Veneto
Encyclopedia
Veneto (ˈvɛːneto, ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy
Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....

. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 rule. Its capital was, and still is, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, which ruled for centuries one of the largest and richest maritime republics and trade empires in the world. Due to this rich cultural legacy, a significant number of Venetians consider themselves to have a unique identity which they refuse to subsume within the notion of "Italian", and the regional government has gone so far as to officially define its inhabitants as "a people". This opened the way to a notable nationalist movement and to the election of a "Venetian nationalist", Luca Zaia
Luca Zaia
Luca Zaia is an Italian Venetist politician, member of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord.Since March 2010 Zaia is President of Veneto...

 (Liga Veneta
Liga Veneta
Liga Veneta is a regionalist political party based in Veneto, combining Venetism and fiscal federalism. Liga Veneta is by far the largest party in Veneto and the party of Luca Zaia, President of Veneto since March 2010.It was the first party of its kind in Northern Italy, predating Umberto...

–Lega Nord), as president of the Region in 2010.

Once the heartland of the Venetian Republic, Veneto is today among the wealthiest, most developed and industrialised regions of Italy. Having one of the country's richest historical, natural, artistic, cultural, musical and culinary heritages, it is also one of the most visited regions of Italy, with about 60 million tourists every year (2007). Besides Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, most inhabitants also speak Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...

. Having been for a long period in history a land of mass emigration, Veneto is today one of the greatest immigrant-receiving regions in the country, with 454,453 foreigners (9.30% of the regional population) in 2008, the most recent of which are Romanian and Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

.

Geomorphology

Veneto is the 8th largest region in Italy, with a total area of 18398.9 km² (7,103.9 sq mi). It is located in the north-eastern part of Italy and is bordered to the east by Friuli Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...

, to the south by Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....

, to the west by Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

 and to the north by Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. At its northernmost corner it borders also on Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

.

The north-south extension of Veneto is 210 km (130.5 mi) from the Austrian border to the mouth of the Po and its east-west extension is 195 km (121.2 mi) from the eastern shore of Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...

 on the west to the mouth of the river Tagliamento on the east.

Veneto can be divided into four areas: the northern Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 zone, the hill zone, the lower plain and the coastal territory.

By area 29% of its surface is mountainous (Carnic Alps
Carnic Alps
The Carnic Alps are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in East Tyrol, Carinthia, South Tyrol and Friuli . They extend from east to west for about between the Gail River, a tributary of the Drava and the Tagliamento, forming the border between Austria and Italy.They are named after the Roman...

, eastern Dolomites
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...

 and Venetian Pre-alps). The best known massif in the Dolomites is the Marmolada
Marmolada
Marmolada is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites ....

, while the highest, at 3342 m (10,964.6 ft), is the Tofane
Tofane
Tofane is a mountain group in the Italian Dolomites, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the province of Belluno, Veneto, northern Italy. Most of the Tofane lies within Parco naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo, a nature park.-Peaks:...

-massif. Other dolomitic peaks are the Tre Cime di Lavaredo
Tre Cime di Lavaredo
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo are three distinctive battlement-like peaks, in the Sexten Dolomites of northeastern Italy. They are probably one of the best-known mountain groups in the Alps...

 and the Pale di San Martino
Pala group
The Pala group is a mountain range in the Dolomites, in the eastern Trentino and part of the province of Belluno, northern Italy. They cover an area of c...

. The Venetian Pre-alps are not as high and range between 700 m (2,296.6 ft) and 2200 m (7,217.8 ft). A distinctive characteristic of the Pre-alps are the cave formations, including chasms and sink holes; the Spluga della Preta, situated in the Monte Lessini chain in the province of Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

, has an explored depth of 985 m (3,231.6 ft), being the deepest cave in Italy. Fossil deposits are also abundant there.

The Po Valley
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...

 covers 57% of Veneto. This valley consists of a plain extending from the mountains to the Adriatic sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

, broken only by some low hills: Colli Berici, Colli Euganei
Colli Euganei
Colli Euganei are located in the Veneto region of northern Italy, a few kilometers south of Padua. They take their name from the Euganei, a semi-mythical population who inhabited the area before the Veneti....

, Colli Asolani and Montello
Montello (TV), Italy
The Montello is a hill in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy, and the site of a World War I battle.The bean-shaped hill measures about 5 km north-south by 13 km east-west...

, which constitute the remaining 14% of the territory. The plain itself is subdivided into the higher plain (gravel-strewn and not very fertile) and the lower plain (rich in water sources and arable terrain). The lower plain is both a mainstay of agricultural production and the most populated part of the region.

Several rivers flow through the region: the Po, Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....

, Brenta, Bacchiglione
Bacchiglione
The Bacchiglione is a river that flows through northern Italy. It rises in the Alps and empties into the Gulf of Venice, on the Adriatic Sea, near Chioggia...

, Livenza, Piave, and Tagliamento. The eastern shore of the largest lake in Italy, Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...

, belongs to Veneto. The coastline covers approximately 200 km (124.3 mi), of which 100 km (62.1 mi) are beaches.

The coasts of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

 are characterized by the Venetian Lagoon
Venetian Lagoon
The Venetian Lagoon is the enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Venetian language, Laguna Veneta— cognate of Latin lacus, "lake"— has provided the international name for an enclosed, shallow embayment of saltwater, a lagoon.The Venetian Lagoon...

, a flat terrain with ponds, marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

es and islands. The Po Delta to the south features sandbars and dunes along the coastline. The inland portion contains cultivable land recently reclaimed by a system of canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

s and dykes
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...

. Fish ponds have been created there as well. The delta and the lagoon are a stopping-point for migratory birds
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

.

Veneto's morphology is characterised by its:
  • mountains (montagna): 5359.1 km² (2,069.2 sq mi), (117 comuni being classified as mountainous);
  • hills (collina): 2663.9 km² (1,028.5 sq mi), (120 hilly comuni);
  • and plains (pianura): 10375.9 km² (4,006.2 sq mi), (344 comuni mostly situated in the Po Valley).

Climate

The climate changes significantly between one area to another. Continental on the plains, the climate is milder along the Adriatic coast, around Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...

 and in the hilly areas. The lowlands are often covered by thick fog. Precipitations are scarce (750 mm. /year) next to river Po River, more abundant (750-1,100 mm./year) at higher altitudes; the highest values (up to 3,200 mm./year) are recorded in the Bellunese Prealps, near Pasubio and on the Asiago
Asiago
Asiago is the name of both a minor township and the surrounding plateau region in the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of Northeastern Italy...

 plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

.

Venetic period

Between the 2nd and 1st millennium
1st millennium
File:1st millennium montage.png|From left, clockwise: Depiction of Jesus, the central figure in Christianity; The Colosseum, a landmark of the once Roman Empire; Gunpowder is invented during the latter part of the millennium, in China; Chess, a new board game, takes on popularity across the globe;...

 BC, the region was inhabited by the Euganei
Euganei
The Euganei is a semi-mythical proto-Italic ethnic group that dwelt an area among Adriatic Sea and Rhaetian Alps...

. According to ancient historians, who perhaps wanted to link Venetic origins to legend of Roman origins in Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...

, the Veneti
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....

 (often called the Paleoveneti) came from Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...

 in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 at the time of the Fall of Troy, led by prince Antenor
Antenor (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Anthenor was a son of the Dardanian noble Aesyetes by Cleomestra. He is a counselor to Priam during the Trojan War.-History:He was one of the wisest of the Trojan elders and counsellors...

, a comrade of Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...

.
In the 7th-6th centuries BC the local populations of Veneto entered into contact with the Etruscans
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...

 and the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

. Venetic culture reached a highpoint during the 4th century BC. These ancient Veneti spoke Venetic
Venetic language
Venetic is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken in ancient times in the North East of Italy and part of modern Slovenia, between the Po River delta and the southern fringe of the Alps....

, an Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...

 language akin to, but distinct from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and the other Italic languages
Italic languages
The Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European language family. It includes the Romance languages derived from Latin , and a number of extinct languages of the Italian Peninsula, including Umbrian, Oscan, Faliscan, and Latin.In the past various definitions of "Italic" have prevailed...

. Meanwhile, the Veneti prospered through their trade in amber
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...

 and were well known for their breeding of horses. Este, Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, Oderzo
Oderzo
Oderzo is a town and comune in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy.It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about 66 km to the northeast of Venice...

, Adria
Adria
Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po....

, Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

, Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

, and Altino
Altinum
260px|thumb|Remains of the Roman [[decumanus]].Altinum is the name of an ancient coastal town of the Veneti 15 km SE of the modern Treviso, northern Italy, on the edge of the lagoons...

 became centres of Venetic culture. However, over time, the Veneti began to adopt the dress and certain other customs of their Celtic neighbours.

Roman period

During the 3rd century BC, the Veneti
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....

, together with the Cenomani
Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul)
The Cenomani , was an ancient tribe of the Cisalpine Gauls, who occupied the tract north of the Padus , between the Insubres on the west and the Veneti on the east. Their territory appears to have extended from the river Addua to the Athesis...

 Celts on their western border, sided with the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, as Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 expanded and struggled against the Insubres
Insubres
The Insubres were a Gaulish population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy . They were the founders of Milan . Though ethnically Celtic at the time of Roman conquest , they were most likely the result of the fusion of pre-existing Ligurian, Celtic and "Italic" population strata with Gaulish...

 and Boii
Boii
The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...

 (Celts). During the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...

 (218 – 202 BC), the Veneti even sent a contingent of soldiers to fight alongside the Romans against Hannibal and the invading Carthaginians and Venetians were among those slaughtered at the Battle of Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...

 (216 BC). In 181 BC, a Roman triumvirate
Triumvirate
A triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...

 of Publius Scipio Nasica, Caius Flaminius
Gaius Flaminius
Gaius Flaminius Nepos was a politician and consul of the Roman Republic in the 3rd century BC. He was the greatest popular leader to challenge the authority of the Senate before the Gracchi a century later....

, and Lucius Manlius Acidinus
Lucius Manlius Acidinus
Lucius Manlius Acidinus was a member of the Manlia gens who stood as praetor urbanus in 210 BC. He was sent by the senate into Sicily to bring back the consul Marcus Valerius Laevinus to Rome to hold the elections...

 led three thousand families, mainly from Samnium
Samnium
Samnium is a Latin exonym for a region of south or south and central Italy in Roman times. The name survives in Italian today, but today's territory comprising it is only a small portion of what it once was. The populations of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans...

 but supplemented by native Veneti, to found a Latin colony at Aquileia
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...

 as a base to protect the territory of the Veneti from incursions of the hostile Carni
Carni
The Carni were a tribe of the Eastern Alps in classical antiquity, settling in the mountains separating Noricum and Venetia....

 and Histri
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...

. From then on, Roman influence over the area increased. Thus, in 169 BC more colonising families were sent from Rome to Aquileia. In 148 BC the Via Postumia
Via Postumia
The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the consul Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus.It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia and Cremona, just east of the point where it crossed the Po River...

 was completed connecting Aquileia to Genua. In 131 BC, the Via Annia joined Adria
Adria
Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po....

 to Patavium (modern Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

) to Altinum to Concordia to Aquileia. Gradually, the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 transformed its alliance with the Veneti into a relationship of dominance. After the 91 BC Italic rebellion, the cities of the Veneti, together with the rest of Transpadania, were granted partial rights of Roman citizenship
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....

 according to the Lex Pompeia Transpadanis. Later in 49 BC, by the Lex Rubria de Gallia Rome granted full Roman citizenship to the Veneti. The Via Claudia was completed in 46 BC and connected Altinum, Tarvisium (modern Treviso), Feltria (modern Feltre
Feltre
Feltre is a town and comune of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about 4 km from its junction with the Piave, and 20 km southwest from Belluno...

), and Tridentum (modern Trent). From Tridentum it continued northwards to Pons Drusus and southwards to Verona and Mutina (modern Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....

). After the Battle of Philippi
Battle of Philippi
The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian and the forces of Julius Caesar's assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus in 42 BC, at Philippi in Macedonia...

 (42 BC), which ended the Roman Civil War
Roman civil wars
There were several Roman civil wars, especially during the late Republic. The most famous of these are the war in the 40s BC between Julius Caesar and the optimate faction of the senatorial elite initially led by Pompey and the subsequent war between Caesar's successors, Octavian and Mark Antony in...

, the lands of the Veneti, together with the rest of Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul, in Latin: Gallia Cisalpina or Citerior, also called Gallia Togata, was a Roman province until 41 BC when it was merged into Roman Italy.It bore the name Gallia, because the great body of its inhabitants, after the expulsion of the Etruscans, consisted of Gauls or Celts...

, ceased to be a province and the territory of the Veneti, which included Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...

, modern Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...

 and Trentino-Alto Adige became region X (Venetia et Histria) of a new entity named Italia (Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

). Aquileia became its capital. Meanwhile, under the Pax Romana
Pax Romana
Pax Romana was the long period of relative peace and minimal expansion by military force experienced by the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Since it was established by Caesar Augustus it is sometimes called Pax Augusta...

, Patavium became one of the most important cities of northern Italy. Other Venetic cities such as Opitergium (modern Oderzo
Oderzo
Oderzo is a town and comune in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy.It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about 66 km to the northeast of Venice...

), Tarvisium, Feltria, Vicetia (modern Vicenza), Ateste (modern Este), and Altinum (modern Altino) adopted the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 language and the culture of Rome. Thus, by the end of the 1st century AD Latin had finally displaced the original Venetic language
Venetic language
Venetic is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken in ancient times in the North East of Italy and part of modern Slovenia, between the Po River delta and the southern fringe of the Alps....

.

In 166 AD the Quadi and Marcomanni invaded Venetia. It was the beginning of many barbarian invasions. In the 5th century, both Alaric
Alaric I
Alaric I was the King of the Visigoths from 395–410. Alaric is most famous for his sack of Rome in 410, which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Roman Empire....

 the Goth and then Attila
Attila the Hun
Attila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...

 and the Huns devastated the area. Attila laid siege to Aquileia and turned it into a ruin in 452 AD. Many of the mainland inhabitants sought protection in the nearby lagoons which would become Grado
Grado, Italy
Grado is a town and comune in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on a peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste....

 in the east and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 more to the west.
On the heels of the Huns came the Ostrogoths who not only invaded, but also settled down in the region.
During the mid-6th century, Justinian
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...

 reconquered Venetia for the Eastern Roman Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

. An Exarch was established at Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

 while a military tribune
Military tribune
A military tribune was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion...

 was set up in Oderzo. Byzantine rule would not last long. Starting in 568 AD, the Lombards crossed the Julian Alps
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...

