The Cycle Route of Riviera del Brenta is an evocative route that runs along the Naviglio del Brenta, an ancient communication route where the Venetian nobles built enchanting villas.

In fact, these beautiful houses were built between the 16th and 18th centuries by the Venetian aristocracy and were used as country residences. Today the Riviera del Brenta can be explored in different ways: on board tourist cruises, on foot, on horseback and by bicycle.

Our itinerary starts from the Graissi bridge in Padova. Continue towards Stra, on the dirt embankment, and arrive at the crossroads of the Brenta river with the Piovego canal, where the locks allow boats to enter the canal.

The first stop is Villa Pisani, in Stra, home to a national museum which preserves works of art and furnishings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Continue following the Naviglio del Brenta until you reach Dolo, a picturesque center that preserves ancient mills of the sixteenth century.

The route then continues towards Mira where you can stop to admire the Barchessa of Villa Valmarana, two eighteenth-century buildings facing the right bank of the canal. Further on you reach the hamlet of Oriago, where you can admire Villa Gradenigo which, with its typical square shape, recalls the sixteenth-century buildings of Venezia.