Veneto by bicycle – Metropolitano.it

140 km of travel, from east to west, touching the main Venetian locations. Between lagoon, rivers and hills, many architectural masterpieces and breathtaking naturalistic panoramas

Not just cities of art, or beaches or the Dolomites.
In recent years the Veneto has developed a new form of tourism “green” which is increasingly involving young people and lovers of outdoor sports: the cycling one.
With increasing numbers and the possibility of exploiting a considerable network of dirt and asphalt roadsThat it follows old converted railway lines and river banksable to connect the whole of Veneto insecurity and to go beyond borders regional, even up to Munich.
The regional project “Green Tour – green in motion” involves hundreds of thousands of kilometers offering breathtaking natural routes, food and wine ideas, a vast artistic and cultural choice. A journey along an unprecedented Veneto, still little known but of significant importance.
In this article we will go through the region from east to west touching the main cities, following the Veneto section of the AIDA (Alta Italia To Visit), a very long cycle-pedestrian artery capable of uniting France to Slovenia. The hope is that what we experienced you can practice on the street. Let’s do it together lightly, with the desire to explore. In music: “And with the bike we escape and who knows… we’re off to a great start, we’re off to stardom”!

Veneto by bicycle: first stage: Venice – Padua

And we’re off to a great start, yes, from Venice, with the first destination being Padua, the City of the Saint.
A journey of 46km who, after leaving the lagoon, Mestre and of Margheraimmediately immerses himself in the splendid Brenta Riviera.
From Oriago until Stra you pass in front of many, small palaces of Versailles, the holiday places of Venetian nobles. Also meeting groups paddling along the river, or the famous Burchiello with tourists, getting closer to Mirawe meet the villas Mocenigo, Widmann and Valmarana; after passing through the Mira Porte hub, it is inevitable to come to terms with the industrial past of MiraLanza. After passing the Town Hall of Mira, both on the right side of the Naviglio, the one you are following, and on the other, you come across other seventeenth and eighteenth century buildings: the villas Alberti, Venier, Ducale, Velluti, Tito and Badoer Fattorettoalmost all of which have a large garden and some can be visited by reservation.
We are now halfway through and we feel a certain peckishness. Entering the municipal territory of Dolo, if we are traveling in the afternoon, a stop at the characteristic Squero which is located in the center and at the old mill, where the flowing water guarantees a moment of peace before resuming the ride towards Padua can be a good choice. You will find numerous pubs and restaurants where you can enjoy a relaxing break.

Reaching out Stra, still along the right bank of the Naviglio, you can see a mix of panoramas enriched with bell towers, countryside, industrial warehouses belonging to the most famous footwear hub in the world and new villas, mostly private. Until you emerge in front of that eighteenth-century Venetian masterpiece, Villa Pisani, which included Napoleon among its illustrious guests. Crossing the bank at the next bridge, a visit to the garden with labyrinth and the ballroom frescoed by Tiepolo is a must.
From Stra we take the road along the Piovego, a long and gentle straight, both dirt and asphalt. Every now and then you come across a nice and large flock of sheep.
His passage allows for a moment’s rest. Padua it is introduced from the back of Villa Giovanelli Colonna and from the shrine of the Unknown Internee of Terranegra, dedicated to Italian military internees in Germany. And finally, here we are at the City of the Saint. It’s up to you to decide whether to continue along the canals and the old walls, or in Prato della Valle, among ice cream parlors and terraces. We are spoiled for choice to worthily conclude the first stage of our journey along AIDA.

Second stage: Padua – Vicenza

During the first stage we glimpsed typically flat horizons along the Naviglio del Brenta.
The scenario to reach Vicenza is different because we will get lost in the spectacle of Euganean Hills before and of those Berici Then.
The route is as long as the one from Venice to Padua and our travel companion for the occasion is called Bacchiglione River.
We will follow him through a long straight made varied by a continuous zigzagging between bridges that cross it in several places.
We therefore start from the Basilica of Sant’Antonio, we proceed towards the Bassanello district and we connect right with the Bacchiglione and its cycle/pedestrian path which immediately leads us to the greenery of the Euganean Hills and to river park.
Entering the territory of Cervarese Santa Crocewe meet the castle of San Martino della Veneza, a fortress built along the old border between Padua and Vicenza but which over the years had taken on more commercial connotations. The route crosses two other cycle paths.
The first is the one that leads to starting theRing of the Euganeansthat long nature tour which skirts the Padua hills touching the Praglia Abbey, the spa center of Abano and Montegrotto and the charming village of Arquà Petrarca; the second, however, is the intersection of Treviso-Ostigliathe old disused railway line that connects the Piave area to the Po and therefore to Mantua and Lombardy.