. These invaders subdivided the territory of Venetia into numerous feud
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...

s ruled by Germanic dukes and counts (essentially creating the division of Veneto from Friuli). The invasion provoked another wave of migration from the mainland to the Byzantine controlled coast and islands. In 643, AD the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

 conquered the Byzantine base at Oderzo and took possession of practically all of Veneto (and Friuli) except for Venice and Grado. The 36 Lombard duchies included the Venetian cities of Ceneda
Vittorio Veneto
Vittorio Veneto is a city and comune situated in the Province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, Italy, in the northeast of the Italian peninsula, between the Piave and the Livenza rivers.-Geography:...

, Treviso, Verona, and Vicenza. A reminder of Lombard rule can be seen in the place names beginning with the word Farra.

Middle ages

By the middle of the 8th century, the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 had assumed political control of the region and the mainland of Veneto became part of the Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...

. Though politically dominant, these Germanic invaders were gradually absorbed into the Venetian population over the centuries.
In the late 9th century, Berengar
Berengar I of Italy
Berengar of Friuli was the Margrave of Friuli from 874 until no earlier than 890 and no later than 896, King of Italy from 887 until his death, and Holy Roman Emperor from 915 until his death.Berengar rose to become one of the most influential laymen in the empire of Charles the Fat before he...

, Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...

 of the March of Friuli
March of Friuli
The March of Friuli was a Carolingian frontier march against the Slavs and Avars in the ninth and tenth centuries. It was a successor to the Lombard Duchy of Friuli....

 was elected king
Elective monarchy
An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...

 of Italy. Under his tumultuous reign, the March of Friuli was absorbed into the March of Verona
March of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march in northeastern Italy during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Except for Venice, it included the territories of the modern-day regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia as well as Istria and Trentino up to the Adige...

 so that Verona's territory contained a large portion of Roman Venetia.
In the 10th century, the mainland of Veneto, after suffering invasions from the Magyars and the Slavs
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

, was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

. Gradually, the communes of the mainland grew in power and wealth. In 1167 an alliance (called the Lombard League
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...

) was formed among the Venetian cities such as Venice, Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, and Verona with other cities of Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...

 to assert their rights against the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

. The Second Treaty of Constance
Peace of Constance
The Peace of Constance of 1183 was signed in Konstanz by Frederick Barbarossa and representatives of the Lombard League. It confirmed the Peace of Venice of 1177. The Italian cities retained local jurisdiction over their territories, and had the freedom to elect their own councils and to enact...

 in 1183 confirmed the Peace of Venice
Treaty of Venice
The Treaty or Peace of Venice, 1177, was an important peace treaty between the papacy and its allies, the north Italian city-states of the Lombard League, and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor...

 of 1177 in which the cities agreed to remain part of the Empire as long as their jurisdiction over their own territories was not infringed upon. The league was dissolved at the death of Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...

 in 1250. This period also witnessed the founding of the second oldest university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 in Italy, the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...

 founded in 1222. Around this time, Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

 also served as home to St. Anthony
Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...

, the beloved Saint called simply "il Santo" ("the Saint") by the inhabitants of the town.

Venetian Republic

As the barbarians were interested in the wealth of the mainland, part of the Venetian population sought refuge on some of the isolated and unoccupied islands in the lagoon, from which the city of Venetiae or Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 was born. After a period of Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 domination in 8th century, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 became an independent maritime Republic
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 ruled by its elected doge
Doge
Doge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa....

.
The Republic became a commercial superpower and its influence lasted through the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 and the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

. In fact, the Venetian Republic
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 enjoyed 1100 years of uninterrupted influence throughout the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

. By the 16th century, the Venetian Republic dominated over Veneto, Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...

, parts of Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

 and Romagna
Romagna
Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...

, Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...

, Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

, the Ionian Islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...

 of Corfu, Cefalonia, Ithaca and Zante. From the 13th to 17th centuries, it held the island of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 and from the mid-15th to mid-16th century, the island of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

.
Venetian mainland holdings led to Venetian involvement in European and in particular, Italian politics. Cities had to be fortified, one impressive example being Palmanova
Palmanova
Palmanova is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, close to the border with Slovenia. It is located 20 km from Udine, 28 km from Gorizia and 55 km from Trieste near the junction of the Autostrada Alpe-Adria and the Autostrada Venezia-Trieste .Palmanova is famous for its fortress...

 in Friuli. However, the wise rule and prosperity brought by the Serenissima made the cities of the terra firma willing subjects. Eastern Islands served as useful ports for Venetian shipping. However, as the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 grew more powerful and aggressive, Venice was often put on the defensive. Ottoman control of the eastern Mediterranean and the discoveries of sea routes to Asia around Africa and of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

 had a debilitating effect on the Venetian economy.
In 1797, Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 invaded the territory of the Venetian Republic
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

. Overwhelmed by more powerful forces, Doge
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...

 Ludovico Manin
Ludovico Manin
Ludovico Manin was the last Doge of Venice. He governed Venice from 9 March 1789 until 1797, when he was forced to abdicate by Napoleon Bonaparte.-Early life:...

 resigned and retired to his villa at Passariano in Friuli and the thousand year old Republic disappeared as an independent state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...

. This proved very unpopular in the mainland cities where sympathies were strong with the Republic of Venice. By the Treaty of Campoformio
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of revolutionary France and the Austrian monarchy...

 signed on October 17, 1797 part of the Venetian mainland was handed over to Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...

 of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 and a western part was annexed to the French backed Cisalpine Republic
Cisalpine Republic
The Cisalpine Republic was a French client republic in Northern Italy that lasted from 1797 to 1802.-Birth:After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte proceeded to organize two states: one to the south of the Po River, the Cispadane Republic, and one to the north, the Transpadane...

. The territory soon reverted back to Napoleon in 1801. However, after his ultimate defeat in 1814, the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...

 handed Veneto over to the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

, the successor state
Succession of states
Succession of states is a theory and practice in international relations regarding the recognition and acceptance of a newly created sovereign state by other states, based on a perceived historical relationship the new state has with a prior state...

 to the Holy Roman Empire still ruled by Francis. Thus, Veneto would remain under Austrian rule, except for some cities which declared their independence in 1848, until it was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 in 1866.

Italian Period

In 1866 after the Third War of Independence and a controversial referendum Veneto was annexed to Italy. In an effort to Italianize
Italianization
Italianization or Italianisation is a term used to describe a process of cultural assimilation in which ethnically non or partially Italian people or territory become Italian. The process can be voluntary or forced...

 the population, Venetian language was not officially recognised and public servants were recruited from other regions.

Due to uneven economic development reducing many to poverty, the 19th century and the first half of the 20th became a period of emigration. Millions of Venetians left their homes and their native land to seek opportunites in other parts of the world. Many settled down in South America, especially in the Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

 region, in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

; others in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

; Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

; and the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. After the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, many Venetians emigrated to Western European countries. In many of these places their descendants have maintained the use of their ancestral Venetian dialects.

Those who remained in Veneto would experience the turmoil of two World Wars
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....

. In 1915, Italy entered the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 on the side of the France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, after extricating itself from its alliance with Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Veneto became a major battlefront. After the Italians suffered an enormous defeat at Caporetto
Kobarid
Kobarid is a town and a municipality in the upper Soča valley, western Slovenia, near the Italian border.Kobarid is known for the famous Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Ernest Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms. The battle is well documented in the museum in...

 in November 1917, the combined Austro-Hungarian and German forces advanced almost unhindered through Veneto towards Venice until reaching the Piave River. The Battle of the Piave River
Battle of the Piave River
The Battle of the Piave River , known in Italy as Battaglia del Solstizio , Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno , or Seconda Battaglia del Piave , was a decisive victory for the Italian Army during World War...

 prevented their troops from advancing further and was celebrated in a very popular song
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...

, La Leggenda del Piave
La Leggenda del Piave
"La Leggenda del Piave" is an Italian patriotic song written by E. A. Mario after the Battle of the Piave River in June 1918.-Text:The song is divided in four parts and is a brief history of the Italian front during World War I....

. Between October 24 and November 3, 1918, Italy launched the decisive Battle of Vittorio Veneto
Battle of Vittorio Veneto
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought between 24 October and 3 November 1918, near Vittorio Veneto, during the Italian Campaign of World War I...

. The battle's outcome assured Italy's victory. The armistice was signed at Villa Giusti near Padua.

Between 1943 and 1945 Veneto belonged to the Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...

, while the province of Belluno was part of the Prealpine Operations Zone. Many towns in the region were bombed by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 during the Second World War. The most hit were Treviso and Vicenza, as well as the industrial area around Marghera
Marghera
Marghera is a frazione of the comune of Venice, Italy. It includes the industrial area known as Porto Marghera or Venezia Porto Marghera....

.

Government and politics

Veneto is a presidential
Presidential system
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....

 representative democracy
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...

. The President of the Region
Government of Veneto
The Regional Government of Veneto is the executive of the Veneto region of Italy.It is presided by the President of the Region , who is elected for a five-year term, and is composed by the President and the Ministers , who are currently 12, including a Vice President.-Current composition:The current...

, colloquially nicknamed Governor or even Doge, in remembrance of Venice's glorious tradition, is also the head of the regional government. Legislative power
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

 is exerted by the Regional Council
Regional Council of Veneto
The Regional Council of Veneto is the regional parliament of Veneto.It was first elected in 1970, when the ordinary Regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of Italy of 1948.-Composition:...

, the local parliament. The statute
Statute of Veneto
The Statute of Veneto Region is the present Constitution of Veneto, passed by the first elected Regional Council of Veneto on 10 December 1970, approved by the Italian Parliament on 22 May 1971 and modified as the result of constitutional law no. 1 of 22 November 1999 and constitutional law no. 3...

, i.e. the regional constitution, was promulgated on May 22, 1971. Even though it recognizes the inhabitants as a "people" (i.e. a distinct people from the Italian people
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

), the region is not granted a form of autonomy comparable to that of the neighbouring regions Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...

 and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. This is the reason why many municipalities have held referendums in order to be united to these regions.

Traditionally a very Catholic region, Veneto was once a stronghold of the Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....

. Nowadays it is a stronghold of the centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...

 coalition, which has governed the region since 1995, under President Giancarlo Galan
Giancarlo Galan
Giancarlo Galan is an Italian politician.After having been a Liberal activist in the Seventies and the Eighties, he was not active in politics until he joined Forza Italia since its foundation in 1994. In the same year he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies.In 1995 he ran successfully...

 (Forza Italia
Forza Italia
Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....

/The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....

) and, since 2010, Luca Zaia
Luca Zaia
Luca Zaia is an Italian Venetist politician, member of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord.Since March 2010 Zaia is President of Veneto...

 (Liga Veneta
Liga Veneta
Liga Veneta is a regionalist political party based in Veneto, combining Venetism and fiscal federalism. Liga Veneta is by far the largest party in Veneto and the party of Luca Zaia, President of Veneto since March 2010.It was the first party of its kind in Northern Italy, predating Umberto...

).

According to Robert Putnam, the "institutional performance" of Veneto's regional government
Administrative division
An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...

 is higher than average in Italy, thus Veneto belongs to the part of Italy that Putnam names "civic North".

Venetian nationalism

A nationalist political movement
Political movement
A political movement is a social movement in the area of politics. A political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group...

 gained prominence in Veneto during the 1970s and 1980s, demanding more autonomy for the region, or even independence, and promoting Venetian culture, language
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...

 and history. This is the political background in which the Liga Veneta
Liga Veneta
Liga Veneta is a regionalist political party based in Veneto, combining Venetism and fiscal federalism. Liga Veneta is by far the largest party in Veneto and the party of Luca Zaia, President of Veneto since March 2010.It was the first party of its kind in Northern Italy, predating Umberto...

 (Venetian League) was launched in 1980. Other Veneto nationalist parties, such as Liga Veneta Repubblica, North-East Project
North-East Project
North-East Project is a Venetist, fiscal federalist and libertarian Italian political party based in Veneto, demanding larger autonomy, if not complete independence for the region.-History:...

 and the avowed separatist Veneto State
Veneto State
Veneto State is a Venetist independentist political party active in Veneto and eastern Lombardy. The party seeks to achieve full political independence for the former territories of the Venetian Republic from Italy through a referendum...

, emerged but they never touched, at the moment, the popularity of the Liga Veneta, which was a founding member of Lega Nord in 1991.

Nowadays Liga Veneta–Lega Nord traditionally scores considerable results in general, regional and local elections in the region. The mayors of Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

 and Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

 are members of the party, as well as the presidents of the provinces of Belluno
Province of Belluno
TheThe Province of Belluno is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.It has an area of 3,678 km², and a total population of 214,026 .-Geography:...

, Treviso
Province of Treviso
The Province of Treviso is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso.The province has an area of 2,477 km², and a total population of 886.886 . There are 95 municipalities in the province .-Municipalities:-External links:*...

, Venice
Province of Venice
The Province of Venice is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice.It has an area of 2,467 km², and a total population of 829,418 . There are 44 comuni in the province . As of 2005, the main comuni by population are:-External links:* * : photos of...

 and Vicenza
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

. In the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008 (Veneto)
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13–14 April 2008. The election was won in Veneto by the centre-right coalition between The People of Freedom and Lega Nord, as it happened at the national level...

 Lega Nord won 27.1% of the vote, while in the 2010 regional election
Venetian regional election, 2010
The Venetian regional election of 2010 took place on 28–29 March 2010, as part of Italy's big round of regional elections.Luca Zaia, rising star of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord, was elected President by a landslide. With the support of 60.2% of Venetians, he was the most voted President of Veneto since...

 gained a surprising 35.2%. The party is thus by far the largest in Veneto, followed by the two main Italian parties, The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....

 and the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....

.

