Chioggia in March Day 3 Villa Pisani Naviglio del Brenta

Villa Pisani is the most important of the Ville del Brenta – stately homes built along, or nearby to the Brenta river, which connects the city of Padua to the Venetian Lagoon. This stretch of the river is called the Naviglio del Brenta and includes the municipalities of Stra, Dolo, Mira, and Oriago. The villas were built during the time of the Serenissima: initially linked to farms and agriculture, they later became palazzi, designed by famous architects with frescoes by the greatest artists of the time. Venetian nobles stayed in these splendid residences during the summer months, both to enjoy the countryside and to manage their estates. Villa Pisani was built in the 18th century for Alvise Pisani who became Doge of Venice in 1735. It was bought by Napoleon in 1807 and then by the House of Habsburg and later the House of Savoy.

Nowadays it is a National Museum, housing paintings, furniture and in particular frescoes. The ticket costs 9 euros directly from the ticket office. The building is enormous so much of the visit consists in wandering through sparsely furnished rooms, although the sunken bath and some of the four-poster beds are quite striking. However, the highlight of the visit is the ballroom with frescoes by the 18th century painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo showing the Glory of the Pisani family. We nearly miss the parrot! 

The façade and statues are also fine. The gardens include a maze and fountains but are undergoing restoration so are closed. It takes us over an hour to wander around, including a look at the interesting temporary exhibition of 54 advertising posters of Belle Epoque Italy. At the end of the 19th century at a time when scientific and technological research was changing everyday life, the Ancient and the Myth remerged on billboards to make sense of the time of rapid change.

It’s getting on for luchtime and there’s a pranzo di Lavoro in a nearby Braceria so we book. It’s chilly inside the villa and nice to get outside into the warm sun of a splendid spring day. The Braceria is nothing special, the food not quite what it was supposed to be. Oh well. 

We stop for a walk around Dolo, which is small but quite pretty and then drive back to Chioggia, well, to Sottomarina, where we find one of the very rare parking spaces with a free two-hour stay. After a quick coffee in a bar so uninspiring it’s not worth naming, we have a long and very leisurely walk along the shore, right next to the gently lapping waves. The sea and the sky are calm and blue and it is deeply pleasant.

After parking and walking back to the apartment there’s time for a short rest before the sunset, a continuation of the feeling of calm inspired by the sight of the smooth Laguna Veneta. The forecast is that the weather will change the following day so we are more or less obliged to go out after supper to see Chioggia by night. In season it will be very different but towards the end of March it’s still quiet and peaceful. Most of the restaurants are closed, just a few stray tourists and dogwalkers people the canalsides, little lighting and a sleepy atmosphere. We like Chioggia!