Itineraries
VENICE, the Islands of the Venetian Lagoon, ...
Venice needs no introduction, but not many know about the charming islands of the lagoon. The most famous are Murano, known for its glass products, and Burano, a picturesque fisherman's island. With the boat service you may also reach the monastery of San Francesco del Deserto, Torcello, Pellestrina and the famous beach of Lido di Venezia.
Venice is not only Piazza San Marco. Take a walk over Ponte della Paglia, along the Riva degli Schiavoni and head towards San Pietro di Castello: a magical place where you will discover the atmosphere of faraway Venice, unknown to many, but with an incomparable charm. From ponte dell’Arsenale bridge, in front of the Museo Navale (Naval Museum), continue towards Fondamenta della Tana, amongst clothes hung out to dry and men caring for their moored boats. Arriving onto via Garibaldi lift your gaze and admire the strange combination of tenement housing and Gothic buildings dating back to the fourteenth century; almost all the doorbells bear the names of Venetian families. A short distance away from the cheery voices of the people of Castello and from the floating fruit and vegetable markets, you will discover the wonders of San Pietro di Castello church, the public parks, location for the Biennale d'Arte and the immense area of the Arsenale shipyards.
Palladio’s Malcontenta and the Villas along the Brenta
Corte di Villa Colloredo is located centrally along the Brenta River and from our house you can reach in 10 minutes Palladio’s Villa Foscari in Malcontenta. You can also take a bicycle ride along the river and see many other villas, including Villa Valmarana, Villa Widmann and Villa Pisani in Stra with the famous frescos from Giambattista Tiepolo in the ball room. If you have children Villa Pisani’s maze will be a lot of fun.
PADOVA: Giotto’s Chapel and More
Villa Colloredo is as close to Venice as to Padua. This city definitely deserves a visit. Among its beauties we can certainly name the Scrovegni Chapel with frescos by Giotto, Saint Antony’s Cathedral, the square of Prato della Valle and the anatomical theatre at the old university, founded in 1222. If you like nature you need to see the botanical garden, the oldest in the world.
Arriving in the morning allows you to take a walk through the fruit and vegetable market in Piazza dei Frutti and Piazza delle Erbe. In the late afternoon we recommend a stop at Caffè Pedrocchi for a cappuccino or cup of tea.
VICENZA and Palladio’s Architecture
If you are interested in architecture, you need to spend a day in Vicenza and see all Palladio’s buildings. Starting from the centre of town see Palladio’s Basilica, the Loggia del Capitano, Palazzo Thiene and the Teatro Olimpico. Moving on to the hills you can visit Palladio’s Villa Almerico Capra, also called the Rotonda. Once there we recommend taking a walk uphill and having a look at the frescos of Villa ai Nani, painted by Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Giandomenico Tiepolo.
Piazzola, Bassano del Grappa, Marostica and Thiene
This is an ideal itinerary if you want to see some of Veneto’s smaller towns. Starting your day just a few kilometres north of Padua you can visit Villa Contarini in Piazzola, one of the region’s Venetian nicest and biggest buildings. If you happen to be in Piazzola on the fourth Sunday of the month, you’ll also be able to see the market of antiquities.
Driving north you’ll be in Bassano after 30 minutes. Don’t miss the Ponte degli Alpini, an old wooden bridge on the Brenta River, and the ancient Nardini distillery where you can taste and buy a large variety of grappas. Paying a visit to the Santissima Trinità church you won’t miss Jacopo da Bassano’s painting. Walking in the centre of Bassano is certainly pleasant, but you want to see a medieval castle, the one in Marostica is certainly in better shape. Note that every other year Marostica offers one of the nicest attractions: the chess game in the central square with live pawns.
If you’ve seen everything the day is probably over. Anyhow if you have some more time, drive a few more minutes past Marostica and stop in Thiene to visit the Castello da Porto Colleoni. When you are in the nicest part of the building you’ll be surprised to hear that this gorgeous room was the horse stable!
COLLI EUGANEI:Arquà, Este, Montagnana, Abano Terme...
West of Padua is a group of hills, the Colli Euganei. On and around these hills ther are a few interesting things to visit in one or two days. Starting from Battaglia Terme you can pass by the Cataio Castle, and then drive on to Valsanzibio to visit the magnificent gardens of Villa Barbarigo with a variety of trees, a number of statues and fountains, as well as a maze to have some fun. From there drive up to Arquà Petrarca, a small medieval village where the famous Italian poet Francesco Petrarca used to live. His house is nowadays a museum you can visit.
