi, Muttoni, Pizzocaro and other less famous which makes of our province a constant goal for visitors

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