Veneto

Italy

  • Venice: Venice and its lagoon are listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
  • Padua: also known as the "City of the Saint"; the Orto botanico di Padova is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.
  • Verona: The city of Shakespeare's lovers: Romeo and Juliet. Verona has been named a UNESCO world heritage site.
  • Vicenza is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites, together with a number of the Palladian Villas.
  • Belluno the capital of the Dolomites, the bell tower was designed by Filippo Juvarra.
  • Montagnana is a municipality in the province of Padova with perfectly conserved medieval walls.
  • Bassano del Grappa with its Ponte degli Alpini on the river Brenta, designed in 1569 by Andrea Palladio.
  • Marostica : The 'Chess Game' is the most important event of the town, taking place on the second weekend of September, involves over 550 participants and lasts two hours.
  • Asolo is known as 'The Pearl of province of Treviso', and also as 'The City of a Hundred Horizons'.
  • Este : The House of Este held the city until 1240, when they moved their capital to Ferrara.
  • Arquà Petrarca : this village on the Euganean hills features the tomb and house of Francesco Petrarca, one of the most important Italian poets of the 14th century.

Name and description
L'Orto Botanico di Padova Inserted by UNESCO in 1997. It is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location. (Officially, the oldest university botanical garden is the Orto botanico di Pisa, which was founded in 1544; however, that garden was relocated twice and has only occupied its current, and now-permanent, location since 1591.) It is located in Padua, Italy and was founded in 1545. The garden, affiliated with the University of Padua, currently covers roughly 22,000m2 and has special collections.thumb
Verona Verona was inscribed in the year 2000. One of the seven provincial capitals in the region. It is one of the main tourist destinations in north-eastern Italy, thanks to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans.thumb
City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto The city of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of Veneto were inscribed in 1994 (extended in 1996).City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto at UNESCO website Vicenza is a thriving and cosmopolitan city, with a rich history and culture, and many museums, art galleries, piazzas, villas, churches and elegant, Renaissance palazzi. The Palladian Villas of Veneto, in the surrounding area, and the renowned Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theatre) have both been enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1994 (extended in 1996).thumb
Venice The city and its lagoon were inscribed in 1987. With a population of 271,367 (census estimate 1 January 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). The city historically was the capital of an independent nation. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", "City of Canals" and "The City of Light". Luigi Barzini, writing in The New York Times, described it as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man". Venice has also been described by the Times Online as being one of Europe's most romantic cities.Europe's most romantic city breaksthumb
Dolomites They were inscribed in 2009. They are located for the most part in the province of Belluno, the rest in South Tyrol and Trentino (all in north-eastern Italy). Conventionally they extend from the Adige river in the west to the Piave valley (Pieve di Cadore) in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley (Val Sugana). But the Dolomites spread also over the Piave river (Dolomiti d'Oltrepiave) to the east; and far away over the Adige river to the west is the Brenta Group (Western Dolomites); there is also another smaller group called Piccole Dolomiti (Small Dolomites) located between the Provinces of Trento and Vicenza (see the map).thumb
Peschiera del Garda The town is encircled by massive Venetian defensive systems that are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 9 July 2017.Porta Verona

Villa Barbaro The Villa Capra "La Rotonda" Villa Badoer Villa Malcontenta Villa Pisani (Bagnolo) Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of Veneto are a number of beautiful Palladian villas which are World Heritage Sites. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the immediate area of Vicenza were included. Various types of buildings were represented including the Teatro Olimpico, palazzi and a few villas. Most of Palladio's surviving villas lay outside the site. However, in 1996 the number of Palladian villas included in the site was expanded to include those in other parts of Veneto. The site was given its present name.

The term villa was used to describe a country house. Often rich families in Veneto also had a house in town called a palazzo. In most cases the owners named their palazzi and villas with the family surname, hence there is both a Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza and a Villa Chiericati in the countryside, similarly there is a Palazzo Foscari in Venice and a Villa Foscari in the countryside. Somewhat confusingly there are multiple Villas Pisani, including two by Palladio.

There are these sorts of villas all over the Venetian plain, but especially in the provinces of Treviso, Padua, Vicenza and Venice. The date of construction of these villas ranges from the 15th to the 19th century. There are approximately five thousand Ville Venete, of which 1,400 are declared of historical and monumental interest.

Apart from the numerous Palladian villas, of which 24 are protected by UNESCO, there are many beautiful villas spread across Veneto, mainly from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Many of them are museums, public institutions or private residences. The 24 Palladian villas which are part of UNESCO:

Amongst these, Villa Trissino (Cricoli) is not regarded a Palladian villa, but is also an important country house.

  • Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park is situated in the southern section of the Province of Belluno.
  • Cansiglio is a pre-alpine massif located in the north-eastern Veneto in the provinces of Treviso and Belluno.

The area of Lake Garda is a major tourist destination. Various towns along the lake, such as Lazise, Cisano, Bardolino, Garda (VR), Torri del Benaco and Malcesine, are resorts.

The mount Antelao Lastoi de Formin (Cadore) The begin of Strada delle 52 Gallerie A trait that shows the structure of the Calà del Sasso

Cortina d'Ampezzo, it is situated in the province of Belluno and is one of the most exclusive mountain locations in Europe together with Kitzbühel in Austria and St. Moritz in Switzerland. It was scene of the 1956 Winter Olympics and will host once again in 2026 alongside Milan. To the north there are the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, said to be a symbol of the Italian Dolomites.

Arabba lies between the Sella group and the Marmolada.

Auronzo is in the upper Cadore.

Sappada is in the extreme north of the region.

Other carateristical places are:

  • Mount Pasubio and Strada delle 52 Gallerie (a military mule built during World War I with 52 tunnels)
  • Altopiano di Asiago and Calà del Sasso, with 4444 steps, the world's longest staircase open to the public.

The thermal baths of Abano Terme are an important tourist attraction. Montegrotto Terme and Recoaro Terme are other resorts.

Venice's Lido is an 11-kilometre long sandbar, visited by many tourists every summer.

Jesolo is one of the most important seaside resorts on the Adriatic coast, just a few kilometres far from Venice. Every year Jesolo gives accommodation to over 4.5 million tourists.

Caorle has often received awards for one of the cleanest beaches in Italy. Bibione, Eraclea and Sottomarina are resorts too. Albarella island is a private island on the Lido. Alberoni Beach is set in a nature reserve.