Riviera del Brenta, Padua and the Euganean Hills

Route description

From Mestre, on the mainland side of Venice, follow the SR11 west along the Brenta canal, where Venetian nobles built their summer villas. The first is Villa Foscari, known as La Malcontenta, one of Andrea Palladio’s best-known designs. Further on, past Mira and Dolo, Villa Pisani at Stra is a palace with a Tiepolo ceiling, long gardens and a hedge maze. The road is busy but flat.

Padua lies 10 km beyond Stra. Its greatest treasure is the Scrovegni Chapel, painted by Giotto around 1305; visits are timed and must be booked well ahead. The city also has the Basilica of St Anthony, a huge square called Prato della Valle and one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. The centre has restricted traffic zones, so park at the edge and take the tram.

Head south-west on the SS16 to Battaglia Terme, where the Castello del Catajo, a vast 16th-century castle-villa, stands at the foot of the Euganean Hills. These volcanic hills are a regional park of vineyards and small roads. Arquà Petrarca, where the poet Petrarch spent his last years and died in 1374, is a village of stone houses with his house open to visitors.

Continue through the hills to Monselice, with a castle and a road of chapels, and on to Este, whose castle walls enclose a public garden next to a fine archaeology museum. The last stop is Montagnana, one of the best-preserved walled towns in Europe, with almost two kilometres of medieval walls and towers. The whole route is easy for motorhomes; spring and autumn are best.