Veneto, a charming land

Arrival in Padova. Meeting with the guide. Guided tour of S. Antonio Basilica and of Giotto’ s “mysteries” painted by him in the famous Scrovegni chapel. Visit of Palazzo della ragione, Palazzo del Bo’, anatomic theatre and Galileo Galilei’s cathedral. Short break at Caffè Pedrocchi, the famous “café” without any door. Hotel accommodation in Padova, dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Venice and beginning of the guided tour from San Marco Sqaure, Palazzo Ducale, both the new and old Procuratie, Rialto bridge, Contarini del Bovolo Palace and the magic architecture of some of the renaissance building on Canal Grande. We’ll also visit a very important collection at the Accademia. Lunch in a restaurant. Continue of the visit in the afternoon. Return to Padova, hotel accommodation, dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Treviso. We will begin our city tour along the main road, Calmaggiore, where there are numerous monumental buildings from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We will arrive in Piazza dei Signori, where the symbolic building of the historic center stands: the Romanesque Palazzo dei Trecento. We will also see the Casa dei Carraresi and the Loggia dei Cavalieri, the Cathedral and the Cappella Malinti, the churches of S. Vito and S. Lucia, S. Francesco and S. Niccolò. Lunch in restaurant. In the afternoon, tour of the ‘Luigi Bailo’ Civic Museum admiring masterpieces by G. Bellini, Lotto, Tiziano and J. Bassano. Return to the hotel in Padova, dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Vicenza. As first stop we will go to Palazzo Chiericati, which is also the seat of the Civic Museum. We will immediately see a “perspective” masterpiece, called the wooden Olympic Theater. We will then continue to the central Piazza dei Signori where we will able to admire the solemnity of the Palazzo della Ragione. After the visit of Loggia del Capitaniato, lunch in a restaurant. In the early afternoon we will visit the more spiritual side of Vicenza. We will go to a hill where the the Basilica of Monte Berico stands and where the works “The Supper of St. Gregory the Great” by Paolo Veronese and the “Pietà” by Bartolomeo are kept. We will conclude the trip with a visit to La Rotonda, a villa, made up of four identical facades that stand out from the green of the surrounding countryside designed by the famous architect Palladio. Return to Padua, dinner at the hotel and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Verona. From the Arena, you will reach the enchanted places of the Shakespearean story of Romeo and Juliet. The tour then explores the mystical-religious aspect that has as absolute representatives: the magnificent Romanesque / Gothic cathedral and the spectacular Basilica of S. Zeno. We will then stroll through Piazza delle Erbe where you will visit the characteristic market. The tour will move to Piazza dei Signori, another treasure to be admired. The visit ends with Castelvecchio. Return to the hotel in Padua, dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Arquà Petrarca. Francesco Petrarca came here to spend the last years of his life, the poet’s body rests in fact in the monument in the center of the square-churchyard from which the entire town then turns. Petrarch’s house obviously remains the major cultural attraction of the city of art. However, the oratory of SS. Trinity and the Loggia dei Vicari are worth a visit, too. Lunch in a restaurant and transfer to Montagnana. Majestic buildings develop around the walls, among which we will find: Porta Legnago (otherwise known as “Rocca degli Alberi”) from the 13th century, and the Castle of San Zeno, now home to the Civic Museum. We will then go to the Duomo to see the “Transfiguration” by Veronese and the splendid high altar. We will also go outside the city walls to reach Palazzo Pisani, an exceptional Palladian monument. Return to the hotel in Padua, dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Our trip continues to Rovigo, in the heart of the Polesine. The first stop is certainly the castle with the two towers. Moving on foot we will then admire the architecture of the Venetian dominion in the works of Biagio Rossetti (Palazzo Roverella and Chiostro S. Bartolomeo) and Michele Sanmicheli. Lunch in a restaurant. The visit then moves to the Accademia dei Concordi (1580), home to the library and art gallery where a very important collection of works by Venetian and Ferrarese painters from the 15th to the 18th century is collected and to the Civic Museum which is located inside of the Monastery of S. Bartolomeo. Return to the hotel in Padua, dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. We conclude this tour in the Po Delta, a real miracle of nature. Here we will observe very rare specimens of flora and fauna and we will see the typical “casoni”, that is the huts with the large chimney that were a reference point for the fisherman and for the guardian of the valley, all within a very delicate ecosystem made up of canals, marshes, lagoons, reeds and sand banks. We will explore the magical scenery of an untouched world. Return to the country of origin.