Vicenza e la Pedemontana Veneta
When you are in Vicenza, everything around you expresses art. Look up to see how the Palladian Basilica dominates Piazza dei Signori with its majestic covered walkway or loggia. Enter the streets of the historic centre and at every corner you can find a palazzo, a church, a museum, a detail that reveals the greatness of Andrea Palladio. Its Olympic Theatre will leave you breathless, as though crossing the threshold of a fantasy. Then follow the afternoon light, cross the Bacchiglione River and reach Villa La Rotonda, an icon of architectural perfection surrounded by greenery.
But Vicenza is also a lively city, with famous shops, restaurants that celebrate culinary tradition, open-air markets and events that animate the squares. You can explore on foot or by bike, stopping in hidden gardens or historic cafes to enjoy the laid-back pace of this city of art.
Nearby await walled cities, villages and ancient noble residences to complete your journey. Each place has a story to tell and an atmosphere all its own with unique experiences.
After the art and history, it's time to take some long deep breaths of fresh air. The Berici Hills are an ideal break and an opportunity to venture through vineyards, woods and scenic roads. You can cross them on foot, by bike or on horseback, with the scent of grapes accompanying you along the way. And then there is the cuisine: at a farmhouse surrounded by greenery, with a dish of Vicenza salted cod and a glass of Tai Rosso, the flavour of this land is slowly discovered.
The journey continues through the hills and valleys of the Venetian Pedemontana, the foot of the mountains, a territory that surprises with its variety. Here you can walk along paths that encounter medieval castles and villages, or travel the historic pilgrimage roads and cycle routes. Just follow the thread of local traditions and excellence to discover villages, huts and authentic flavours.
It marks the border between the Provinces of Treviso, Vicenza and Belluno but, rather than dividing them, it unites them in an extraordinary landscape. Here the mountain is sweet and wild at the same time, with high altitude pastures, dense forests and valleys dug by the water.
As you move from one location to another, the Palladian Villas will appear before your eyes, like gems embedded in the fields and hills. The villas are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but also living places, which reveal an aristocratic past and the inimitable genius of Andrea Palladio.
After crossing cities, hills and villages, the journey ends at high altitude, where the air becomes cooler and nature dominates the landscape. On the Vicentine Prealps and the Asiago Plateau of Seven Municipalities, you can choose from many sports in winter or trails to explore in summer, all with an expanse of landscapes and delicious food and wine traditions.
Riviera del Brenta
Once, along the banks of the Brenta, Venice's most influential families built their holiday homes. Elegant villas surrounded by greenery, overlooking the water and were animated by sumptuous parties, diplomatic meetings and moments of leisure in the large gardens. Today that charm has remained unchanged and the Riviera del Brenta is the perfect place to immerse yourself in an atmosphere of art, history and beauty.
The best way to discover it? Sailing along the river, as did the Venetian nobles, or cycling on the cycle path that runs along the banks, amid villages, bridges and picturesque views.
Among the Venetian Villas that you will encounter, the most grandiose is certainly Villa Pisani, known as La Nazionale, in Stra: the estate, with its fascinating park, was commissioned in 1721 by the Doge Almorò Pisani to celebrate the greatness of his family; this is demonstrated by the fresco Gloria of the Pisani Family, painted by Giambattista Tiepolo on the ceiling of the sumptuous ballroom.
Another must-see building is Villa Foscari, known as La Malcontenta, built by Palladio in 1559 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the splendid frescoes inside by Battista Franco and Giambattista Zelotti are worthy of attention.
But the Riviera never ceases to amaze. Also to be included in your itinerary are Villa Foscarini Rossi, designed at the end of the sixteenth century by Vincenzo Scamozzi and now home to the Museum of Footwear; Villa Valmarana, with its imposing colonnades and traditional Italian garden; Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari, which hosted illustrious figures such as Carlo Goldoni, Cardinal Sarto (who became Pope Pius X), the musicians Malipiero and Igor Stravinski, and Gabriele d 'Annnunzio, a friend of Count Pietro Foscari, who was a frequent guest.
Beacons of art and civilisation, historic residences that tell the story of centuries of ingenuity, taste and economic development, and bear witness to ancient aristocratic histories: these are the Venetian Villas, a widespread heritage comprising over 3,000 properties.
More than just buildings to admire, the villas are experiences to enjoy: the Riviera del Brenta will reveal the secrets of the Venetian Villas through guided tours, cultural events, festivals and food and wine traditions.
Find out more on the Riviera del Brenta official website!
But the story of Venetian holidays does not stop at the banks of the Brenta. A little further north, among historic residences, enchanting villages, water mills and countryside crossed by cycle paths, lies the Terra dei Tiepolo, a territory named after the famous family of Venetian artists that conserves the same popular elegance as the Riviera.
From Noale with the Palio and the Rocca dei Tempesta to Mirano with the large park of the Belvedere and Morosini Villas, through to Santa Maria di Sala and the 18th-century atmosphere of Villa Farsetti, this land is guaranteed to amaze you.
To see itineraries, experiences and events in the area, visit the official Terra dei Tiepolo website.
Marmolada Great War Museum
The Marmolada Great War Museum is located at the Serauta station, at an altitude of 2,950 metres, and is the highest museum in Europe dedicated to the First World War. It is unique for being situated directly on one of the battle sites, offering visitors a unique experience that combines nature, history and memory. Founded in 1990 by Mario Bartoli and Bruno Vascellari, the museum was completely renovated and expanded in 2015 to mark the centenary of the Great War.
Tre Sassi Museum of the Great War of Cortina d’Ampezzo
At Passo Valparola, between Cortina d’Ampezzo and Alta Badia, the Tre Sassi Museum of the Great War occupies the spaces of an Austro-Hungarian fort built between 1897 and 1901 to control an important strategic access to Val Badia at a time of growing tension with the Kingdom of Italy.
Risorgimento and Resistance Museum of Vicenza
The Risorgimento and Resistance Museum of Vicenza is closely connected with the moral and cultural life and the traditions of the city and its territory, both because of the material it preserves and the location of the museum. In fact, the institution collects memories of important events and figures in Italian history that played a key role in the city's historical events.
The Hemingway and Great War Museum of Bassano del Grappa
The Hemingway and Great War Museum, housed in the evocative Villa Ca' Erizzo in Bassano del Grappa, examines the meeting of history and literature in one of the most significant places on the Venetian front. The villa, an elegant fifteenth-century residence overlooking the Brenta, was used in 1918 as a base by the American Red Cross. Among the young volunteers who served there was Ernest Hemingway, employed as an ambulance driver.
MUB - Museo della Bonifica of San Donà di Piave
Where the River Piave meets the plain and water has shaped people's lives over the centuries stands the MUB – Museo della Bonifica: a place that tells the extraordinary story of humanity's effort to tame and understand nature.