Administrative divisions

Veneto is divided into 7 provinces and 581 municipalities. Of the seven provinces of the region, the Province of Padua
Province of Padua
The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...

 is the most populous and has the greatest density, with 424.81 persons per km2, reaching 2268.58 in the city of Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

. In contrast the capital city, Venice, has a moderate density of 646.71. The province of least density is Belluno
Province of Belluno
TheThe Province of Belluno is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.It has an area of 3,678 km², and a total population of 214,026 .-Geography:...

 (58.08), which is the largest in area and the most mountainous.

Provinces

Province Abbrev. Area (km²) Population Density
(inh./km²)
Belluno
Province of Belluno
TheThe Province of Belluno is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.It has an area of 3,678 km², and a total population of 214,026 .-Geography:...

BL 3,678 213,059 57.9
Padova PD 2,141 905,112 422.8
Rovigo
Province of Rovigo
The Province of Rovigo is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rovigo.It borders on the north with the provinces of Verona, Padua and Venice, on the south with the province of Ferrara, on the west with the province of Mantua, and on the eastwith the Adriatic Sea.-...

RO 1,789 245,598 137.3
Treviso
Province of Treviso
The Province of Treviso is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso.The province has an area of 2,477 km², and a total population of 886.886 . There are 95 municipalities in the province .-Municipalities:-External links:*...

TV 2,477 865,194 349.3
Venice
Province of Venice
The Province of Venice is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice.It has an area of 2,467 km², and a total population of 829,418 . There are 44 comuni in the province . As of 2005, the main comuni by population are:-External links:* * : photos of...

VE 2,463 841,609 341.7
Verona
Province of Verona
The Province of Verona is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Verona.-Overview:The province has an area of 3,109 km², and a total population of 912,981...

VR 3,121 889,862 285.1
Vicenza
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

VI 2,722 848,642 311.8

Largest municipalities

Pos. Municipality Inhabitants
(inh.)
Area
(km²)
Density
(inh./km²)
Elevation
(m amsl
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

)
Province
Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

268.741 412,54 651,4 1 VE
Province of Venice
The Province of Venice is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice.It has an area of 2,467 km², and a total population of 829,418 . There are 44 comuni in the province . As of 2005, the main comuni by population are:-External links:* * : photos of...

Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

262.403 206,63 1.269,9 59 VR
Province of Verona
The Province of Verona is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Verona.-Overview:The province has an area of 3,109 km², and a total population of 912,981...

Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

209.696 92,85 2.258,4 12 PD
Province of Padua
The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...

Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

113.969 80,54 1.415,1 39 VI
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

81.665 55,50 1.741,4 15 TV
Province of Treviso
The Province of Treviso is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso.The province has an area of 2,477 km², and a total population of 886.886 . There are 95 municipalities in the province .-Municipalities:-External links:*...

Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...

51.378 108,55 473,3 6 RO
Province of Rovigo
The Province of Rovigo is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rovigo.It borders on the north with the provinces of Verona, Padua and Venice, on the south with the province of Ferrara, on the west with the province of Mantua, and on the eastwith the Adriatic Sea.-...

Chioggia
Chioggia
Chioggia is a coastal town and comune of the province of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy.-Geography:...

50.880 185,20 274,7 2 VE
Province of Venice
The Province of Venice is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice.It has an area of 2,467 km², and a total population of 829,418 . There are 44 comuni in the province . As of 2005, the main comuni by population are:-External links:* * : photos of...

Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...

42.237 46,79 902,7 129 VI
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

San Donà di Piave
San Donà di Piave
San Donà di Piave or, simply, San Donà, is the largest town in Eastern Veneto and comune of province of Venice, Veneto, in the North East region of Italy.- Geography :...

39.774 78,73 505,2 3 VE
Province of Venice
The Province of Venice is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice.It has an area of 2,467 km², and a total population of 829,418 . There are 44 comuni in the province . As of 2005, the main comuni by population are:-External links:* * : photos of...

10° Schio
Schio
Schio is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza situated North of Vicenza and East of the Lake of Garda. It is surrounded by the Little Dolomites and Mount Pasubio.-History:...

38.779 67,04 578,4 200 VI
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...


Demographics

The region has about 4.8 million inhabitants, ranking Veneto as the fifth most populated region in Italy. Veneto has one of the highest population densities
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 amongst the Italian regions (265 inhabitants per km2 in 2008). This is particularly true in the provinces of Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 and Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

, where the inhabitants per km2 are above 300. Belluno
Belluno
Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...

 is the less densely populated province, with 57 inhabitants per km2.

Like the other regions of Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...

 and Central Italy
Central Italy
Central Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...

, though with a certain time lag, Veneto has been experiencing a phase of very slow population growth caused by the dramatic fall in fertility. The overall population has so far been increasing - though only slightly - due to the net immigration started at the end of the 1960s, after more than 20 years of massive exodus from the poorer areas of the region.

Nearly 3 million Venetians were forced to leave their country between 1861 and 1961 to escape poverty. Many emigrated to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

, especially Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 they moved to other European countries. As of 2008, there were 260,849 Venetian citizens living outside of Italy (5.4% of the region's population), the largest number was found in Brazil, with 57,052 Venetians, followed by Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 with 38,320 and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 with 31,823. There are several million people of Venetian descent around the world, particularly in Brazil, in the states of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...

, Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...

 and Espirito Santo
Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...

. Local names in Southern Brazil
Southern Region, Brazil
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and covers 576,409.6 km ², being the smallest portion of the country...

 such as Nova Schio, Nova Bassano
Nova Bassano
Nova Bassano is a municipality and a city in the state Rio Grande do Sul, south Brazil.-History:Nova Bassano was established by Italian immigrants around 1890. Among them was Padre Pedro Antônio Colbachini, a catholic priest member of the Scalabrini congregation, who is regarded together with his...

, Nova Bréscia
Nova Bréscia
Nova Bréscia is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, settled by Italian immigrants from Brescia. Its estimated population in 2004 was 3035 inhabitants.It has an area of ....

, Nova Treviso, Nova Veneza
Nova Veneza, Santa Catarina
Nova Veneza is a Brazilian town located in Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. It has 12,703 inhabitants and was settled by Italian immigrants from Venice in 1891.People of Italian descent make up 95% of the population....

, Nova Pádua and Monteberico indicate the Venetian origin of their inhabitants. In recent years people of Venetian descent from Brazil and Argentina have been migrating to Italy.

Due to the impressive economic growth
Economic growth
In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...

 of the last two decades, Veneto has turned into a land of immigration and has been attracting more and more immigrants since the 1990s. In 2008 the Italian national institute of statistics
Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática
The Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática is a semi-autonomous Peruvian government agency which coordinates, compiles, and evaluates statistical information for the country...

 ISTAT estimated that 403,985 foreign-born immigrants live in Veneto, equal to 8.3 % of the total regional population.

Religion

Veneto converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 during Roman rule. The region venerates as its patrons the 2nd century bishop St. Hermagoras
Hermagoras of Aquileia
Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia is considered the first bishop of Aquileia, northern Italy. Christian tradition states that he was chosen by Saint Mark to serve as the leader of the nascent Christian community in Aquileia, and that he was consecrated bishop by Saint Peter...

 and his deacon St. Fortunatus, both of Aquileia and both martyrs. Aquileia became the metropolitan see of Venetia. Aquileia had its own liturgical rite
Rite
A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act. Rites in this sense fall into three major categories:* rites of passage, generally changing an individual's social status, such as marriage, baptism, or graduation....

s which were used throughout the dioceses of Veneto until the later Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....

 when the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...

 replaced the Aquileian Rite
Aquileian Rite
The Aquileian Rite was a particular liturgical tradition within the schismatical province of the ancient patriarchal see of Aquileia.-History:...

. By the 6th century the bishop of Aquileia claimed the title of patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...

. Rejection of the Second Council of Constantinople
Second Council of Constantinople
The Second Council of Constantinople is recognized as the Fifth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups. It was held from May 5 to June 2, 553, having been called by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian...

 (553) led to a schism
Schism of the Three Chapters
The Schism of the Three Chapters was a schism that affected the Roman Catholic Church in North Italy lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time...

 wherein the churches of Veneto broke communion with the Church of Rome. The invasion of the non-Catholic Lombards in 568 only served to prolong the schism until 606 and then finally 699 when the Synod of Pavia ended the schism definitively.

In 2004 over 95% of the population claimed to be Roman Catholic. The region of Veneto along with the regions of Friuli and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol form the ecclesiastical region of Triveneto under the Patriarchate of Venice
Patriarch of Venice
The Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few Patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church...

. The Patriarchate of Venice is an archdiocese and metropolitan see
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...

 of an ecclesiastical region which includes suffragan episcopal sees of Adria-Rovigo, Belluno-Feltre, Chioggia, Concordia-Pordenone, Padua, Treviso, Verona, Vicenza, and Vittorio Veneto
Vittorio Veneto
Vittorio Veneto is a city and comune situated in the Province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, Italy, in the northeast of the Italian peninsula, between the Piave and the Livenza rivers.-Geography:...

.
The Archdiocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 of Venice was elevated to an honorary Patriarchate
Patriarchate
A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. A patriarch, as the term is used here, is either* one of the highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, earlier, the five that were included in the Pentarchy: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but now nine,...

 by the pope on October 8, 1457 when the Patriarchate of Grado, a successor to the Patriarchate of Aquileia, was suppressed. The first patriarch of Venice was St. Laurence
Lorenzo Giustiniani
Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He was Bishop and first Patriarch of Venice....

, a nobleman of the Giustiniani family.
During the 20th century the patriarchs were usually appointed cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

, and three cardinal patriarchs, Giuseppe Sarto
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...

, Angelo Roncalli
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

, and Albino Luciani
Pope John Paul I
John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...

 were elected pope: Pius X, John XXIII, and John Paul I, respectively. The Patriarchate of Venice
Patriarch of Venice
The Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few Patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church...

 claims St. Mark
Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....

 the Evangelist as its patron. The same saint, symbolised by a winged lion, had became the typical symbol of the Venetian Republic and is still represented on many civic symbols.

Economy

Historically, Veneto was a poor agricultural region, as well as a land of mass emigration. But, since the 1970s it has seen impressive development, thanks to the so-called 'Veneto Development Model' that is characterised by strong export-oriented
Export-oriented
An export-oriented company is one which produces goods mainly for exports, rather than for the domestic market. The term is commonly used to describe factories in developing countries producing goods for developed countries....

 entrepreneurship in traditional economic sectors
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

 and close social cohesion - making it actually the third richest region in terms of total GDP (€149.4 billion) after Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

 and Lazio.

Geography and historical events have determined the present social and economic structure of the region, centred on a broad belt running from east to west. The plain and the Alpine foothills are the most developed areas in contrast to the Po delta and the mountainous areas, with the exception of the surroundings of Belluno
Belluno
Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...

. This is why the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 and the province of Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...

 are suffering more than other areas, from a trend of declining and ageing population
Population ageing
Population ageing or population aging occurs when the median age of a country or region rises. This happens because of rising life expectancy or declining birth rates. Excepting 18 countries termed 'demographic outliers' by the UN) this process is taking place in every country and region across...

.

Agriculture

Though its importance has been decreasing for the past 20–30 years, agriculture continues to play a significant role in the regional economy. The agricultural sector
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 of Veneto is among the most productive in Italy. However, it is still characterised by an intensive use of labour rather than capital, due to the specialisation in market gardening
Market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...

, fruit-growing and vine-growing throughout the plain and the foothills, requiring very much handicraft. In the south and in the extreme east of the region, grain crops
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

 are more common and land holdings are larger than in the rest of the region: mechanization is more advanced here. The cattle stock, although declining, still represented 15% of the national stock in. Fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 is also quite important in coastal areas.

The main agricultural products include maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, green peas
Pea
A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...

, vegetables, apples, cherries, sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...

s, forage, tobacco, hemp. Moreover, Veneto is one of Italy's most important wine-growing areas, producing well-regarded wines
Veneto wine
Veneto is a wine region in north-eastern Italy, one of a group of three highly productive Italian regions known collectively as the Venezie and the biggest DOC producer of the three...

, such as Prosecco
Prosecco
Prosecco is an Italian white wine — generally a Dry or Extra Dry sparkling wine — normally made from Glera grapes. DOC prosecco is produced in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy, and traditionally mainly in the areas near Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills...

, Valpolicella
Valpolicella
Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine production. Valpolicella ranks just after Chianti in total Italian Denominazione di Origine...

, and Soave, among Italy's most popular wines. Overall, the Veneto region produces more bottles of DOC wine than any other area in Italy. The Amarone della Valpolicella, a wine from the hills around Verona, is made with high-selected grapes and is among the more expensive red wines in the world.

Industry

In the last 30–40 years industrialisation transformed the appearance of the landscape, especially in the plains.

The regional industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

 is especially made of small and medium-sized businesses, which are active in several sectors: food products, wood and furniture, leather and footwear, textiles and clothing, gold jewelry, but also chemistry, metal-mechanics and electronics. This has led to the establishment of a strongly export-orientated system of industries.

Typical of Veneto is the partition of the territory into industrial districts, which means that each area tends to specialise in a specific sector. The province of Venice hosts large metallurgical and chemical plants in Marghera
Marghera
Marghera is a frazione of the comune of Venice, Italy. It includes the industrial area known as Porto Marghera or Venezia Porto Marghera....

 and Mestre
Mestre
Mestre is a city part of the comune of Venice, in Veneto, northern Italy.The city is connected to Venice by a large rail and road bridge, called Ponte della Libertà ....

, but is also specialised in glass handicraft (Murano
Murano
Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 . It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking...

). Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

 is known for its gold jewelry The province of Belluno hosts the so called eyeglasses district, being the largest world manufacturer Luxottica
Luxottica
Luxottica Group S.p.A. is the world's largest eyewear company. Its best known brands include Ray-Ban, Persol and Oakley, Inc.. It also makes sunglasses and prescription frames for a multitude of designer brands such as Chanel and Prada, whose designs and trademarks are used under license...

 a firm domiciliated at Agordo. Fashion industry
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...

 is extremely strong all over the region: Benetton
Benetton Group
Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global luxury fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan....

, Sisley, Geox
Geox
Geox is an Italian brand of shoe and apparel manufactured utilising waterproof/breathable fabrics.-Corporate history:The company was founded in 1995 by Mario Moretti Polegato. The brand name, Geox, was created from a mixture between the Greek word “geo” , and “x”, a letter-element symbolizing...

