World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, the city is the capital of Veneto, but for centuries it was the capital of the vast Republic of Venice.

Venezia, entirely built on water, it is a unique city in the world. It has no roads, just canals – including the Grand Canal thoroughfare – lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. Few cities can claim such a priceless art and history heritage as Venice.

Part of the complex of Venetian villas, stately homes built from the fifteenth century along the territories of the Republic of Venice. Between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries almost 4,000 stately villas were built in Veneto: the immense historical and architectural heritage left to us tells us about a past of industriousness that generated wealth, and in turn transformed into beauty.

Among these about four thousand sites scattered throughout the Veneto, the residences built by Andrea Palladio constitute a small but precious part. Suffice it to say that many of these, 24, have been included in the UNESCO list as a World Heritage Site.

It is perhaps one of Palladio's most famous and photographed villas, the one known as La Rotonda. In reality, as with all villas, it takes its name from the client. In this case, it was Monsignor Almerico Capra, who entrusted the construction of this villa-temple to Palladio in 1566.

An identical façade is repeated on the four sides of this villa, in a perfect symmetry that gives incredible charm to the building. The villa rises from the top of a light plateau near Vicenza, dominating a large stretch of the Venetian countryside below.

In Bassano del Grappa we are in the presence of this majestic and regal villa, whose construction was entrusted by Giacomo Angarano to his friend Andrea Palladio. What you see today, however, is not all the work of the Venetian architect.

His remained the barchesse, lateral structures typical of Venetian villas, which had the function of separating the rooms intended for the peasants from those of the owners. The central body of the villa was instead the work of Margutti, who expertly finished the work begun by Palladio.

It is probably one of the most magnificent and best preserved villas of Palladio, still in excellent condition and still inhabited by the owners. It was designed by Palladio in the mid-sixteenth century .Its fortunate location, immersed in a verdant landscape of the Venetian countryside, and its elegant architecture make it one of the most beautiful villas in the area.

The surroundings of the villa are distinguished by floral manifestations of roses, wisteria and bignonia, which adorn and further enrich the exterior of the villa. In these spaces it is also possible to taste the wines produced in the grounds of the residence.

Villa Emo is perhaps one of the most complete in its various architectural elements, as well as one of the most extensive.

From the main body, which is given particular prominence, to the side barchesse, everything is in perfect harmony in pure Palladian style. Of great interest is also the park surrounding the villa, where there is also a particular ecosystem of plants.

This elegant mansion built in the second half of the seventeenth century faithfully follows the model of the villas of the Venetian hinterland and, just like those, was owned by a rich Venetian family. the splendid monumental garden in Baroque style. The visit to the garden is a fairytale path, marked by statues, temples, pavilions, stairs and of course a great variety of trees and plants; There is also an allegorical path and a labyrinth.

Called the "Venice of the Mainland", the Riviera del Brenta is the most fascinating area of the Venetian hinterland . The image of the surrounding countryside, enriched by artistic masterpieces inspired by the aesthetic canons of classicism, is the result of a "fashion" developed in the golden ages of the Serenissima Republic that pushed the wealthiest families of the Venetian aristocracy to build a villa along the banks of the river Brenta.

Villa Emo Capodilista in Selvazzano Dentro is home to a well-known winery and home to the same family that has owned it since the Middle Ages. It is also called La Montecchia from the name of the hill of the Regional Park of the Euganean Hills on which it stands. Built at the end of the sixteenth century as a hunting reserve, it was designed and decorated by a painter who was a pupil of Veronese who also cultivated a passion for architecture. The villa now houses the wine shop of the farm, a b & b and four luxury holiday apartments and private rooms now inhabited by Count Giordano Emo Capodilista.

Villa Pisani is today one of the most visited attractions in Veneto. You can see only some of the 114 sumptuous interior rooms (including the Napoleonic apartment), but the rooms that can be visited are enough to give you an idea of the size of this villa-palace.

Villa Foscari called La Malcontenta in Mira is the only villa on the Riviera del Brenta designed by Andrea Palladio. The interior of the Piano Nobile is embellished with a cycle of frescoes in which important Venetian painters of the sixteenth century participated. The residence has a majestic, almost regal character, unknown to all the other Palladian villas, to which the splendid interior decoration.

The Villa dei Vescovi in Luvigliano (Torreglia), was originally the seat of an intellectual circle of the sixteenth century, conceived as a place designed to stimulate deep reflections, and today it is used as a suggestive location for cultural events managed by the FAI.