"Venetian Noble Magnificence." a Stra Travel Page by BruceDunning

One of the methods to see the sites along the river is to take a boat cruise. This is a nice day trip from either Venzia or Padova. The canal length is about 18 miles end to end, and on the Venice end the tours start/stop in Fusina, about 5 miles from Venice.
Boats hold around 30-50 people and are medium sized so they can maneuver through a couple of locks. There are 3 locks and 9 bridges, with the height deviating 24 feet from the Adriatic Ocean. Be careful to read that some of the cruises are only one way and ends at Padua or Venice.

Bend in river at Barchesse Valmarana on the left and Villa Widmann across the road. The Venetian Council in 1345 declared that local citizens could not own surrounding land of this area. This then led to construction of magnificent villas. Some villas were built to farm the land, others to bring as guests famous people and artists, and others just to impress the gentry.
The Venetians spent their time during the summer and holidays on the canal. They were transported by barge to Fusina, and then the boat would be pulled by horses up the river. They would spend a lot of the summer in these villas, away from Venizia humidity.

This is the most famed and largest villa along the Stra. It was built in 1735 by a Doge in order to show the class of people in his wealthy circle that this would be the best of all along the Stra. It changed ownership many time, and even was a possession of Napoleon for a while.
Researching the history and reason for many of these villas before visiting the area assists in knowing which ones can be visited, and which are better than others. There are over 12 villas that can be toured along the Riveria Brenta.
Architects such as Palladio, Scamozzi, Preti and other well known names of the era designed these villas. Most were built between 1600-1750.
TAke advantage of the tours on Sundays. That is when most are open and a discount of 2 Euro is offered for 3 villas on the tour circuit called Dimore & Dintorni