But before this intersection, after having glimpsed San Martino della Veneza, we cross the borders with Vicenza and encounter another typically medieval building: the Grimani Sorlini castle, an elegant and coveted 11th century bastion, raised in the middle of a forest above the hill overlooking the territory of Montegalda.
We have now reached the halfway point of our stage and here we have crossed an imaginary border, we have passed from one beauty to another: from the Euganean Hills to the Berici Hills.
And we enter new territory, often overlooked by the large tours organized in Veneto, but capable of giving a lot of joy to the eyes.
We arrive in the municipal area of Longare and we recommend crossing the river to see the village of Costozzaat the foot of the quarries.
Here too it is easy to understand the medieval origins of this village, immersed among the first vineyards and nature. Costozza is renowned precisely because of its former quarries, from which the Vicenza Stone was extracted and its rock houses. Reaching precisely the grotto, hence the French name of the accommodation that pampers it, it is possible to take incredible photos of the surrounding panorama and breathe tranquility and freedom. We thus return to our original route, our stage is now about to end: from Longare we take the Riviera Berica and 7 km from the restart we reach the splendid Villa Rotonda, the masterpiece of that inspiring genius Palladio. Vicenza, our terminus, is one step away.

Third stage: Vicenza – Verona

Backpacking and pedaling, now it’s the turn of the longest stage, 70 km, the one that goes from Vicenza to Verona, our final destination of this tour that connects the Veneto from east to west. This journey strikes more chords because it looks more at urbanization and provincial and motorway road arteries.
However, what you will see will be a festival for the viewfor the taste and thesmell.
In Vicenza we follow the Retrone rivera tributary of the Bacchiglione, entering thepark of the same name.
So let’s cross Creazzo and Sovizzo and then we arrive in the territory of Montecchio Maggiore.

We are welcomed by Villa Cordellina Lombardi, an eighteenth-century architectural masterpiece in Palladian style that received the artistic touch of Tiepolo.
A place of the heart open to the public. The center of Montecchio Maggiore is now there, just a ride away.
Our next goal is to reach one of the pearls of the Veronese area, Sweetwhere a beautiful visit awaits us of what has been awarded as “Borgo dei Borghi” 2022 at the foot of the Lessini mountains.

In Soave’s arms

But before getting there there are still quite a few kilometers to go, you have to cross them Montebello Vicentino, Sorio di Gambellara and Monteforte d’Alponea first appetizer that makes you understand the beauty of Veronese hills, embellished with long vineyards and their cellars. And we finally arrive in Soave, we are now halfway through our journey.
From the rock at the top the wallsthey look like two open arms ready to welcome you and protect the building below.
The stop is not only deserved, but above all necessary, a tribute to this pearl of the Veneto.
Soave is dominated by a medieval fortress capable of controlling all movements below and offering protection to trade. The eyes of visitors at the top of the tower inevitably fall on the expanse of vineyards and cellars. You will see one of these right before your eyes: here and in other situations Soave DOC is produced with all the other variants such as, for example, Recioto. The meeting between history and tradition is visible by passing under one of the walled doors.

The empty bottles hanging from the ceiling greet us before continuing our journey towards Verona. The landscape we are experiencing is wonderful, we continue to see rolling hills and expanses of vineyards which make you so thirsty. But it’s not the only temptation: who wouldn’t want it, after more 140 kilometers of travel in a few days along the Veneto, to throw yourself into one of the tubs of the Juno spa in Caldiero? In fact, the swimming pool is one of the attractions of the area, capable of attracting many tourists from other provinces. But Verona awaits us, we are now there! Let’s go through rural towns, like Mariona, developed along canals and enriched by water mills. New Houses of San Martino Good Hotel it tells us that we are entering the Scaliger industrial center. The past and the future, where the common denominator is the profound industriousness of the territory, are highlighted by the presence of a network of urban and extra-urban road arteries. Verona represents one of the most important strategic hubs in Northern Italy, between Milan and Bavaria. But we approach the city along the embankment ofAdige. Our victory is to reach Piazza Bra: the Verona Arena greets us, a worthy conclusion to our long journey along the AIDA.

Ivan Zabeo