EUGENE VENICE (VENETO)
Venetian rule left its mark on almost every span of Veneto's land. W Belluno, right under the Dolomites crags, the style of the building tells about the city's former dependence on Venice. Saint Mark's Lion looks out over the city's main square on a hill, Feltre, and the market of Verona on the western tip of Veneto. In the plains of the Po basin, which forms the southern border of Veneto, elegant villas of the Venetian aristocracy still stand on farms throughout the region.
Veneto is as culturally as geographically diverse. Those guilds, that make Verona so attractive, they existed long before Venice created a strong empire, and in Padua (where the university has existed since the 13th century) Renaissance civilization manifests itself completely differently than in Venice. Even in Vicenza, the character of which was shaped during a long period of dependence on the republic of Venice, the very appearance of the streets shows her fundamental independence. Today it is one of the richest regions in Italy. Verona, Padua, Vicenza and Treviso, located fr 30 km north of Venice - these are important industrial and commercial centers, and thanks to numerous dairy farms, fruit orchards and vineyards (e.g.. around Conegliano) Veneto is also a leading agricultural producer.
In Veneto, industry is mainly concentrated in Mestre and Marghera, grim conurbation, through which all roads and railroads lead, before they fork over the whole region. It is not so much a city, how much livelihood for many people, a negative impression, which you will receive, looking from the windows of the train or bus, will be completely justified. You can reduce your holiday costs by staying in cheaper hotels in Mestre (addresses at tourist offices in Venice), but a better option is to hike inland.
Brent
Brenta - the southernmost river of the three rivers supplying the Venetian lagoon - caused the first settlers constant trouble with floods and silt deposition. However, in the 16th century. the river was channeled, and its shores became a favorite building site of the Venetian aristocracy. Some of these villas were a combination of a summer house and a farm, but only holiday villas predominated. The period from mid-June to mid-November was the season of villeggiatura, when the families of Venetian patricians shipped their best furniture on the barges and set off to seek shelter from the heat on the Brenta.
About a hundred villas have survived between Padua and Venice: some are in ruins, many are still inhabited, and few can be visited. Among the latter two stand out - Villa Fóscari and Villa Pisani - and both can be easily reached by bus from Venice. But don't be tempted to take the widely advertised Brenta tour on the Burchiello (per unit, which transported patricians to their summer residences), because it costs 98 000 L, and the lunch break takes longer than visiting the villa.
Villa Foscari
Villa Fóscari w MALCONTENTA (V-X wt., sb. and first n / a. man. 9.00-12.00; 5000 L) was designed in 1559 r. by Palladia; of all his villas, this one is the closest to Venice. Most Palladia homes fall into one of two groups: built on the premises of compact farms, with a low central block of flats and wings for warehouses and other utility rooms (Villa Barbaro in Maser and Villa Emo near Castelfranco), and constituting one solid, built for landowners, whose ground was scattered or for some reason it was impossible to erect a large structure on it. Villa Fóscari is a masterpiece in the latter category, wonderfully evoking the architecture of ancient Rome with the help of rusting the face, a massive Ionian portico and a two-story main hall, inspired by the baths of Rome.
Among the frescoes in the rooms there is a portrait depicting a lady from the Fóscari family, who was sent here as a punishment for her love affairs; according to legend, the name Malcontenta comes from the distress and sorrow of this lady. The reality is more prosaic - the area bore this name long before the arrival of the Fóscari family: or because of the discontent caused by the building up of the Venetians here, be from political malcontenti, who were hiding in the nearby salt marshes.
Villa Pisani
Villa Pisani (National lub) in STRA (wt.-nd. 9.00-13.30; 3000 L), almost on the outskirts of Padua, it looks more like an ancien regimeu product than a house of the Venetian nobility. Construction was commissioned by Alvise Pisani, to celebrate his election as Doge of Venice in 1735 r., and it was the largest residence of its kind built in the territory of Venice in that century. Villa has always been liked by megalomaniacs: w 1807 r. He bought it from Pisani Napoleon and gave it to Eugene Beauharnais, to his stepson and viceroy of Italy; w 1934 r. the villa was chosen as the site of Mussolini's first meeting with Hitler.
The entrance to the apartments is strictly controlled - they admit groups of thirty and actually that, what can be seen, it's not very exciting. But in the ballroom there is a plafond with the Apotheosis of the Pisani family - the last major work of Giambattista Tiepolo, painted, when the artist had 66 years. The fresco is characterized by virtuosity of execution and, despite the large planes of blue, it remains coherent; the plot is as follows: the Pisani family and Venice are entertained by the Arts, Teachings and the Spirits of Peace. Honored Pisani Sława wins the fanfare, and Madonna looks at them with pride.