, Diesel, Replay are Venetian brands.

During the last 20 years, a large number of Venetian companies relocated their plants (especially the most dangerous and polluting productions) in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

, especially Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. The Romanian city of Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...

 is also called "The Newest Venetian Province".

Tourism

Though being a heavily industrialized region, tourism is one of the main economic resources of Veneto. One-fifth of Italy's foreign tourism gravitates towards Veneto, which is the first region in Italy in terms of tourist presence, attracting over 60 million visitors every year, and the second after Emilia Romagna in terms of hotel industry structures. The business volume of tourism in Veneto is estimated in 12 billion Euros.

Historical GDP

A table which shows Veneto's GDP growth:
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Gross Domestic Product (million €) 111,713.5 116,334.1 118,886.3 124,277.6 130,715.9 133,488.0 138,993.5
GDP per capita (PPP) (€) 24,842.9 25,742.2 26,108.2 26,957.1 27,982.2 28,286.7 29,225.5

Economic sectors

The main sectors in the economy of the Veneto are:
Economic activity GDP product % sector (region) % sector (Italy)
Primary (agriculture, farming, fishing) € 2,303.3 1.66% 1.84%
Secondary (industry, processing, manufacturing) € 34,673.6 24.95% 18.30%
Constructions € 8,607.7 6.19% 5.41%
Tertiary (Commerce, hotels and restaurants, tourism, (tele)communications and transport) € 28,865.8 20.77% 20.54%
Financial activities and real estate € 31,499.4 22.66% 24.17%
Other types of services € 19,517.2 14.04% 18.97%
VAT and taxes € 13,526.4 9.73% 10.76%
GDP of the Veneto € 138,993.5

Art and architecture

The Middle Ages allowed the creation of monumental works such as the complex of churches on the island of Torcello
Torcello
Torcello is a quiet and sparsely populated island at the northern end of the Venetian Lagoon. It is considered the oldest continuously populated region of Venice, and once held the largest population of the Republic of Venice.-History:...

, in the Venetian lagoon, with the Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 of Santa Maria Assunta based in 639
639
Year 639 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 639 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Clovis II succeeds Dagobert I as king of the...

, the bell tower erected in the 11th century and the church of Santa Fosca built around the 1100, important for their presence of mosaics.
The Middle Ages saw the construction of the Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore
Basilica di San Zeno
The Basilica di San Zeno is a religious building of Verona, Northern Italy. Its fame rests partly on its architecture and partly upon the tradition that its crypt was the place of the marriage of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Together with the abbey which forms an annex, it is dedicated to St....

 in Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

, which was the Veneto's main centre for that movement, we see the mixture of styles in that period made Verona an important crossroads for the north of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Examples of Gothic art
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...

, in addition to the Venetian church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. One of the greatest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. It stands on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district...

 and that of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, are the Scaliger Tombs
Scaliger Tombs
The Scaliger Tombs is a group of five Gothic funerary monuments in Verona, Italy, celebrating the Scaliger family, who ruled in Verona from the 13th to the late 14th century....

 in the historical center of Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

.

While in the Veneto Byzantine
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....

 was also important, an element of innovation was brought to Padua by Giotto, bearer of a new pictorial tradition: that of Tuscany. Towards the 1302 he was commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni to paint the family chapel, now known just by the name of Scrovegni Chapel, one of the most important artistic monuments of Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

 and the Veneto. The influences of the contribution of Giotto were felt immediately, and now you can admire the frescoes of Giusto de' Menabuoi
Giusto de' Menabuoi
Giusto de' Menabuoi was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance. He was born in Florence.In Lombardy he executed a fresco of the Last Judgement in the Abbey of Viboldone, Milan...

 in the Baptistry near the Cathedral of Padua and those of Altichiero
Altichiero
Altichiero da Verona , also called Aldighieri da Zevio, was an Italian painter of the Gothic style. A follower of Giotto, Altichiero is credited with founding the Veronese school...

 in the Basilica of Saint Anthony
Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua
The Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Padua, northern Italy. Although the Basilica is visited as a place of pilgrimage by people from all over the world, it is not the titular cathedral of the city, a title belonging to the...

.

After a phase of development of Gothic art
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...

, with the creation of important works including the Ca' d'Oro
Ca' d'Oro
Ca' d'Oro is a palace on the Grand Canal in Venice, northern Italy. One of the older palazzi, it has always been known as Ca' d'Oro due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls.The Palazzo was built between 1428 and 1430 for the Contarini family, who provided...

 and the Doge's Palace in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, and the churches of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and of Saints John and Paul in Venice, the influence of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 ushered in a new era. In addition to Donatello
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi , also known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence...

, an important Venetian Renaissance artist was Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...

 (1431–1506), whose most important work in the Veneto is perhaps the San Zeno Altarpiece
San Zeno Altarpiece (Mantegna)
The San Zeno Altarpiece is a triptych by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, from c. 1457-1460. It is located in the Basilica di San Zeno, the main church of Verona. The three predellas were stripped by the French in 1797, and are now replaced by copies...

, found in Verona. With the mainland expansion of the Venetian Republic and the consolidation of its institutions, there was also an artistic development of exceptional stature: Mantegna, Vittore Carpaccio
Vittore Carpaccio
Vittore Carpaccio was an Italian painter of the Venetian school, who studied under Gentile Bellini. He is best known for a cycle of nine paintings, The Legend of Saint Ursula. His style was somewhat conservative, showing little influence from the Humanist trends that transformed Italian...

, Giovanni Bellini, Cima da Conegliano
Cima da Conegliano
Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano was an Italian Renaissance painter.-Biography:Giovanni Battista Cima was born at Conegliano, now part of the province of Treviso, in 1459 or 1460...

, Pordenone
Pordenone
Pordenone is a comune of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.The name comes from the Latin "Portus Naonis" meaning the port on the river Noncello - History :...

 laid the foundations for what would be the age of Venetian painting.

Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

 was the main Venetian cradle of the Renaissance, which helped the movement develop and thrive. Amongst the Renaissance artists who worked there were Donatello, who worked mostly in Padua and in particular in the altar of the Basilica of Saint Anthony, and Pisanello
Pisanello
Pisanello , known professionally as Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto, also erroneously called Vittore Pisano by Giorgio Vasari, was one of the most distinguished painters of the early Italian Renaissance and Quattrocento...

, whose works are mainly Verona and in particular in the Church of St. Anastasia (his is the fresco of Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...

).

In the successive phase, there were also a considerable amount of Venetian artists, including Giorgione
Giorgione
Giorgione was a Venetian painter of the High Renaissance in Venice, whose career was cut off by his death at a little over thirty. Giorgione is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, though only about six surviving paintings are acknowledged for certain to be his work...

, Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...

, Sebastiano del Piombo
Sebastiano del Piombo
Sebastiano del Piombo , byname of Sebastiano Luciani, was an Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter of the early 16th century famous for his combination of the colors of the Venetian school and the monumental forms of the Roman school.- Biography :Sebastiano del Piombo belongs to the painting school...

 and Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto was a Northern Italian painter draughtsman and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits...

. If the first phase with Carpaccio and Bellini, the influences of international painting were still evident and the references to Flemish art were numerous. Giorgione and Titian began a new way of painting, original and innovative, which characterized the painters of the Venetian school rather than other traditions. Giorgione's enigmatic artistic style was expressed with his works full of allegories, and he created his paintings without starting from a preparatory drawing but using the color spots to convey the feeling of the image. This innovation was looking for the imitation of natural phenomena by creating atmospheres with the colours and shifting the emphasis from the pursuit of artistic perfection. One of his most famous works, The storm(1506–1508), now in the Accademia
Accademia
The Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th century art in Venice, northern Italy. Situated on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro, it gives its name to one of the three bridges across the canal, the Ponte dell'Accademia, and to the boat landing station for the...

 in Venice, is an example of this use of colour, where the mixture color and texture continue indefinitely without preparatory drawing for the painting work gives a special atmosphere. Titian, born in Belluno Pieve di Cadore
Pieve di Cadore
Pieve di Cadore is a comune in the province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 110 km north of Venice and about 35 km northeast of Belluno.The painter Titian was born here, c. 1485...

, brought forward the use of this technique without pictorial design, creating masterpieces such as the Assumption (1516–1518), a famous altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

 made by imposing visible sizes on the main altar of the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, a work whose suggestion is due to the use of colour in which the predominance was debated.

Giacomo il Forte (James the Strong), called Tintoretto
Tintoretto
Tintoretto , real name Jacopo Comin, was a Venetian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso...

 (1518–1594) takes over the Roman Mannerism, but recasts in typical Venetian use of color, highlighting the bright prospects for its operations, giving unusual, sometimes true perspective deformations, with the aim of increasing the sense of tension that permeates the work. Palaces and churches of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 are full of masterpieces signed by Tintoretto, but certainly worth mentioning, the 66 paintings found in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a building in Venice, northern Italy.-History:The Scuola di San Rocco was established in 1478 by a group of wealthy Venetian citizens, next to the church of San Rocco, from which it takes its name.In January 1515 the project of the building was entrusted...

 el 'Last Supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...

 in the Church of St. George.
Paul said Caliari Veronese
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...

 (1528–1588), with works that celebrated the life of Venice, is devoted to civil works such as buildings and houses of Venetian nobles. Sue was part of the decoration of Palazzo Ducale and the decoration of many villas Palladian
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...

, including Villa Barbaro
Villa Barbaro
Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser, is a large villa at Maser in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed and built by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio, with frescos by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vittoria for Daniele Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquileia...

.
Jacopo da Ponte said Bass
Jacopo Bassano
Jacopo Bassano , known also as Jacopo dal Ponte, was an Italian painter who was born and died in Bassano del Grappa near Venice, from which he adopted the name.- Life :...

 (1517–1592) renewed figurative art while being an artist inland lagoon, through the introduction of images taken from real life, enriched by a touch of drama and intense.

Born in Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

 in 1508 and died in 1580, Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...

 is arguably one of the most famous architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

s in the world. Among his works are primarily the Venetian villas
Palladian Villas of the Veneto
The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site protecting a cluster of works by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the...

, located in the countryside between the provinces of Vicenza
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

, Padua
Province of Padua
The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...

 and Treviso
Province of Treviso
The Province of Treviso is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso.The province has an area of 2,477 km², and a total population of 886.886 . There are 95 municipalities in the province .-Municipalities:-External links:*...

. He also made in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 the Basilica of St. George, the Church of the Redeemer
Il Redentore
The Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore , commonly known as ', is a 16th century Roman Catholic church located in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the Italian city of Venice. It was designed by the architect Andrea Palladio and built as a votive church to thank God for the deliverance of the city from a major...

, and Zitelle on the island of Giudecca
Giudecca
Giudecca is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It is part of the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It is a locality of the comune of Venice.-Geography:...

. His most famous works, however, are located almost exclusively in Vicenza, where he left some of his absolute masterpieces.

Palladian architecture incorporates the grounds of classical Roman villas that recall the forms of weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

 to create masterpieces such as Villa Emo
Villa Emo
Villa Emo is a patrician villa in the Veneto, northern Italy, near the village of Fanzolo di Vedelago. It was designed by Andrea Palladio in 1559 for the Emo family of Venice and remained in the hands of the Emo family until it was sold in 2004...

, Villa Barbaro
Villa Barbaro
Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser, is a large villa at Maser in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed and built by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio, with frescos by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vittoria for Daniele Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquileia...

, Villa Capra "La Almerico Round Villa Foscari
Villa Foscari
thumb|Villa Foscari: facing the [[Brenta]]Villa Foscari is a patrician villa in Mira, near Venice, northern Italy, designed by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio...

 called the Malcontenta. This aesthetic, forerunner of the neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 style should be a rigorous search for features that had to have a Villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

 campaign, the home owner shall permit the control over production activities of the surrounding countryside by structuring the functional parts, such as porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...

, close to the central body. In the case of Villa Badoer, the open barn, formed by a large circular colonnade, enclosing the front yard in front of the villa allows you to create a space that recalls the ancient idea of the Forum Romanum, and bringing all campaign activities to gravitate in front of the villa itself.
The research style of Palladio has created an architectural movement called Palladianism, which has had strong following in the next three centuries, inspiring architects, some of them his direct students, including Vincenzo Scamozzi
Vincenzo Scamozzi
thumb|250px|Portrait of Vincenzo Scamozzi by [[Paolo Veronese]]Vincenzo Scamozzi was a Venetian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century...

, after the death of the teacher who completed several works, including the first Teatro Olimpico
Teatro Olimpico
The Teatro Olimpico is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy: constructed in 1580-1585, it is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, Renaissance, and was not completed until after his death...

 in Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

.

The 18th century Venetian school
Venetian school (art)
-Context:In the 15th century Venetian painting developed through influences from the Paduan School and Antonello da Messina, who introduced the oil painting technique of Early Netherlandish painting. It is typified by a warm colour scale and a picturesque use of colour...

 can count on many artists: painters Giambattista Tiepolo, his son Giandomenico, Giambattista Piazzetta, Pietro Longhi
Pietro Longhi
Pietro Longhi was a Venetian painter of contemporary scenes of life.-Biography:Pietro Longhi was born in Venice in the parish of Saint Maria, first child of the silversmith Alessandro Falca and his wife, Antonia. He adopted the Longhi last name when he began to paint...

, Marco
Marco Ricci
Marco Ricci was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was the nephew of Sebastiano Ricci. After receiving his first instruction in art from his uncle, he visited Rome, where he was for some years occupied in drawing vedute....

 and Sebastiano Ricci
Sebastiano Ricci
Sebastiano Ricci was an Italian painter of the late Baroque school of Venice. About the same age as Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Tiepolo, he represents a late version of the vigorous and luminous Cortonesque style of grand manner fresco painting.-Early years:He was born in Belluno, son...

, Nicholas Kids, Sebastiano Bombelli
Sebastiano Bombelli
Sebastiano Bombelli was an Italian painter, mainly active in Venice, during the Baroque period.Bombelli was born in Udine, where he was apprenticed to his father, Valentino Bombelli, and his godfather, Girolamo Lugaro. He is claimed by some to have studied with Guercino...

