From Bacchiglione to Brenta. Vicenza, Padua, Venice

Padua is located halfway between Vicenza and Venice. The three cities of art are obligatory stops for those who want to cross the Veneto by bicycle. The proposed itinerary crosses territories with great charm such as the banks of the Bacchiglione and the Riviera del Brenta.

From the center of  Vicenza , which ties its name to that of the famous architect Palladio, take the cycle path built on the former railway that runs alongside the Riviera Berica. After a few kilometers the villa Capra called la Rotonda appears in all its beauty,   considered a symbol of all the Venetian villas. In Longare you leave the cycle path and follow the country roads that lead to  Montegalda , where the Grimani Sorlini villa rises from a hill. Shortly after, take the left bank of the river and enter the province of  Padua . Three rural villages cheer up the ride:  Santa Maria di Veggiano  where remarkable rustic buildings are concentrated in a poetic agricultural landscape; Cervarese Santa Croce , where near an ancient mill, a walkway allows us to cross the river and reach the  castle of San Martino della Vaneza , which contains the Museum of the Bacchiglione river and finally Creola, another village that preserves unexpected historical monuments, such as the Sansovino arch, the Pisani barchessa and the church of Santa Maria del Carmine. The route continues immersed in the green of the river, passing through the territory of  Selvazzano Dentro , up to the gates of Padua.

At the Bassanello node it   is possible to enter the city along the urban cycle paths, or continue in the direction of Venice following the Piovego canal and the Brenta canal. In the first section that runs along the Piovego, you follow an unpaved but sufficiently comfortable and smooth cycle path. Once in  Stra , leave the canal and follow the right bank of the Brenta canal  . The route continues on secondary roads with little traffic and crosses the entire famous  Riviera del Brenta , one of the most famous river landscapes in Italy for the considerable concentration of  Venetian villas  and for the succession of coastal towns: Stra, Fiesso d'Artico, Dolo and Mira. In  Mira the delightful Riviera ends in beauty with the  Villa Foscari  called "la Malcontenta", the summit of Palladian architecture. A little further on, near Porto Marghera the landscape is crowded with industrial plants and the road becomes chaotic. Once in  Mestre it  is advisable to leave your bicycle at the guarded parking lot of the railway station and reach  Venice  by train. The lagoon city among its peculiarities that make it unique in the world also includes that of not allowing the use of the bicycle between streets and squares.