About Veneto

Most visitors to the Veneto Region are so dazzled by Venice that they forget about the rest of the region. This region, however, has so much more to offer including Giotto's extraordinary frescoes at Padova, the experience of an opera at Verona's Roman Arena or visiting Vicenza, which was the home town of the famous architect Palladio. The northern end of the region is famous for its ski resorts including Cortina, and extends to the beautifully scenic Dolomite ranges. It is a diverse region offering some of the most scenic mountains in Europe as well as large open beaches ideal for a summer holiday.

The region of the Veneto also known as Venetia or Venezia Euganea comprises the provinces of:

• Belluno
• Padua
• Rovigo
• Treviso
• Venice
• Verona

The Veneto offers a diverse range of holiday destinations including spa resorts such as Recoaro, World Cup winter sports destinations like the Marmolada Glacier and the Olympic resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo, popular seaside resorts including Bibione, Lido di Jesolo and Lido di Venezia and picturesque lakeside resorts of, Cisano, Bardolino, Garda, Torri del Benaco and Malcesine.

Soave:
Travelling east from Verona through the charming upper Venetian plain, one comes to Soave, a fairy-tale castle town whose name you may already know if you enjoy Italian wines. Its castle and circle of walls were built by the Scaligeris in the 14th-15th century.

Marostica:
Still surrounded by fourteenth century walls, Marostica hosts an annual chess game with living chessmen, played out in the beautiful Piazza del Castello.

Venice (Venezia)
With its outlying islands, unique appearance, fascinating history and wealth of art treasures Venice is a must on any visit to the Veneto Region. The old historical centre of the city is situated four kilometres from the mainland, on 118 islands within the Venetian Lagoon, including the island of Murano, famous for glass blowing, Burano and Torcello.

Padua (Padova)
Padua is located in the lower Venetian plain between the Brenta and the Bacchiglione rivers, about twenty kilometres from the lagoon of Venice. According to legend, Padua was founded by a mythical Trojan prince, Antenore. It was an important Roman city in 452 and was later destroyed by Attila. Whilst in Padua be sure to visit Museum Civico, the historic centre including Palazzzo Bò, Piazza della Frutta, Palazzo della Ragione, Piazza dei Signori, Palazzo del Capitanio and the cathedral, Basilica di Sant’Antonio. The botanic gardens located in Padua are the oldest in Europe.

Rovigo
Rovigo is a medieval town located on the fertile Po Valley plain on the edge of the Po and Adige river deltas. The heart of town is the Piazza Grande or Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Whilst in Rovigo visit the museum, Accademia dei Concordi, and the splendid octagonal church of S.Maria della Rotonda (1594-1602).

Treviso
Treviso, birthplace of radicchio, was first built by the Romans, and was an important centre throughout ancient and medieval times. Today, Treviso is a delightful and very prosperous provincial capital. It is located at the junction of the Sile and Botteniga Rivers. Whilst visiting Treviso you will see 16th-century walls at Ponte della Pria, canals flowing between buttressed and corbelled houses, cobble stoned alleys, and tiny bridges.

Verona
Verona is the largest city in the Veneto and is situated at the foot of the Lessini mountains and on the banks of the Adige river. It is famous for the ill-fated love affair of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The medieval centre of the city boasts many attractions.

Whilst in Verona visit the Roman Arena, Casa di Giulietta - said to be the house of Shakespeare’s Juliet and Tomba di Giulietta - Juliet’s tomb. Verona also offers fine restaurants, and fabulous shopping.

Vicenza
Vicenza is situated at the foot of the Berici mountains, on a flat fertile part of the upper Venetian plain. A mecca for lovers of fine architecture Vicenza is famous for the architecture or Andrea Palladio. As extravagant as he was meticulous, Palladio swept 16th-century Italian architecture into a New Age that is still admired around the world today. Palladio often worked in Venice, and several examples of his work are major attractions, but more than any other place it was Vicenza that became the artist's showcase.

Perhaps the oldest structure of note in Vicenza is the paleo-Christian basilica of SS. Felice e Fortunato. Dating back to the 4th century. Many relics from the 4th to 6th centuries still survive inside, including mosaics on the floor of the basilica.

FOOD:
The region's cuisine is founded on rice and corn. Polenta is fried and served with hearty game stews and also included in other main courses across the region. Risotto is cooked with almost everything the countryside and the waterways have to offer from baby peas to shellfish and game. One local speciality is risotto flavoured with squid ink. The Veneto is also famous around the world for tiramisu.

WINE:
The Veneto region is famous for its wines including, Soave, and Trebbiano di Soave. Soave has long been Italy's most popular wine abroad and is well known in the USA, the UK and Australia.

Valpolicella is noted as a full and fruity red to drink from vineyards in the hills north of Verona. Bardolino, made from the same grapes as Valpolicella, is very easy to drink either in the light red or dark pink "chiaretto" version.

Near Vicenza, Gambellara produces whites similar to those of neighbouring Soave, and Colli Berici, where wine varieties including Tocai, the Pinots, Merlot and Cabernet prevail. In red wines, Merlot and Cabernet Franc have been the main varieties of the central and eastern Veneto for decades. Throughout the region the recent emphasis is on white wines. Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon and especially Chardonnay are gaining ground.

Art and Architecture:
The Romans had a strong influence on the art and architecture and important traces can be found throughout the region. The best-known example is the Arena of Verona.

In the area around Venice, Byzantine influences are visible whilst in the hinterland; there are many outstanding examples of Romanesque and Gothic art.

The Veneto also has many fine examples of Renaissance palaces.

The famous artists from this area include: Bellini, Giorgione, Cima, Tiziano, Canova, Palladium, Tiepolo and Giotto.

Museums:
In Venice, housed in the Academy Galleries, there are major collections of Venetian art from 300 to 1700. International exhibitions are organised annually in the Palazzo Grassi. There are also museums displaying eighteenth century life in Venice with tapestries, attire, furniture and paintings on show.

In Verona the Civic Museum of Art is devoted to Veronese artists. There is also the Archaeologic Museum and the Museum of Frescoes. In Padua Giotto’s frescos may be admired in the famous Scrovegni chapel. In Treviso there is the Museum of the Casa Trevigiana with modern furniture and sculptures. Rovigo has the Gallery of the Concordi a Venetian school from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century.

The Veneto falls into two geographic zones, a mountainous and hilly area in the north, which includes parts of the Dolomites and Carnic Alps (Alpi Carniche), and the fertile Venetian Plain in the south.

The Veneto's main rivers are the Po, which forms the boundary with Emilia-Romagna in the south, the Mincio, which forms part of the boundary with Lombardy in the west, the Adige, and the Piave. The region also borders on Lake Garda in the west.

Flora:
Around the vicinity of San Donà di Piave are woods of alders, poplars, willows and elms. Around the lagoons, the vegetation is typical of humid zones. The black pine, the maritime pine and the evergreen oak can also be found in the lagoon areas. The flora surrounding Lake Garda is typically mediterranean whilst the alpine zones are characterised by oak trees, chestnuts and broad leafed trees up to 1,100m, beeches and conifers up to 2,200m and rhododendron and dwarf pines over 2,200m.

There are numerous protected areas including the Parco delle Dolomiti Bellunesi and the Po Delta Park.

The climate varies dramatically across the region. It is continental on the plains and milder along the Adriatic coast, round Lake Garda and in the open hilly areas. The winter is harsh everywhere, due to north easterly winds.

Verona enjoys a mild climate with the spring and autumn the ideal time to visit. In summer, it can be quite hot and humid due to the influence of Lake Garda. In winter it is cold, although rarely grey and gloomy.

Getting around