, Gianantonio Fumiani, Gaspar Diziani, the architect/painter Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna the painter Rosalba; the sculptures Morlaiter, Filippo Parodi
Filippo Parodi
Filippo Parodi was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period, "Genoa's first and greatest native Baroque sculptor".-Biography:...

, Bernard Torretti and his nephew Giuseppe Torretti, architects Jerome Frigimelica, Giorgio Massari
Giorgio Massari
Giorgio Massari was a prominent late-Baroque Venetian architect. Among his masterpieces are the Chiesa dei Gesuati and the Palazzo Grassi-Stucky...

, John Scalfarotto
Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto
Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto was an Italian architect from Venice.He is said to have taught architectural drawing to the engraver Giovanni Piranesi. Like many eclectic architects of his time, it is difficult to pin down a specific style. He was likely limited in part because of the weight of...

, Thomas Temanza, the most famous view painter Giovanni Antonio Canal as Canaletto
Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal better known as Canaletto , was a Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. He was also an important printmaker in etching.- Early career :...

, the carver Andrea Brustolon
Andrea Brustolon
Andrea Brustolon was an Italian sculptor in wood. He is known for his furnishings in the Baroque style and devotional sculptures.-Biography:...

, playwrights Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...

 and Gaspare Gozzi, the poets Alessandro Labia and George Whisker, composers Benedetto Marcello
Benedetto Marcello
Benedetto Marcello was a Venetian composer, writer, advocate, magistrate, and teacher.-Life:...

 and Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...

.
Later, at the end of the republic, it follows Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...

.

With Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770) the perspective
Perspective (graphical)
Perspective in the graphic arts, such as drawing, is an approximate representation, on a flat surface , of an image as it is seen by the eye...

 plays a central role in rapresentation, not to give emphasis to the main image, but only to make a dramatic impact on the figures. For Tiepolo, in fact, prospective is forced to beyond the usual limits, painting ceilings figures taken from the bottom in a movement that makes it relatively spectacular.

Another characteristic feature of Venetian art is landscape painting, which sees in Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697–1768), known as Canaletto and Francesco Guardi
Francesco Guardi
Francesco Lazzaro Guardi was a Venetian painter of veduta, a member of the Venetian School. He is considered to be among the last practitioners, along with his brothers, of the classic Venetian school of painting....

 ( 1712–1793) the two leading figures. Canaletto used a rigorous prospective studies are trying to make almost "photographic" reality modeling the colors to emphasize the vitality of the image. Francesco Guardi, seeking a more subjective and less clear cut tried to communicate emotion.

Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...

 was also one of the greatest sculptors of all times in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Born in Possagno
Possagno
Possagno is a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about 60 km northwest of Venice and about 35 km northwest of Treviso...

, he developed classical art, with his works becoming the references for neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

. The Temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 of Possagno, which he designed himself, is the main landmark of neo-classical architecture, while in the Gipsoteca, former home of Canova, one can see the casts of the most famous works that aremfound in various museums in the world, given his reputation that prevailed internationally. Among the most important works,Psyche Revived by Love's Kiss
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss
Antonio Canova's statue Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, first commissioned in 1787, exemplifies the Neoclassical devotion to love and emotion. It represents the god Cupid in the height of love and tenderness, immediately after awakening the lifeless Psyche with a kiss, a scene excerpted from Lucius...

 and the' 'funerary monument for Maria Cristina of Austria.

Failing to miss an artistic opportunity after the fall of the Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

, every city in Veneto created its own form of art. Important was, however, the role of Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, who was able to attract many young artists from the surrounding territory.

Among the many artists which were important in modern ages were Guglielmo Ciardi
Guglielmo Ciardi
Guglielmo Ciardi was an Italian painter.-Biography:The son of an official of the Austrian government, Ciardi enrolled in 1861 at the Venice Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied perspective with Federico Moja and landscape and seascape with Domenico Bresolin, taking over the latter’s teaching...

, who incorporated the experience of macchiaioli
Macchiaioli
The Macchiaioli were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century, who, breaking with the antiquated conventions taught by the Italian academies of art, did much of their painting outdoors in order to capture natural light, shade, and colour...

 movement, uniting the typical colour of the classic Venetian school, and yet bringing out from his paintings a chromatic essence, Giacomo Favretto
Giacomo Favretto
Giacomo Favretto was an Italian painter.-Biography:Born in Venice into a family of humble origin, Favretto enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1864 and presented work in 1873 at the Esposizione di Belle Arti dell’Accademia di Brera in Milan, where his genre painting attracted the attention of...

, who too as Ciardi, enhanced the colour, which was sometimes very pronounced, painter Frederick Zandomeneghi, who deviates from the tradition of Venetian colouring to venture in a style similar to French impressionism, and finally Luigi Nono, whose works feel realistic, even if, in addition to painting genre scenes, includes portraits of finity for psychological enhancement.

Education

Veneto hosts one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...

, founded in 1222. OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...

 investigations show that school education achievements in North-Eastern Italy (whose population comes mainly from Veneto) are the highest in Italy. As of 2003 the university had approximately 65,000 students.

Language

Most of the people of Veneto speak standard Italian. However, there is widespread usage of Venetian language
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...

.
Venetian dialects are classified as a Western Romance
Western Romance languages
The Western Romance languages are one of the primary subdivisions of the Romance languages. They include at least the following:* The Pyrenean–Mozarabic group consists of two languages in two separate branches:**Aragonese**Mozarabic...

 language. Scholars distinguish between an Eastern or Coastal (Venice) group, a Central (Padua, Vicenza, Polesine) group, a Western (Verona) group, a North-Central (Treviso) group, and a Northern (Belluno, Feltre, Agordo, Cadore, Zoldo Alto
Zoldo Alto
-External links:* on Wikivoyage...

) group of dialects. All dialects are mutually intelligible to varying degrees.
Ladin
Ladin
Ladin is a language consisting of a group of dialects spoken in the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy in the border regions of the provinces Trentino, South Tyrol and Belluno...

 is spoken in parts of the province of Belluno
Province of Belluno
TheThe Province of Belluno is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.It has an area of 3,678 km², and a total population of 214,026 .-Geography:...

, especially in the municipalities of Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...

, Livinallongo del Col di Lana
Livinallongo del Col di Lana
Livinallongo del Col di Lana is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km north of Venice and about 45 km northwest of Belluno....

 and Colle Santa Lucia
Colle Santa Lucia
Colle Santa Lucia is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km north of Venice and about 40 km northwest of Belluno...

. A German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 dialect is spoken in Sappada
Sappada
Sappada is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 130 km north of Venice and about 60 km northeast of Belluno...

 (Pladen in German). Moreover, in the area around Portogruaro
Portogruaro
Portogruaro is a town and comune in the province of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy.-History:Portogruaro was founded in 1140, when the bishop of Concordia, Gervinus, gave right to several fishermen to settle here and build a river port. A castle existed here, however, as early as the 10th century...

 people speak Furlan
Friulian language
Friulan , is a Romance language belonging to the Rhaeto-Romance family, spoken in the Friuli region of northeastern Italy. Friulan has around 800,000 speakers, the vast majority of whom also speak Italian...

.

As the region does not enjoy a special status of autonomy, minority language
Minority language
A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities.-International politics:...

s are not granted any form of recognition. Anyway a motion to recognize Venetian as an official regional language
Regional language
A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a federal state or province, or some wider area....

 has been approved by the regional Parliament
Regional Council of Veneto
The Regional Council of Veneto is the regional parliament of Veneto.It was first elected in 1970, when the ordinary Regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of Italy of 1948.-Composition:...

.

Literature

Venetian literature
Venetian literature
Venetian literature is the corpus of literature in Venetian, the vernacular language of the region roughly corresponding to Venice, from the 12th century. Venetian literature, after an initial period of splendour in the sixteenth century with the success of artists such as Ruzante, reached its...

 is the corpus of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 in Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...

, the vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

 language of the region which roughly corresponding to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 from the 12th century. The Venetian literature, after an initial period of splendour in the 16th century with the success of artists such as Ruzante, reaches its maximum zenith in the 18th century, thanks to its maximum exponent, dramatist Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...

. Subsequently, the literary production in Venetian undergoes a period of decline following the collapse of the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

, succeeding anyway during the 20th century to reach peaks with wonderful lyrical poets such as Biagio Marin
Biagio Marin
Biagio Marin was an Italian poet, best known from his poems in the Venetian-Friulian dialect, which had no literary tradition until then. In his writings he has never obeyed rhetoric or poetics...

 of Grado

Cuisine

Cuisine is an important part of the culture of the Veneto, and the region is home to some of the most recognizable dishes, desserts and wines in Italian, European and worldwide cuisine.

Wines and drinks

Veneto is an important wine-growing area
Veneto wine
Veneto is a wine region in north-eastern Italy, one of a group of three highly productive Italian regions known collectively as the Venezie and the biggest DOC producer of the three...

. Among the best wines can be remembered: Soave
Soave (wine)
Soave is a dry white Italian wine from the Veneto region in northeast Italy, principally around the city of Verona. Within the Soave region are both a Denominazione di Origine Controllata zone and a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita designation known as Soave Superiore with both...

, Bardolino, Recioto
Straw wine
Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the ice wine process, but suitable for warmer climates. The classic method dries clusters of grapes on mats of straw in the sun, but some regions dry them under...

, Amarone
Amarone
Amarone della Valpolicella, usually known as Amarone, is a typically rich Italian dry red wine made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina , Rondinella and Molinara varieties. The wine was awarded Denominazione di Origine Controllata status in December 1990...

, Torcolato
Straw wine
Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the ice wine process, but suitable for warmer climates. The classic method dries clusters of grapes on mats of straw in the sun, but some regions dry them under...

, Prosecco
Prosecco
Prosecco is an Italian white wine — generally a Dry or Extra Dry sparkling wine — normally made from Glera grapes. DOC prosecco is produced in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy, and traditionally mainly in the areas near Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills...

, Tocai Rosso
Grenache
Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, the south of France, and California's San Joaquin Valley. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively...

, Garganega
Garganega
Garganega is a variety of white Italian wine grape widely grown in the Veneto region of North East Italy, particularly in the provinces of Verona and Vicenza. It is Italy's 6th most widely planted white grape...

, and Valpolicella
Valpolicella
Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine production. Valpolicella ranks just after Chianti in total Italian Denominazione di Origine...

. Other, more common wines are Verduzzo
Verduzzo
Verduzzo is a white Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It is also found in significant plantings in the Piave Denominazione di origine controllata of the Veneto region...

, Raboso
Raboso
Raboso is a red wine grape grown primarily in northeastern Italy around Veneto. It produces deep-colored wine, with notably high levels of tannin but low alcohol content. The vine ripens late, producing good yields with high resistance to fungal disease and rot....

, Moscato
Muscat (grape and wine)
The Muscat variety of grapes of the species Vitis vinifera is widely grown for wine, raisins and table grapes. Their color ranges from white to near black. Muscat almost always has a pronounced sweet floral aroma. Muscat grapes are grown around the world...

, Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...

, Pinot Nero
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

, Pinot Grigio
Pinot gris
Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

, and Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

. Homemade wine making
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

 is widespread. After making wine, the alcohol of the pressed grapes is distilled to produce grappa
Grappa
Grappa is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume...

 or graspa, as it is called in the local language.

Prosecco
Prosecco
Prosecco is an Italian white wine — generally a Dry or Extra Dry sparkling wine — normally made from Glera grapes. DOC prosecco is produced in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy, and traditionally mainly in the areas near Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills...

, a dry sparkling wine
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...

, is also a very popular drink in the region of Veneto. It is made from a variety of white grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

 of the same name, which is traditionally grown in an area near Conegliano
Conegliano
Conegliano is a town and comune of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of around 36,000 people. The remains of a castle that was built in the 10th century remain on a nearby hill...

 and Valdobbiadene
Valdobbiadene
Valdobbiadene is a town in the province of Treviso, Veneto, Italy. Valdobbiadene is a picturesque wine growing area. Just below the Alpine areas of Veneto, it provides a climate for cool varieties of grape. This area is the home of ProseccoConegliano-Valdobbiadene a dry sparkling white wine....

, in the hills north of Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

. The name of Prosecco is derived from the northern Italian village of Prosecco (Trieste), where this grape variety is believed to have originated.

Spritz, in the Venetian language also called "spriss" or "spriseto" depending on the area, is a very popular drink among young people. It usually consists of 1/3 sparkling wine and 2/3 Aperol
Aperol
Aperol is an Italian aperitif originally produced by the Barbieri company, based in Padua. Aperol is now produced by the Campari company. While Aperol was originally created in 1919, it did not become successful until after World War II...

. Campari or gin may also be used.

Cheeses

Among the best-known cheeses of Veneto the following should be mentioned: Asiago
Asiago cheese
Asiago is an Italian cow's milk cheese that can assume different textures, according to its aging, from smooth for the fresh Asiago to a crumbly texture for the aged cheese of which the flavor is reminiscent of Parmesan...

 (PDO
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

) (from Asiago
Asiago
Asiago is the name of both a minor township and the surrounding plateau region in the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of Northeastern Italy...

), Monte Veronese
Monte Veronese
Monte Veronese is an Italian cheese made from cow’s milk which is produced in the northern part of the Province of Verona. It is regarded as the great cheese of the Lessini mountains or the Veronese prealps and was awarded Italian Denominazione di Origine status in 1993 and EU PDO status in 1996...

 (PDO
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

), Piave (PDO
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

), Morlacco, Grana Padano (PDO
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

).

Salamis and meats

The sopressa vicentina
Sopressa
Sopressa is an Italian aged salami, produced with pork, lard, salt, pepper, spices and sometimes garlic. It is a typical product of the Veneto, in northern Italy....

 (PDO
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

) is an aged salami, cylindrical in shape and prepared with raw, quality pork meat. It may or may not include garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

 in its ingredients and comes in medium and large sizes. Prosciutto
Prosciutto
Prosciutto |ham]]) or Parma ham is a dry-cured ham that is usually thinly sliced and served uncooked; this style is called prosciutto crudo in Italian and is distinguished from cooked ham, prosciutto cotto....

 Veneto Berico-Euganeo (PDO
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

) is obtained from the fresh meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

 of a top breed of adult hogs. The aroma is delicate, sweet and fragrant.

