Riviera del Brenta

The Riviera del Brenta is the area surrounding the Naviglio del Brenta (a channel from the Brenta River), also known as Piovego, which runs from downtown Padua across the Veneto countryside, through Stra, Fiesso d'Artico, Dolo, Mira, Oriago and Malcontenta to Fusina, which is part of the municipality of Venice, in the North-east of Italy.

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.

History of the Venetian villas

From 16th 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 place 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.

Venetian villas

La Malcontenta

Villa Sceriman Widmann Rezzonico Foscari

Villa Gasparini

Villa Pisani

Here you may find the main villas, and the municipality which they belong to.

Mira

Villa Alessandri
Villa Allegri von Ghega (XVI secolo), Oriago
Villa Bon
Villa Foscari detta la Malcontenta, Malcontenta
Villa Gradenigo, Oriago
Palazzo Moro (XV secolo), Oriago
Villa Priuli, Oriago
Villa Sceriman Widmann Rezzonico Foscari
Villa Querini Stampalia, Mira Porte
Barchesse di villa Valmarana, Mira Porte
Villa Venier
Villa Levi Morenos

Dolo

Villa Badoer Fattoretto
Villa Ferretti Angeli
Villa Gasparini (XVIIIth century)

Fiesso d'Artico

Villa Recanati-Zuccon (first half of XVIIIth century)
Villa Soranzo (XVIth century)
Villa Barbarigo-Fontana (first built in XVIth century, arranged in XVIIIth century)
Villa Corner-Vendramin (XVIIIth century)
Villa Contarini di S. Basegio (built between XVIIth century and XVIIIth century)
Villa Marchese De Seynos o degli Armeni (XVIIth century)
Casa Venier-Tiepolo (XVIIIth century)