Climb aboard for a full-day mini-cruise departing from Padua, with guide service on board and in the Villas, entrance ticket to 3 villas, lunch on board with traditional Venetian cicchetti, comfortable private bus back to Padua. A plunge into the past...sailing past ancient villas, extraordinary gardens, swing bridges and navigation locks!
Along the verdant Brenta Canal, between the 16th and 18th centuries, Venetian nobility had sumptuous mansions, palaces and villas built as holiday homes so they could rest from the hectic life of Venice. Magnificent buildings, locks, movable bridges and green bends of the Naviglio characterize this waterway. Cruising through the villas of the Brenta Canal you can relive the enchanted atmosphere of yesteryear...
PROGRAM
Meeting with the guide and boarding of participants in the Artemartours Navigazione Turistica motorboat in Padua, at the Wharf by the 16th-century Portello Steps (Via Lungoargine Piovego).
From the Portello river landing from which we depart headed the boats that, sailing along navigable rivers and canals, connected Padua with the Venice Lagoon. We first sail along the "Piovego Canal" the city's main waterway and skirting ancient walls and sixteenth-century bastions we pass the ancient medieval Graissi bridge. Starting in the 15th century, Venetian aristocratic families began to spend their vacations here: thus, many sumptuous villas were born on the banks of the river, hosting luxurious parties and grandiose banquets. The first villa we encounter, in Noventana, is the superb Villa Giovanelli, an imposing "temple-villa" designed by architect Giorgio Massari.
Our itinerary continues by passing with water descent the Noventa sluice gate, the main stream of the Brenta River and the Stra lock. Passengers will experience the mechanism of the highly technological locks, which join waterways of different heights and allow navigation along the Canal.
The boat docks in Stra to visit the park of VILLA PISANI, the largest villa along the "Riviera del Brenta" with rooms frescoed by Tiepolo and Guarana, the scenic stables and the incredibly vast park. The villa belonged to the very rich and powerful Pisani family, who had it built by the famous architect Gerolamo Frigimelica in 1722. Strolling through the magnificent park that frames the villa, one has the evocative feeling of a plunge into the past. Crossing the long perspective avenues, one can see the botanical and naturalistic value of the garden, which occupies 14 hectares and is a true masterpiece of interaction between man and nature. At the end of two magnificent avenues lined with horse chestnuts stand the 18th-century stables and the long swimming pool that blends perfectly with the surrounding area. Near the stables are the orangery and greenhouses used to grow citrus and tropical plants. The labyrinth, the masterpiece of this romantic garden of yesteryear, is made of boxwood hedges and is built around a central turret topped by a statue of Minerva. Of interest is the ancient icehouse, a structure set on top of a hollow artificial hillock, bordered by swamp cypresses and surrounded by a moat from which ice was once taken.
We continue the river cruise among the villas of the Brenta, skirting the picturesque village of Dolo with crossing the historic navigation locks of Dolo and Mira. Illustration of the many villas overlooking the Naviglio, explanation of the opening mechanism of the revolving bridges and Vinciane locks of the real water elevators.
Embarkation and lunch on board.
In the afternoon, we continue our navigation until we reach Mira to visit the BARCHESSA DI VILLA VALMARANA. The villa, overlooking the right bank of the Brenta Canal, is a 17th-century building that was remodeled in the 18th century. While originally the barchesse were simple buildings used for agricultural purposes, eighteenth-century interventions converted them into guest quarters, to provide hospitality at festivities related to the villeggiatura, acquiring fine architectural lines inspired by Giorgio Massari. The interiors of the barchessa are embellished with frescoes by Michelangelo Schiavoni and the scope of Giuseppe Angeli.
The exterior of the building features a wide and high porch made solemn by Tuscan columns and adorned with statues related to mythology. In the garden facing the waterway, the rich vegetation forms a kind of labyrinth of yews and boxwoods, with escape routes along which children once loved to chase each other.
Navigation continues to Malcontenta, among villas, riparian villages and swing bridges with illustrations of numerous Venetian villas seen from the river.
Dock and visit VILLA FOSCARI, a 16th century masterpiece of Andrea Palladio internally decorated by Gian Battista Zelotti, a pupil of Paolo Veronese. The villa, designed by Palladio between 1555 and 1560, is considered one of the great architect's most brilliant works. Admiring the building, one can see the perfect balance and harmony between the architecture and the surrounding landscape. The main facade faces the access by water, on the Brenta Canal, as in the palaces of Venice. On the other hand, the rear facade faces the garden, and the large windows evoke those of the Roman baths.
After visiting Villa Foscari, return by private bus to the starting point (30-minute ride).
Arrival in Padua and termination of services.
Duration of the excursion: about 10 hours