Vegetables

Radicchio
Radicchio
Radicchio is a leaf chicory , sometimes known as Italian chicory and is a perennial. It is grown as a leaf vegetable which usually has white-veined red leaves. It has a bitter and spicy taste, which mellows when it is grilled or roasted.- History :Humans have been using radicchio since ancient times...

 rosso di Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

 (PGI
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

) is a peculiar vegetable with a faintly bitter taste and a crunchy texture. The production area encompasses many town districts in the provinces of Treviso, Padua and Venice. The radicchio
Radicchio
Radicchio is a leaf chicory , sometimes known as Italian chicory and is a perennial. It is grown as a leaf vegetable which usually has white-veined red leaves. It has a bitter and spicy taste, which mellows when it is grilled or roasted.- History :Humans have been using radicchio since ancient times...

 Variegato di Castelfranco
Castelfranco Veneto
Castelfranco Veneto is a town and comune of Veneto, northern Italy, in the province of Treviso, 30 km by rail from the town of Treviso. It is approximately 40 km inland from Venice.-History:...

 (PGI
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

) has a delicate and slightly sweet taste and a crunchy texture. Veronese Vialone Nano Rice from Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

 (PGI
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

) is a type of rice with short, plump grains, which have a creamy consistency when cooked. They are commonly used in risotto
Risotto
Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based; many kinds include Parmesan cheese, butter, and onion...

 dishes and have a high starch content. The Bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....

 of Lamon
Lamon
Lamon is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km northwest of Venice and about 35 km west of Belluno...

 (PGI
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

) is particularly prized for its delicate flavour and extremely tender skin. The White Asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...

 of Cimadolmo (PGI
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

) has a characteristic scent and a very delicate taste. The White Asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...

 of Bassano
Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...

 is a typical product of the northern part of the province of Vicenza
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

. The San Zeno di Montagna
San Zeno di Montagna
San Zeno di Montagna is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 130 km west of Venice and about 30 km northwest of Verona...

 (Verona
Province of Verona
The Province of Verona is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Verona.-Overview:The province has an area of 3,109 km², and a total population of 912,981...

) chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...

 is another remarkable product
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

. The town of Marostica
Marostica
Marostica , is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It is mostly famous for its living chess event and for the local cherry variety.-History:...

 is famous for its cherries
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....

.

Desserts

One of Veneto's best known contributions to the dinner table is tiramisù
Tiramisu
Tiramisu, , , literally "pick me up", is an Italian cake and dessert.It is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone, and flavored with liquor and cocoa...

, a dessert made from mascarpone
Mascarpone
Mascarpone |denaturation]], whey is removed without pressing or aging. One can manufacture mascarpone by using cream and tartaric acid, citric acid, or even lemon juice....

, coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

, Marsala wine
Marsala wine
Marsala is a wine produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala wine first received Denominazione di Origine Controllata status in 1969....

, savoiardi and chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

.

Festivals

Each town, often every quarter, has its patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

 whose feast day
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...

 is solemnly celebrated. Many other festivals are closely linked to the religious calendar. Among these:
  • Carnival of Venice
    Carnival of Venice
    The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival, held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival starts 40 days before easter and ends on Shrove Tuesday , the day before Ash Wednesday.-History:...

     celebrated the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday
    Ash Wednesday
    Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...

    ;
  • Panevin celebrated around Epiphany;
  • Pasqua (Easter
    Easter
    Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

     Sunday);
  • Saint Mark's feast day (April 25);
  • La Sensa (Ascension Thursday);
  • San Giovanni Battista (June 24);
  • La festa del Redentór (mid July);
  • Vendemmia (grape harvest in September);
  • San Nicolò de Bari (St. Nicholas
    Saint Nicholas
    Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...

    , December 6);
  • Nadàl (Christmas)

Music

Veneto, and in particular Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 and Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

, are important Italian musical centres, home to a vibrant musical life and some of the greatest talents in history, such as Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...

.

The city of Venice in Italy has played an important role in the development of the music of Italy
Music of Italy
The music of Italy ranges across a broad spectrum of opera and instrumental classical music and a body of popular music drawn from both native and imported sources. Music has traditionally been one of the cultural markers of Italian national and ethnic identity and holds an important position in...

. The Venetian state—i.e. the medieval Maritime Republic of Venice—was often popularly called the "Republic of Music", and an anonymous Frenchman of the 17th century is said to have remarked that "In every home, someone is playing a musical instrument or singing. There is music everywhere."

In Padova, musical ensembles such as the Amici della Musica di Padova, the Solisti Veneti and the Padova-Veneto Symphony are found. Concerts are often held in the historic Loggia Comaro, built in 1524. As well, the city is the site of the Teatro delle Maddalene, the Teatro delle Grazie, the Giuseppe Verdi Theater, and the Cesare Pollini music conservatory.

Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...

 is well known for its love of opera and is the site of the famous Teatro Sociale
Teatro Sociale
Teatro Sociale is a theatre in Como, designed by architect Giuseppe Cusi followng a decision by the local nobility that a new one was needed to replace the existing 1764/65 building which was regarded as outdated...

, built in 1819. In the 20th century it was the venue for the career beginnings of Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...

, Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...

 and Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...

. The town of Rovigo is also the site of the Francesco Vanezza music conservatory.

The city of Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

 is world famous for the Roman amphitheater known as the "Arena", a site that has been hosting musical events since the 16th century, but which is more recently known for the spectacular outdoor staging of Verdi's
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...

 Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...

, an event staged for the first time in 1913. The city also has the Felice Evaristo Dall'Abaco music conservatory;

Musicians and composers

  • Antonio Salieri
    Antonio Salieri
    Antonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....

     (Legnago, 18 August 1750 - Vienna, 7 May 1825) was a Venetian conductor and composer of sacred, classical and opera music. He was one of the Europe's most prominent and well-known composers at the time.
  • Tomaso Albinoni
    Tomaso Albinoni
    Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian Baroque composer. While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is mainly remembered today for his instrumental music, such as the concertos, some of which are regularly recorded.-Biography:Born in Venice, Republic of Venice, to Antonio Albinoni, a...

     (Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

    , 8 June 1671 - Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

    , 17 January 1751) was a Venetian composer and violinist of the Baroque period
    Baroque music
    Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...

    .
  • Mario Brunello
    Mario Brunello
    Mario Brunello is a renowned worldwide Italian cellist and musician. The turning point in his artistic life was the 1986 victory of the International Tchaikovsky Competition-Origins and musical beginnings:...

     is a cellist. He studied at the Conservatory of Venice with Vendramelli Adriano and then with Antonio Janigro. In 1986 he won first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition
    International Tchaikovsky Competition
    The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...

     of Moscow
    Moscow
    Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

     in the cello section. He plays a Maggini cello of the 17th century which belonged to Benedetto Mazzacurati and then to Franco Rossi
    Franco Rossi
    Franco Rossi was an Italian film screenwriter and director, mainly known for having directed the six hour long Italian-German-British-Swiss TV mini-series Quo Vadis? in 1985....

    , cellist of the Italian Quartet (Quartetto Italiano). He has been the artistic director of the International Competition for String Quartet "Premio Paolo Borciani
    Premio Paolo Borciani
    The International String Quartet Competition "Premio Paolo Borciani" was created in 1987 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and is dedicated to their famous fellow citizen, founder and first violin of the . Twenty years later, the Premio has now become one of the most prestigious competitions of the world,...

    " in Reggio Emilia
    Reggio Emilia
    Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....

    , since 2008. In Castelfranco Veneto
    Castelfranco Veneto
    Castelfranco Veneto is a town and comune of Veneto, northern Italy, in the province of Treviso, 30 km by rail from the town of Treviso. It is approximately 40 km inland from Venice.-History:...

    , his hometown, Brunello has set up a cultural association in a old dismissed factory under the name "Antiruggine" (Antirust) in relation to the activity to which the place was originally devoted. In this place, concerts, workshops and master classes are held, but also literature and visual arts have a place there.
  • Calicanto is a folk
    Folk music
    Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

     group, which incorporates traditional themes of the Venetian tradition by encorporating them in their work.

  • Baldassare Galuppi (Burano
    Burano
    Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy; like Venice itself, it could more correctly be called an archipelago of four islands linked by bridges...

    , 18 October 1706 - Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

    , 3 January 1785) was a Venetian composer and organist. Galuppi was very famous in his day for his comic and sacred works. His style, which was melodic, elegant and flexible, met with the poetics of Goldoni: this collaboration marked the birth and spread throughout Europe (after the 1749) of the drama giocoso.

  • Luigi Nono
    Luigi Nono
    Luigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...

     (Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

     1924 - Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

     1990) was a contemporary music composer.

  • Antonio Vivaldi
    Antonio Vivaldi
    Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...

     was one of the great "virtuoso" violinists of his time and one of the greatest composers of Baroque music
    Baroque music
    Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...

    . Vivaldi contributed significantly to the development of the concerto, especially solo, usuaully started by Giuseppe Torelli
    Giuseppe Torelli
    Giuseppe Torelli was an Italian violist, violinist, teacher, and composer.Torelli is most remembered for his contributions to the development of the instrumental concerto Giuseppe Torelli (April 22, 1658 – February 8, 1709) was an Italian violist, violinist, teacher, and composer.Torelli is most...

    , and the violin and orchestra's technque. Huge his work composition that also includes numerous concerts, sonatas and pieces of sacred music.

  • Giuseppe Sinopoli
    Giuseppe Sinopoli
    -Biography:Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin and at Darmstadt, including being mentored in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen...

     was a conductor, composer and Italian essayist.

  • Rondo Veneziano
    Rondò Veneziano
    Rondò Veneziano is an Italian chamber orchestra, specializing in Baroque music, playing original instruments, but incorporating a rock-style rhythm section of synthesizer, bass guitar and drums, led by Maestro Gian Piero Reverberi, who is also the principal composer of all of the original Rondo...

     are an Italian musical ensemble that mixes Baroque music
    Baroque music
    Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...

     produced by a typical chamber orchestra with the sound of pop music
    Pop music
    Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

     and rock
    Rock and roll
    Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

    .

Theatres

  • Teatro La Fenice is the main opera house of Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

    . Repeatedly destroyed by fire and later rebuilt, it is home to an important opera season and to the International Festival of contemporary music. Teatro La Fenice in Venice was designed in 1790 by Gian Antonio Selva
    Gian Antonio Selva
    Gian Antonio Selva was an Italian neoclassical architect.-Biography:He was born in Venice. His works include Villa Manfrin detta Margherita a Sant'Artemio, near Treviso Gian Antonio Selva (2 September 1751 - 22 January 1819) was an Italian neoclassical architect.-Biography:He was born in...

     for the society of the Venetian artistocracy, and the Venetian Theater was built rapidly despite the many controversies about its location and its rational structure and neoclassical style.

  • Teatro Malibran
    Teatro Malibran
    The Teatro Malibran, formerly known as the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, is an opera house in Venice known for its operatic importance in the 17th and 18th centuries...

     is a Venetian theater. It is best known for its importance in the field of opera that occurred manly between 17th and 18th centuries, when it bore the name of Theater St. John Chrysostom.

  • Teatro Stabile del Veneto "Carlo Goldoni" 
    corresponds to the ancient Teatro Vendramin, also known as San Salvador or San Luke, and was opened in 1622. The Teatro Carlo Goldoni is located in the vicinity of the Rialto bridge
    Rialto Bridge
    The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo.- History :...

    , in the historical center of Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

    . It is a film set, with rooms structured in four tiers of boxes, stalls and galleries. With a total of 800 seats, the stage is off 12 Underground and 11.20 deep and is framed in iron
    Iron
    Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

    . The Teatro Goldoni season hosts Prose organized by the Teatro Stabile del Veneto "Carlo Goldoni", the review of Children's Theater, opera, concerts, ballets and other events in the concession.

  • Teatro Verdi (Padua) 
    is the main theater in Padua
    Padua
    Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

    . Commissioned by a society formed specifically for the purpose of establishing a major theatre in the city, it was built by the Paduan architect Giovanni Gloria (c.1684-1753) to designs by Antonio Cugini (1677–1765), an architect from Reggio Emilia
    Reggio Emilia
    Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....

    . It opened in 1751, and was known as the Teatro Nuovo until 1884. Substantial restoration work was carried out in 1847, 1884 and 1920. Currently the Teatro Verdi is the operational headquarters of the Teatro Stabile del Veneto.

  • Teatro Olimpico
    Teatro Olimpico
    The Teatro Olimpico is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy: constructed in 1580-1585, it is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, Renaissance, and was not completed until after his death...

     is a theater designed by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio
    Andrea Palladio
    Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...

     in 1580 and located in Vicenza
    Vicenza
    Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

    . It is generally considered the first example of a modern indoor theater set. The realization of the theater, in a pre-existing medieval complex, was commissioned by the Olympic Palladio for the staging of classical plays. Its construction began in 1580 and was inaugurated on March 3, 1585, after the realization of the famous stationery scenes of Vincenzo Scamozzi
    Vincenzo Scamozzi
    thumb|250px|Portrait of Vincenzo Scamozzi by [[Paolo Veronese]]Vincenzo Scamozzi was a Venetian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century...

    . These wooden structures are the only of the Renaissance to be extant, however, they are still excellent condition. The theater is still the seat of performances and concerts and has been included in 1994 in the list of World Heritage Sites' s UNESCO
    UNESCO
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

    , as other works by Palladio to Vicenza
    Vicenza
    Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

    .

  • Philharmonic Theater (Verona) 
    is the main opera house of Verona
    Verona
    Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

    . It is owned by the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona, since its foundation, but is used by the foundation of the Arena as the site of the opera season in winter.

  • Roman Theatre of Verona 
    is Verona's main arena, located in the northern part of the city at the foot of Colle San Pietro. This theater was built at the end of BC, a period in which Verona
    Verona
    Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

     has seen from the monumental St. Peter of the hill. Before, it was built between the Stone Bridge and Gates of the embankments, which were built on Tyrol parallel to the theater itself, in order to defend against the possible flooding of river. It is considered the largest Roman theater in the north of Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

    . Today it is used for theatrical and operatic productions during the summer.

  • Teatro Salieri

Tourism

Here is a selection of the main attractions of Veneto.

The cities of art
  • Venice
    Venice
    Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

    : Venice and its lagoon are listed as World Heritage Site
    World Heritage Site
    A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

    s by UNESCO
    UNESCO
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

    .
  • Padua
    Padua
    Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

    : also known as the "City of the Saint"; the Orto botanico di Padova is on UNESCO
    UNESCO
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

    's list of World Heritage Site
    World Heritage Site
    A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

    s.
  • Verona
    Verona
    Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

    : The city of Shakespeare's famous lovers: Romeo and Juliet
    Romeo and Juliet
    Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

    . Verona has been named a UNESCO
    UNESCO
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

     world heritage site.
  • Vicenza
    Vicenza
    Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

     is on UNESCO
    UNESCO
    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

    's list of World Heritage Site
    World Heritage Site
    A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

    s, together with a number of the Palladian Villas
    Palladian Villas of the Veneto
    The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site protecting a cluster of works by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the...

    .
  • Belluno
    Belluno
    Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...

     the capital of the Dolomites
    Dolomites
    The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...

    , the bell tower
    Bell tower
    A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

     was designed by Filippo Juvarra
    Filippo Juvarra
    Filippo Juvarra was an Italian architect and stage set designer.-Biography:Filippo Juvarra was an Italian Baroque architect working in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was born in Messina, Sicily, to a family of goldsmiths and engravers...

  • Montagnana
    Montagnana
    Montagnana is a town and comune in the province of Padova, in Veneto . It is bounded by other communes of Saletto, Megliadino San Fidenzio, Casale di Scodosia, Urbana, Bevilacqua, Pojana Maggiore and Noventa Vicentina...

     is a municipality in the province of Padova
    Province of Padua
    The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...

     with perfectly conserved medieval walls
  • Bassano del Grappa
    Bassano del Grappa
    Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...

     with its Ponte degli Alpini
    Alpini
    The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....

     on the river Brenta, designed in 1569 by Andrea Palladio
    Andrea Palladio
    Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...

  • Marostica
    Marostica
    Marostica , is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It is mostly famous for its living chess event and for the local cherry variety.-History:...

     : The 'Chess Game' is the most important event of the town, taking place on the second weekend of September, involves over 550 participants and lasts two hours.
  • Asolo
    Asolo
    Asolo is a town and comune in the Veneto Region of Northern Italy. It is known as "The Pearl of the province of Treviso", and also as "The City of a Hundred Horizons" for its mountain settings.-History:...

     is known as 'The Pearl of province of Treviso
    Province of Treviso
    The Province of Treviso is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso.The province has an area of 2,477 km², and a total population of 886.886 . There are 95 municipalities in the province .-Municipalities:-External links:*...

    ', and also as 'The City of a Hundred Horizons'.
  • Este
    Este, Italy
    Este is a town and comune of the Province of Padua, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Euganei Hills. The town is a centre for farming, crafts and industry worthy of note.-History:...

     : The House of Este held the city until 1240, when they moved their capital to Ferrara
    Ferrara
    Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

    .


Other interesting places

Besides the Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 and the major artistic cities of Venice, there are other smaller cities but with a presence in art and culture no less important.
Such include:
  • Arquà Petrarca
    Arquà Petrarca
    Arquà Petrarca is a town and municipality in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region, in the province of Padua.As of 2007 the estimated population of Arquà Petrarca was 1,835....

     a city with hills town lying on the hills, in panoramic position, houses the tomb of Petrarch
    Petrarch
    Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...

     and the house where the poet lived a few years of his life.

  • Bassano del Grappa
    Bassano del Grappa
    Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...

     
    Famous for the Alpine bridge designed by Palladio on the Brenta River, is important for the facts of the First World War and for a few episodes for the second. Furthermore, held artistic works of Bassano and other Venetian painters. Regarding the craft to be reminded of the production of ceramics.

  • Chioggia
    Chioggia
    Chioggia is a coastal town and comune of the province of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy.-Geography:...

     
    Many Catholic churches in the area. Among these the church of Sant'Andrea, dated 1700, was by his side a tower in Romanesque style - called the Clock Tower - dating from the 11th-12th century and, at one time, tower defense and military lookout. Has within it the oldest clock tower in the world.

  • Este
    Este
    The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf historically rendered in English, Guelf or Guelph...

     
    already inhabited during the Iron Age, became a Roman colony. Finds from these periods are preserved in the National Museum Atestino. Main monuments and places of interest are the Carrara Castle, the Cathedral of Santa Tecla with the beautiful altarpiece of the Tiepolo
    Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
    Giovanni Battista Tiepolo , also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice...

    , the Torre Civica (called the Clock Tower) and the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

  • Feltre
    Feltre
    Feltre is a town and comune of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about 4 km from its junction with the Piave, and 20 km southwest from Belluno...

     
    ancient city, rich in frescoed palaces and works of art ancient and modern. There are even a fine little town museum, the gallery of modern art "Carlo Rizzarda" and the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, the cathedral complex with subterranean archaeological area, the shrine of the holy Roman-Armenian Victor and Corona, The Theater of Sena, by Gian Antonio Selva
    Gian Antonio Selva
    Gian Antonio Selva was an Italian neoclassical architect.-Biography:He was born in Venice. His works include Villa Manfrin detta Margherita a Sant'Artemio, near Treviso Gian Antonio Selva (2 September 1751 - 22 January 1819) was an Italian neoclassical architect.-Biography:He was born in...

     and Tranquillo Orsi, first stage of Goldoni.

  • Pieve di Cadore
    Pieve di Cadore
    Pieve di Cadore is a comune in the province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 110 km north of Venice and about 35 km northeast of Belluno.The painter Titian was born here, c. 1485...

     
    City, birthplace of the painter Titian, owns the house where he himself was born and which has now become a museum. The presence of important buildings in the historic center.

  • Schio
    Schio
    Schio is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza situated North of Vicenza and East of the Lake of Garda. It is surrounded by the Little Dolomites and Mount Pasubio.-History:...

     
    Located at the mouth of the Val Leogra and surrounded the amphitheater formed by the "Little Dolomites" the city, formerly called the "Manchester of Italy" by the great development of wool industry in the 19th century, offers visitors the discovery of a vast wealth of industrial history through the open-air museum of industrial archeology, as well as significant natural resources such as the Mount Summano considered an asset unique flora in Europe
    Europe
    Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

     (7.5% of European flora, 15% of the Italian and more than 30% of the Veneto).

  • Marostica
    Marostica
    Marostica , is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It is mostly famous for its living chess event and for the local cherry variety.-History:...

     
    walled town has two castles. The lower castle is located on the plains and in front of it is theater of the famous Piazza degli Scacchi Chess Game. The castle is situated on a hill top and is connected to the flat part of the city walls.

  • Asolo
    Asolo
    Asolo is a town and comune in the Veneto Region of Northern Italy. It is known as "The Pearl of the province of Treviso", and also as "The City of a Hundred Horizons" for its mountain settings.-History:...

     
    city where they lived many important historical figures such as Caterina Cornaro and Eleonora Duse
    Eleonora Duse
    -Life and career:Duse was born in Vigevano, Lombardy, and began acting as a child. Both her father and her grandfather were actors, and she joined the troupe at age four. Due to poverty, she initially worked continually, traveling from city to city with whichever troupe her family was currently...

    . Characteristic are the stronghold of the 12th century and the castle of Caterina Cornaro.

  • Possagno
    Possagno
    Possagno is a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about 60 km northwest of Venice and about 35 km northwest of Treviso...

     
    a little village, which native of Antonio Canova
    Antonio Canova
    Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...

    . You still visit the artist's house is a museum. Remarkable also the Temple Canoviano.


UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Name and description Image


Inserted by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 in 1997. It is the world's oldest academic botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 that is still in its original location. (Officially, the oldest university botanical garden is the Orto botanico di Pisa
Orto botanico di Pisa
The Orto botanico di Pisa, also known as the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pisa, is a botanical garden operated by the University of Pisa, and located at via Luca Ghini 5, Pisa, Italy...

, which was founded in 1544; however, that garden was relocated twice and has only occupied its current, and now-permanent, location since 1591.) It is located in Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and was founded in 1545. The garden, affiliated with the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...

, currently covers roughly 22,000 square meters, and is known for its special collections and historical design.



Verona was inscribed in the year 2000. One of the seven provincial capitals in the region. It is one of the main tourist destinations in north-eastern Italy, thanks to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans.



The city and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
Palladian Villas of the Veneto
The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site protecting a cluster of works by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the...

 were inscribed in 1994. Vicenza is a thriving and cosmopolitan
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...

 city, with a rich history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

, and many museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s, art galleries
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...

, piazza
Piazza
A piazza is a city square in Italy, Malta, along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. The term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza...

s, villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

s, churches and elegant, Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 palazzi. The Palladian Villas of the Veneto
Palladian Villas of the Veneto
The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site protecting a cluster of works by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the...

, in the surrounding area, and the renowned Teatro Olimpico
Teatro Olimpico
The Teatro Olimpico is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy: constructed in 1580-1585, it is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, Renaissance, and was not completed until after his death...

 (Olympic Theatre) have both been enlisted as UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

s since 1994.



The city and its lagoon were inscribed in 1987. With a population of 271,367 (census estimate 1 January 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). The city historically was the capital of an independent nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...

. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", "City of Canals" and "The City of Light". Luigi Barzini
Luigi Barzini, Jr.
Luigi Barzini Jr. was an Italian journalist, writer and politician most famous for his 1964 book The Italians, delving deeply into the Italian national character and introducing many Anglo-Saxon readers to Italian life and culture.-Early life:Barzini junior was born in Milan, Lombardy, the son of...

, writing in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, described it as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man". Venice has also been described by the Times Online
Times
The Times is a UK daily newspaper, the original English language newspaper titled "Times". Times may also refer to:In newspapers:*The Times , went defunct in 2005*The Times *The Times of Northwest Indiana...

 as being one of Europe's most romantic cities.



They were inscribed in 2009. They are located for the most part in the province of Belluno
Province of Belluno
TheThe Province of Belluno is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.It has an area of 3,678 km², and a total population of 214,026 .-Geography:...

, the rest in South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...

 and Trentino (all in north-eastern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

). Conventionally they extend from the Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....

 river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the west to the Piave
Piave River
Piave is a river in north Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice....

 valley (Pieve di Cadore
Pieve di Cadore
Pieve di Cadore is a comune in the province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 110 km north of Venice and about 35 km northeast of Belluno.The painter Titian was born here, c. 1485...

) in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley
Pustertal
The Puster Valley is a valley in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in Tyrol, Austria and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy...

 and the Sugana Valley (Val Sugana). But the Dolomites spread also over the Piave river (Dolomiti d'Oltrepiave) to the east; and far away over the Adige river to the west is the Brenta Group (Western Dolomites); there is also another smaller group called Piccole Dolomiti (Small Dolomites) located between the Provinces of Trento and Vicenza
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

 (see the map).




Palladian Villas of the Veneto
Palladian Villas of the Veneto
The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site protecting a cluster of works by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the...


Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

 and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
Palladian Villas of the Veneto
The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site protecting a cluster of works by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the...

 are a number of beautiful Palladian villas which are World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

s. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the immediate area of Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

 were included. Various types of buildings were represented including the Teatro Olimpico
Teatro Olimpico
The Teatro Olimpico is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy: constructed in 1580-1585, it is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, Renaissance, and was not completed until after his death...

, palazzi and a few villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

s. Most of Palladio's surviving villas lay outside the site. However, in 1996 the number of Palladian villas included in the site was expanded to include those in other parts of the Veneto. The site was given its present name.

The term villa was used to describe a country house. Often rich families in the Veneto also had a house in town called a palazzo. In most cases the owners named their palazzi and villas with the family surname, hence there is both a Palazzo Chiericati
Palazzo Chiericati
Palazzo Chiericati is a Renaissance palace in Vicenza , designed by Andrea Palladio.- History :The Palazzo was commissioned to Palladio by Count Girolamo Chiericati. The architect started building the architecture in 1550, some further work was completed under the patronage of Chiericati's son and...

 in Vicenza and a Villa Chiericati
Villa Chiericati
Villa Chiericati is a villa at Vancimuglio in the Veneto, northern Italy. It was designed for Giovanni Chiericati by the architect Andrea Palladio in the early 1550s....

 in the countryside, similarly there is a Palazzo Foscari
Palazzo Foscari
Ca' Foscari, the palace of the Foscari family, is a Gothic building on the waterfront of the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Built by the doge Francesco Foscari in 1453, is now the main seat of Ca' Foscari University of Venice....

 in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 and a Villa Foscari
Villa Foscari
thumb|Villa Foscari: facing the [[Brenta]]Villa Foscari is a patrician villa in Mira, near Venice, northern Italy, designed by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio...

 in the countryside. Somewhat confusingly there are multiple Villas Pisani
Villa Pisani
Villa Pisani is the name shared by a number of villas commissioned by the patrician Pisani family of Venice. However, Villa Pisani usually refers to a large, late baroque villa at Stra on the mainland of the Veneto, northern Italy. It was begun in the early 18th century for Alvise Pisani, the most...

, including two by Palladio.

There are these sorts of villas all over the Venetian plain, but especially in the provinces of Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

, Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

 and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. The date of construction of these villas ranges from the 15th to the 19th century. There are approximately five thousand Ville Venete, of which 1,400 are declared of historical and monumental interest.
Apart from the numerous Palladian villas, of which 24 are protected by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

, there are many beautiful villas spread across Veneto, mainly from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Many of them are museums, public institutions or private residences.
The 24 Palladian villas which are part of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

:
  • Villa Almerico Capra, also called "La Rotonda" (Vicenza
    Vicenza
    Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

    )
  • Villa Gazzotti Grimani
    Villa Gazzotti Grimani
    The Villa Gazzotti Grimani is a Renaissance villa, an early work of architect Andrea Palladio, located in the village of Bertesina, near Vicenza in the Veneto region of northern Italy. In 1994 UNESCO designated Villa Gazzotti Grimani as part of the "Vicenza, City of Palladio" World Heritage Site...

     (Vicenza
    Vicenza
    Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

    , but in the village of Bertesina)
  • Villa Angarano
    Villa Angarano
    The Villa Angarano or Villa Angarano Bianchi Michiel is a villa in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto, northern Italy. It was originally conceived by Andrea Palladio who published a plan in his book I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura.-History:...

