Say Veneto and you immediately think of Venice. St.
Mark's Square, the great lagoon, the gondolas on the
Grand Canal, the Bridge of Sighs, the wild Carnival,
the great architecture, the artistic masterpieces, the
sumptuous palazzi, the magic of the narrow streets,
the International Film Festival, the Biennale Art Exhibition,
the Fenice Theatre, the prestigious universities, the
many indications of the splendour and ostentatious wealth
of a marine power that dominated the Mediterranean for
five centuries. But the Veneto is not just Venice, and
its landscape does not just consist of the sea. The
mountains of the Veneto have a rare beauty.
The
Dolomites seen from Cortina d'Ampezzo, the famous holiday
resort in the province of Belluno, are a fabulous spectacle.
And the whole area of the river Po delta, in the province
of Rovigo, is a unique environment of exceptional natural
interest. At Padua, an ancient and learned city, the
majestic Basilica that houses the relics of S. Antonio
attracts millions of pilgrims every year.
The attraction of the Palladian Villas is also strong,
named after their creator, the great architect Andrea
Palladio who, in the sixteenth century, planned and
realised buildings whose harmonious beauty is still
capable of astonishing, such as La Rotonda in Vicenza.
And during the summer at Verona, the city immortalised
by Shakespeare in his Romeo and Juliet, a night at the
opera in the Arena should not be missed.n.
Information
about the region of Veneto:
