Music Festival tour to Riviera Del Brenta

Visit Venice to see the many iconic places

The Brenta River winds its way between Venice and Padova and flows past beautiful countryside and splendid villas along the way. During the height of the Venetian Republic the river was engineered to become a cargo canal to move goods and people from Venice to the interior hinterlands, and to transport mainland products to the lagoon city. As it became more easily navigable, the Brenta became a favoured retreat among the aristocratic class and many of them constructed opulent villas to escape the city heat and enjoy the natural surroundings of the countryside.

The best architects of the day were employed to design these status-bearing palaces, most notably Palladio and Tiepolo. Their designs still stand for symmetry, beauty and elegance. The shoreline of the Brenta became so lined with palatial villas and manicured gardens that it started to look like another version of the Grand Canal. Shakespeare used the Brenta as one of the settings of his play, the Merchant of Venice. In an eleven-mile stretch from Villa Malcontenta to Stra, there are 44 villas lined up along the canal's banks. The owners hosted sumptuous parties in the gardens and the salons, making it an extension of Venetian courtesan life. Hunting parties and manicured garden mazes were also common. The purpose was relaxation and enjoyment, along with a touch of decadence for which the Venetians were famous!