Monselice is the next town worth visiting for its medieval castle: Castello Cini. If you like walking climb up the hill to Villa Duodo. From Monselice you can quickly reach Este and Montagnana, two other fortified medieval towns surrounded by very well preserved brick walls. In Montagnana you can also see from the outside Palladio’s Villa Pisani, which cannot be visited inside as it is private.
Alternatively you can go to Abano Terme or Montegrotto to relax in a health centre with thermal waters. Many hotels in Abano and Montegrotto Terme allow you to access their saunas and hot water swimming pools, where you can swim outdoors also in the cold wintertime. Last but not least, you can drive past Montecchia to admire architect Varotari’s Villa Emo Capodilista.
VERONA: the Arena, Castelvecchio, Juliet’s House ...
The roman city of Verona is at 1 hour drive from Villa Colloredo. Renowned for the Arena, this small Roman Coliseum is still used nowadays for concerts and operas. From June to August you should take the chance to see one of the many Italian operas performed at the Arena, like Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida and Nabucco or Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème and Turandot.
If you like architecture make sure you visit Castelvecchio, the old castle renovated by Carlo Scarpa, and the Giardini di Villa Giusti. Shakespeare’s lovers and true tourists won’t miss Juliet’s house and balcony, but if you have some spare time we recommend visiting something else: San Zeno’s Basilica, the Roman Theatre, Ponte Pietra… On your way back, we also recommend a stop for a glass of wine in Soave, another fortified medieval town, famous for its wines.
Spending a holiday at Corte di Villa Colloredo along the Brenta River allows you to stay just 20 km from Venice and to visit various other art cities in Veneto. On this page we have given some examples of the locations you can easily reach from our house.
TREVISO, Castelfranco, Maser, Asolo and Possagno.
This itinerary allows you to discover some of the treasures of the province of Treviso. Your first stop could be for a coffee in Castelfranco Veneto, one of Veneto’s medieval fortified towns with the best preserved brick walls. Drive on to Fanzolo, a small village hiding Palladio’s Villa Emo. If you are interested in this architect’s work you should definitely go to Maser and visit Villa Barbaro, one of Andrea Palladio’s most beautiful buildings. This villa is private, but can be visited one or two days a week. Inside Villa Barbaro you’ll be able to admire Paolo Veronese’s frescos.
From Maser you can move on to Asolo, a small and beautiful town on the hills. In Asolo you should simply take a walk and go shopping, as there are many nice boutiques. If you are interested in sculpture a drive on to Possagno is certainly worth to be able to visit Antonio Canova’s gallery of plaster casts and house. On your way back we recommend to stop in Treviso for dinner, as this town hides many of Veneto’s best restaurants.
Aquileia, Grado, Palmanova
East of Venice is a region of good wines and more art. Aquileia is one of the major Roman archaeological sites. Grado is a picturesque fishermen’s town on the Adriatic Sea, while Palmanova is an interesting fortified city of the renaissance time with its walls drawing a star.
On your way to or way back from this trip, we suggest you to stop in Campopietra to visit the Molon vineyards and wine cellars. This is located in a magnificent Venetian villa and it is possible to do some wine tasting as well as stopping for lunch or dinner at the wine bar.
Chioggia, Porto Caleri, Pomposa and RAVENNA
Ravenna is about 130 km from Villa Colloredo, but you can drive there for a daily trip to visit the renowned Byzantine mosaics and monuments. Ravenna is south of Venice so you will drive through Chioggia, famous for its fish market taking place daily. This town deserves your attention at least for a walk. On your way to Ravenna you should also stop in Pomposa to visit the abbey.
During the summer you might as well like to go to the sea instead of driving all the way to Ravenna, so we suggest you to go to Porto Caleri near Rosolina. This is one of the last wild beaches on the Italian side of the Adriatic Sea and can be reached after a 10 minutes walk through the natural botanical garden and scenic dunes.
Golf in Venice and the Veneto region
If you love golf there are 5 courses near Venice and within 30 km from Corte di Villa Colloredo. There are over 15 golf courses in the Veneto region and may be easily reached from Corte di Villa Colloredo in less than an hour by car. If you wish to play golf in the Alberoni course in Venice we suggest that you reserve the tee time in advance.
Here on the left download the PDF list of golf courses and telephone numbers to plan your day on the green.
Corte d Villa Colloredo di Sara Frison
Via Brusaura 24
30031 Sanbruson di Dolo - Venezia, Italia
Tel. +39.041.411755 Cell. +39.348.2102337
C.F. FRSSRA73B61D442L | P.IVA 03802120273 info@villacolloredo.com