Dr. Cassetta, the owner of a travel agency, met with classes 2B and 2A to discuss the famous villas along the Riviera del Brenta in Italy. He identified Villa Pisani, Villa Malcontenta, and Villa Seriman-Widmann as the three most famous villas. He considers Villa Malcontenta to be the best designed villa, as it was planned by Palladio and used by a powerful Venetian family both for farming and as a suburban residence easily accessible by boat from Venice. The Riviera del Brenta has many bridges, some that can open to allow boats to pass, and it runs from Padua to Venice.

1. May 23, 2017 our class, 2B, and class2A, have metDr. Cassetta, whoisthe ownerof “PADOVA ORIGINALE”
(a travel agency whichorganises sightseeingtoursinthe area).
He isa geographerwhohasdecided tostudy ourterritory. He is alsoa journalistanda touristguide. Since
he is a guide, he can illustrate ourVenetian Villastotourists. He thinks thatthe three mostfamous villason
the “Rivieradel Brenta”are:VillaPisani, VillaMalcontentaandVillaSeriman-Widmann.
VILLA PISANI
Firstly, Mr. Cassetta, startedtalkingaboutVillaPisani, the mostbeautiful villaalongthe Rivieraof Brenta.
He explained thatapart was builtbythe besteighteenth-century architect, GerolamoFrigimelicabutfew
months laterthey changed the
architectbecause of the too highcosts
so anotherbuildercalledFrancesco
Maria Preti continued the biggerpartof
the construction. Mr. Cassettaalsosaid
that inthe past, rich menusedto
employ the villalikeaplace where they
couldrelax or where they couldride
theirhorses aroundthe garden. After
that, he saidthat the name "Pisani"
was takenfromthe surname of the first
family wholivedthere andfinally he
exposed hisownopinion:“Personally, I
don't thinkthatvillaPisani isthe bestvillaof the Riviera. Certainly itisthe mostLuxurious. Itisclearthat
whohad it builtwantedtoshow off theirwealthandimpress everybody. Butthatisit.There is no real plan
behind it:justluxury".
VILLA MALCONTENTA
This is the Villa that Dr. Cassetta considers to be the best!
A REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE ABOUT
THE VILLAS AND RIVIERA DEL BRENTA IN
VENETO.

2. It is Villa Malcontenta, which was designed by Palladio for the two brothers Nicolòand Alvise Foscari, in 1559.
Why is it the best?
Besides being a villa used for farming purposes, this was a suburban residence that could easily be reached by
boat from the centre of Venice. The family was one of the most powerful of the city.
In the villa decorations that recall the building traditions of the Lagoon and also elements of Venetian ancient
architecture (the main façade overlooks the river) co-exist.
THE BRIDGES
The bridges alongRivieradel Brentaare many but
there are some special bridgesthatcan be opened
to letboatspass..There are tenmovable bridges
and five "conche". Whatare they?They are lochs:
they are mechanisms putwhere there isabig
difference of heightinthe river. They are usedtolet
ships passalongthe river. firstly, they increase the
level of the watersothe boats enterthe " conca"
and thenthey lowerthe levelof the watersothe
boat can go out of the "conca" and continue its
journey. There are three typesof slidingbridges:the
liftingbridge, the rotatableone andthe retractable
one. For example, one slidingbridgeisinMira. It is a rotatable brigde.

3. WHERE DOES THE RIVIERA DEL BRENTA START AND END?
Rivieradel BrentastartsinPorto del PortelloinPadua. Thisportoisa sort of big gate situatedinthe old
wallsof Paduaand it’sfor makingpeople andgoods headingforVenice orChioggiapass. Rivieradel Brenta
endsup inthe famous St Mark's Square isinVenice.
QUESTIONS:
Here are a few questions that we asked him:
1) Which isthe most beautiful villa for you?
it is certainly Villa Pisani in Stra, but it is
not my favourite
1) Which isthe most hidden villa?
It’s Barchessa Valmarana in Mira.
2) Which is the most sophisticated villa?
It’s Villa Pisani.
3) Were and are there any secret alleys?
No, there weren’t and aren’t. But There is a big labyrinth in Villa Pisani.

5. By
Carraro Eleonora, Ceccato Anna,
Tudorancea Giulia, Bacchin Elia, Baldan Giacomo,
Sorato Carolina, MonettiSimoneand Rampazzo Matteo, Boato Letizia.