Secret Veneto: 10 Places That Aren't Venice, Verona or the Dolomites

Veneto is Italy's most visited region (after Lazio), thanks to Venice. But tourism concentrates on three poles: Venice, Verona, Cortina/the Dolomites. The rest — the Venetian villas, the Po Delta, the Euganean Hills, Padua of the arts, Treviso, the Prosecco Marca — is where the real Veneto quietly hides.

1. The Palladian Villas of the Vicentino

Andrea Palladio designed some twenty villas in the Vicenza countryside; his urban architecture and Venetian villas are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Rotonda (Villa Almerico Capra) in Vicenza, Villa Barbaro at Maser (frescoed by Veronese), Villa Emo at Fanzolo, Villa Foscari (La Malcontenta). An architectural itinerary of rare quality.

2. Vicenza, the Palladian City

Vicenza itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Piazza dei Signori with the Basilica Palladiana, the Teatro Olimpico (the first permanent covered theatre of the modern world, 1585), Palazzo Chiericati. A full day of Cinquecento architecture.

3. Padua and Giotto

Padua holds the Scrovegni Chapel (with Giotto's fresco cycle, 1305) and Prato della Valle (one of the largest squares in Europe). The Basilica of Sant'Antonio is one of Italy's most visited sanctuaries. Add Palazzo della Ragione with its medieval hall.

4. The Euganean Hills

The Euganean Hills (a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve) are a nature park just outside Padua. Villages such as Arquà Petrarca (where Petrarch is buried), Monselice with its sanctuary of the Seven Churches, and Este with the Museo Atestino (pre-Roman Venetic art).

5. The Po Delta

The Parco Regionale Veneto del Delta del Po is Italy's largest wetland system. Boats, birdwatching (flamingos, herons, black-winged stilts), and the "casoni" (fishermen's huts) of Porto Tolle. One of Italy's most extraordinary and least-visited landscapes.

6. The Marca Trevigiana and Prosecco

The Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene (UNESCO) are the country of Prosecco DOCG. Cellars, restaurants, footpaths. Follina with its Abbey of Santa Maria; Cison di Valmarino, a village crowned by its castle. A textbook weekend.

7. Chioggia, the Little Venice

Chioggia, the fishermen's "little Venice," has parallel canals and a fish market that is still the real thing. Less touristy than Venice, easier to reach. A perfect day to imagine what Venice might have been without the crowds.

Instead of Venice: Chioggia →

8. Bassano del Grappa and the Ponte degli Alpini

Bassano del Grappa, with its Palladian wooden bridge (Ponte degli Alpini) over the Brenta, is among the Veneto's most photogenic towns. The Museo Civico has works by Jacopo Bassano. Locally produced grappa (the spirit). A base for the Belluno foothills.

9. The Lesser-Known Belluno Foothills

Not the picture-postcard Dolomites. The Cansiglio, an ancient beech forest between Veneto and Friuli; the Nevegal above Belluno; Monte Cesen. Trekking, alpine dairy huts, silence. The medieval town of Belluno deserves an afternoon.

10. Secret Verona (Without Juliet)

Verona has far more than the Arena and Juliet's House. The church of San Zeno (Romanesque, with its famed "Wheel of Fortune" rose window and bronze doors), the neighbourhoods of Veronetta, the Scaligero Bridge, the Veronese Hills. A side of Verona that visitors usually skip.

When Should I Go?

April–June and September to mid-October. Summer: Venice is unbearable, the hills manageable, the mountains excellent. Winter: the Dolomites for skiing, the cities blessedly quiet.

How to Plan It

Weekend: Vicenza + Palladian Villas + Bassano, or Padua + Euganean Hills. A full week: Venice (low season) + Padua + Vicenza + the Marca Trevigiana + secret Verona.

See Also

Secret Venice and its sestieri like Castello and Cannaregio complement this regional itinerary.