    , also known as Villa Bianchi Michiel (Bassano del Grappa
    Bassano del Grappa
    Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...

     VI)
  • Villa Caldogno (Caldogno
    Caldogno
    Caldogno is a town and comune near Vicenza in Italy. Its population is 11,291.The Villa Caldogno Nordera in its territory is attributed to architect Andrea PalladioIt is the birthplace of footballer Roberto Baggio....

     VI)
  • Villa Chiericati
    Villa Chiericati
    Villa Chiericati is a villa at Vancimuglio in the Veneto, northern Italy. It was designed for Giovanni Chiericati by the architect Andrea Palladio in the early 1550s....

     (Vancimuglio di Grumolo delle Abbadesse
    Grumolo delle Abbadesse
    Grumolo delle Abbadesse is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is on SP24.In the frazione of Vancimuglio Andrea Palladio's Villa Chiericati can be seen.-External links:*...

     VI)
  • Villa Forni Cerato
    Villa Forni Cerato
    The Villa Forni Cerato is a 16th century villa in Montecchio Precalcino, Province of Vicenza, northern Italy. Its design is attributed to Andrea Palladio and his client is assumed to have been Girolamo Forni, a wealthy wood merchant who supplied building material for a number of the Palladio's...

     (Montecchio Precalcino
    Montecchio Precalcino
    Montecchio Precalcino is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is west of Torrente Astico.The main attraction is the patrician Villa Forni Cerato, attributed by some scholars to Andrea Palladio.- Sources :*...

     VI)
  • Villa Godi
    Villa Godi
    Villa Godi is a patrician villa in Lugo di Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It was one of the first projects by Andrea Palladio, as attested in his monograph I quattro libri dell'architettura...

     (Lonedo di Lugo di Vicenza
    Lugo di Vicenza
    Lugo di Vicenza is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is east of SP349 provincial road.-Main sights:*Villa Godi, designed by Andrea Palladio, in the locality of Lonedo. There is also another Palladian villa, the Villa Piovene.-Sources:*...

    )
  • Villa Pisani (Bagnolo di Lonigo
    Lonigo
    Lonigo is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, its population counts around 16.000 inhabitants.In its frazione of Bagnolo is the Villa Pisani, a Renaissance patrician villa designed by Andrea Palladio, which is part of a World Heritage Site...

     VI
    Province of Vicenza
    The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

    )
  • Villa Pojana
    Villa Pojana
    Villa Pojana or Poiana, is a patrician villa in Pojana Maggiore, a town of the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of Italy. It was designed by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio...

     (Poiana Maggiore VI
    Province of Vicenza
    The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

    )
  • Villa Saraceno
    Villa Saraceno
    Villa Saraceno is a Palladian Villa in Agugliaro, Province of Vicenza, northern Italy. It was commissioned by the patrician Saraceno family.- Architectural significance :...

     (Agugliaro
    Agugliaro
    Agugliaro is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is located east of road SP247.In the hamlet of Finale di Agugliaro is the sixteenth-century Villa Saraceno, which was designed by Palladio and is conserved as part of a World Heritage Site. Other patrician villas in the...

     VI
    Province of Vicenza
    The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

    )
  • Villa Thiene
    Villa Thiene
    Villa Thiene is a 16th century villa at Quinto Vicentino in the province of Vicenza. The villa takes its name from the Thiene brothers who commissioned it...

     (Quinto Vicentino
    Quinto Vicentino
    Quinto Vicentino is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is east of A31.The town is the birthplace of Urbano Lazzaro, the Italian partisan who identified and arrested Benito Mussolini in 1945. Its main attraction is Villa Thiene....

     VI
    Province of Vicenza
    The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

    )
  • Villa Trissino (Meledo di Sarego
    Sarego
    Sarego is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is 20 km southwest of Vicenza. SP500 goes through the town of Sarego.-Main sights:In the frazione of Meledo, there are two incomplete villas designed by Andrea Palladio:...

     VI
    Province of Vicenza
    The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

    )
  • Villa Trissino (Vicenza
    Vicenza
    Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

    , in Cricoli)
  • Villa Valmarana (Lisiera di Bolzano Vicentino
    Bolzano Vicentino
    Bolzano Vicentino is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is east of A31 highway, with a population of 5,455. The main attraction is Palladio's Villa Valmarana Scagnolari Zen, situated in the frazione Lisiera.-Sources:...

     VI
    Province of Vicenza
    The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

    )
  • Villa Valmarana (Vigardolo di Monticello Conte Otto
    Monticello Conte Otto
    Monticello Conte Otto is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is east of the SP248 provincial road.The main attraction is the Villa Valmarana Bressan, attributed to Andrea Palladio.-Sources:*...

     VI
    Province of Vicenza
    The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

    )
  • Villa Piovene
    Villa Piovene
    Villa Piovene is a Palladian villa built in Lonedo di Lugo, province of Vicenza, northern Italy. The building was commissioned in the 16th century for the aristocratic Venetian Piovene family, their architect believed to have been Andrea Palladio...

     (Lugo di Vicenza
    Lugo di Vicenza
    Lugo di Vicenza is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is east of SP349 provincial road.-Main sights:*Villa Godi, designed by Andrea Palladio, in the locality of Lonedo. There is also another Palladian villa, the Villa Piovene.-Sources:*...

     VI
    Province of Vicenza
    The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

    )
  • Villa Badoer
    Villa Badoer
    Villa Badoer is a villa in Fratta Polesine in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed in 1556 by Andrea Palladio for the Venetian noble Francesco Badoer, and built between 1557 and 1563, on the site of a medieval castle which guarded a bridge across a navigable canal...

    , called "La Badoera" (Fratta Polesine
    Fratta Polesine
    Fratta Polesine is a comune in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about 70 km southwest of Venice and about 11 km southwest of Rovigo...

     RO
    Province of Rovigo
    The Province of Rovigo is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rovigo.It borders on the north with the provinces of Verona, Padua and Venice, on the south with the province of Ferrara, on the west with the province of Mantua, and on the eastwith the Adriatic Sea.-...

    )
  • Villa Barbaro
    Villa Barbaro
    Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser, is a large villa at Maser in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed and built by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio, with frescos by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vittoria for Daniele Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquileia...

     (Maser
    Maser
    A maser is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. Historically, “maser” derives from the original, upper-case acronym MASER, which stands for "Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"...

     TV)
  • Villa Emo
    Villa Emo
    Villa Emo is a patrician villa in the Veneto, northern Italy, near the village of Fanzolo di Vedelago. It was designed by Andrea Palladio in 1559 for the Emo family of Venice and remained in the hands of the Emo family until it was sold in 2004...

     (Vedelago
    Vedelago
    Vedelago is a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about 35 km northwest of Venice and about 20 km west of Treviso....

     TV)
  • Villa Zeno
    Villa Zeno
    Villa Zeno is a patrician villa at Cessalto, Veneto, northern Italy, and is the most easterly villa designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The building is near the highway between Venice and Trieste, but was built to face a canal which served as the primary means of arrival.- History...

     (Cessalto
    Cessalto
    Cessalto is a comune with 3,137 inhabitants in the province of Treviso. It is home to a Palladian Villa, the Villa Zeno....

     TV)
  • Villa Foscari
    Villa Foscari
    thumb|Villa Foscari: facing the [[Brenta]]Villa Foscari is a patrician villa in Mira, near Venice, northern Italy, designed by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio...

    , called La Malcontenta (Mira
    Mira
    Mira also known as Omicron Ceti , is a red giant star estimated 200-400 light years away in the constellation Cetus. Mira is a binary star, consisting of the red giant Mira A along with Mira B. Mira A is also an oscillating variable star and was the first non-supernova variable star discovered,...

     VE
    Province of Venice
    The Province of Venice is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice.It has an area of 2,467 km², and a total population of 829,418 . There are 44 comuni in the province . As of 2005, the main comuni by population are:-External links:* * : photos of...

    )
  • Villa Pisani
    Villa Pisani (Montagnana)
    The Villa Pisani is a patrician villa outside the city walls of Montagnana, Veneto, northern Italy.- Architectural details :It was designed by Andrea Palladio about 1552, for Cardinal Francesco Pisani...

     (Montagnana
    Montagnana
    Montagnana is a town and comune in the province of Padova, in Veneto . It is bounded by other communes of Saletto, Megliadino San Fidenzio, Casale di Scodosia, Urbana, Bevilacqua, Pojana Maggiore and Noventa Vicentina...

     PD)
  • Villa Cornaro
    Villa Cornaro
    Villa Cornaro is a patrician villa in Piombino Dese, about 30 km northwest of Venice, Italy. It was designed by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1552 and is illustrated and described by him in Book Two of his 1570 masterwork, I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura [The Four...

     (Piombino Dese
    Piombino Dese
    Piombino Dese is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 35 km northwest of Venice and about 20 km north of Padua...

     PD)
  • Villa Serego
    Villa Serego
    Villa Serego or Villa Sarego is a Palladian villa at Santa Sofia di Pedemonte, San Pietro in Cariano in the province of Verona, northern Italy. It was built for the aristocratic Sarego family, and designed by Andrea Palladio...

     (Santa Sofia di Pedemonte
    Pedemonte
    Pedemonte is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is north of SP350.-Sources:*...

     VI)


Amongst these, Villa Trissino (Cricoli) is not regarded a Palladian villa
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...

, but is also an important country house.

Parks
Cansiglio is a pre-alpine massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

 located in the north-eastern Veneto in the provinces of Treviso and Belluno.

'Parco Nazionale Dolomiti Bellunesi' is situated in the southern section of the Province of Belluno.

Lakes
The area of Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...

 is a major tourist destination
Tourist destination
A tourist destination is a city, town, or other area that is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps."...

. Various towns along the lake, such as Lazise
Lazise
Lazise is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km west of Venice and about 20 km northwest of Verona. It is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Garda...

, Cisano, Bardolino
Bardolino
Bardolino is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 130 km west of Venice and about 25 km northwest of Verona....

, Garda (VR), Torri del Benaco
Torri del Benaco
Torri del Benaco is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 130 km west of Venice and about 30 km northwest of Verona, on the eastern coast of the Lake Garda....

 and Malcesine
Malcesine
Malcesine is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km northwest of Venice and about 40 km northwest of Verona.Malcesine lies on the shores of Lake Garda.-Main sights:...

, are popular resorts.

Mountains

Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...

, it's situated in the province of Belluno and is one of the most exclusive mountain locations in Europe together with Kitzbühel in Austria and St. Moritz
St. Moritz
St. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...

 in Switzerland. It was scene of the 1956 Winter Olympics
1956 Winter Olympics
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out...

. To the north there are the Tre Cime di Lavaredo,said to be a symbol of the Italian Dolomites
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...

.

Arabba
Livinallongo del Col di Lana
Livinallongo del Col di Lana is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km north of Venice and about 45 km northwest of Belluno....

 lies between the Sella group
Sella group
The Sella is a plateau shaped massif in the Dolomites mountains of northern Italy. The Sella lies north of the Marmolada and to the east of the Langkofel...

 and the Marmolada
Marmolada
Marmolada is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites ....

.
Auronzo
Auronzo di Cadore
Auronzo di Cadore is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km north of Venice and about 50 km northeast of Belluno....

 is in the upper Cadore
Cadore
Cadore is a "comunità montana" in the Italian region of Veneto, in the northernmost part of the province of Belluno bordering on Austria, the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is watered by the Piave River poured forth from the Carnic Alps...

.
Sappada
Sappada
Sappada is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 130 km north of Venice and about 60 km northeast of Belluno...

 is in the extreme north of the region.

Thermal bath
Thermal bath
A thermal bath is a warm body of water. It is often referred to as a spa, which is traditionally used to mean a place where the water is believed to have special health-giving properties, though note that many spas offer cold water or mineral water treatments.A thermal bath may be part of a...

s
The thermal baths of Abano Terme
Abano Terme
Abano Terme is a town and comune in the province of Padua, in the Veneto region, Italy, on the eastern slope of the Colli Euganei; it is 10 kilometers southwest by rail from Padua. Abano Terme's population is 19,062 .The town's hot springs and mud baths are the main economic resource...

 are an important tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....

. Despite being the most famous, Abano is not the only thermal town in the area. Montegrotto Terme
Montegrotto Terme
Montegrotto Terme is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 45 km west of Venice and about 11 km southwest of Padua.Montegrotto Terme is a spa resort, part of the Terme Euganee spas...

 and Recoaro Terme
Recoaro Terme
Recoaro Terme is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is known for his mineral spring waters: Lora is bottled and commercialized, while some of the others are used for hydrotherapy in Terme Recoaro Spa.-History:...

 are other popular resorts.

Beaches
Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

's Lido is an 11-mile long sandbar
Shoal
Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...

, visited by many tourists every summer.

Jesolo
Jesolo
thumb|250px|Location of Jesolo in the province of Venice.Jesolo is a town and comune in the province of Venice, Italy.-Geography:...

 is one of the most important seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...

s on the Adriatic coast, just a few kilometres far from Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. Every year Jesolo gives accommodation to over 4.5 million tourists.

Caorle
Caorle
Caorle is a coastal town in the province of Venice, Veneto, Italy, located between the estuaries of the Livenza and Lemene rivers. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea between two other famous touristic towns, Eraclea and Bibione.-History:...

 has often received awards forone of the cleanest beaches in Italy. Bibione,
Eraclea
Eraclea
thumb|250px|right|Location of Eraclea in the province of Venice.Eraclea is a town and comune in the province of Venice, Veneto, Italy. SP42 goes through it.Eraclea Mare is the Lido of Eraclea....

 and Sottomarina
Sottomarina
Sottomarina is an Italian town of Roman origin. It is a frazione of the comune of Chioggia, which is part of the province of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Like Venice, it is an island cut into pieces by canals, and it has bridges to bring the island together...

 are popular resorts too. Albarella island is a private island
Private island
A private island is a disconnected body of land wholly owned by a single private citizen or corporation. Although this exclusivity gives the owner substantial control over the property, they still fall within the jurisdiction of national and sometimes local governments.-Ownership:There are many...

 on the Lido that has some of the best beaches. Alberoni Beach is set in a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

.

External links

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