The Venetian villas of the 15th-18th centuries, located on the banks of the Brenta River, are astonishingly luxurious in their architecture, rich in frescoes and a vivid testimony to the aristocratic power of the Venetian patrician era. In those days, the coast could only be reached by water, as the existing roads were built later. To protect the Venetian lagoon from the water elements, a network of canals was built, on the banks of which the construction of these magnificent villas began.
Of particular interest are: Villa Pisani in Stra (Villa Pisani, Strà); Villa Foscari “Malcontenta” (“Discontented”), Province of Venice (Villa Foscari, detta La Malcontenta), according to old legends the unfaithful wife of a Venetian official was imprisoned there; Widmann Foscari, Province of Venice (Villa Widmann Foscari), Villa Contarini (Villa Contarini) and many others.
Representatives of Venetian nobility were transported down the river in boats called burquiello (barge). The burquiello was pulled ashore by men, oxen or horses. Cargo was transported on boats called “burci”.
Today, cruising along the Brenta coast is still of interest to tourists; where more than 70 Venetian villas have been preserved, where you can touch the walls, where grand balls and sumptuous celebrations were held so long ago.
