Ma s’io fossi fuggito inver’ la Mira, quando fu’ sovraggiunto ad Oriaco, ancor sarei di là dove si spira”.
(Dante Alighieri – canto V del Purgatorio della Divina Commedia)

The Brenta Riviera is nothing more than the other side of Venice, so the Naviglio Brenta is the simple continuation of the Grand Canal on the mainland. Here, rich gentlemen, leaving from Venice, sailed inland until they reached their sumptuous summer homes, overlooking the Naviglio, to spend their holidays. Today, along the banks of the waterway, there are dozens of Venetian villas that made this strip of land one of the most exclusive areas of the time, frequented by illustrious figures such as Goethe, Napoleon, Lord Byron, Canaletto, Tiepolo, Galileo Galilei, Giacomo Casanova, Henry III, King Gustav III of Sweden and many others.
The main villas of the Riviera del Brenta are, starting from Venice, Villa Foscari – La Malcontenta, Villa Gradenigo, Villa Valmarana, Villa Widmann, Villa Angeli, Villa Foscarini – Rossi and the imposing and majestic Villa Pisani, now a national museum. The visit to the Villas can be done by river, through one of the local navigation companies: the ticket includes a visit to 3 villas accompanied by a tourist guide and lunch.