Riviera del Brenta

The Riviera del Brenta is an area of the Metropolitan City of Venice of particular tourist-cultural interest due to the great architectural heritage of the Venetian Villas built between the 15th and 18th centuries by the nobles of the Venetian Republic along the river Brenta (now Naviglio of the Brenta).

This territory is the natural way of communication (by land or by river) of two large cities, Padua and Venice, and then over the centuries has become the holiday resort of wealthy patrons coming from the two capitals.

Driving along the Brenta Canal starting from Padua, the cities that are part of the Brenta Riviera are Stra, Fiesso d'Artico, Dolo, Mira, Oriago, Malcontenta and Fusina.

The Naviglio is navigable by river boats, whose best example is the famous Burchiello, which once used to carry Venetian noblemen from Venice to the countryside and Padua and is now a tourist attraction.

In the territory of the Riviera del Brenta, in addition to the Venetian Villas, the panoramic views along the Naviglio del Brenta or the magnificent small villages that make up the historic centers of the Riviera itself, other attractions have arisen over the last century ... for example: one of the most important centers for the development, design and production of high fashion footwear was born and developed.

Along the main road that runs along the Riviera del Brenta, the famous Venice Marathon takes place once a year (in the month of October). The event takes place on the traditional distance of 42.195 km and starts from Stra (in front of the magnificent Villa Pisani) to end in the historic center of Venice.

History of the Venetian villas

From 15th to 18th century many Venetian aristocratic families built their beautiful villas here (like Villa Pisani in Stra, Villa Ferretti-Angeli in Dolo, Villa Widmann-Foscari in Mira, and Villa Foscari a.k.a. La Malcontenta in Malcontenta): they are indeed known as Ville venete, Venetian villas. Noblemen used to re-invest their trade profit in big agricultural complexes. They were not just countryside manors, but real and self-sustainable production centres: they add fields all around, stables, barns, and the villages of the peasants. The villa was the name of this kind of complex, but it today refers to the manors only. Some of them have also beautiful gardens, with small woods, fountains, mazes and small lakes. The villa veneta is typical of all the region of Veneto, but the Riviera del Brenta is home to some of the most beautiful and famous, even if there are other exceptional examples of villas (like Villa Contarini, Villa Capra La Rotonda or Villa Barbarigo). Many of the villas are in the Palladian style, and a few were designed by Andrea Palladio himself or by his pupil Vincenzo Scamozzi.