Ask an Italian: The Veneto

Every week, Francesco Serra, our good friend and expert on all things Italian, gives us perspective on Italian culture. Residing in the northern city of Padova, but being a fiercely proud native Calabrian, he brings a unique perspective on all things Italian.

Image: Dystopos.

Our question today for Francesco....I'm planning a trip to the Veneto in a few months, do you have any advice for something unique and different to see? I'm already planning to check out the sites of Venice and Padova, but wondered what you would consider off the beaten path for a regular tourist?

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The Veneto region is most famous for the city of Venice, the Saint of Padova (for those who are believers), and a few other things. So, in addition to the first two, which you will surely find in any guide book, I have a few suggestions. I think it would be very valuable to go see the Ville Venete, palatial villas scattered throughout the video. The most famous of them are designed and built by Palladio, the grandaddy of Renaissance architecture.

Image: mharrsch.

You could also go see the masterpieces of Canova, the famous sculptor, which you can find in the Gipsoteca Canoviana in Possagno and if you want a nature show, you definitely want to go to the Delta del Po, which is a real melting pot of wildlife species, some of them very rare, like the beccaccia di mare.

I think it's really worth the road trip to see all of this :)

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