Every year, from March to October, a romantic mini-cruise takes place between the Venetian Villas of the Riviera del Brenta, from Padua to Venice and vice versa, amidst art and history, along the route of the ancient Venetian Burchiello of the 18th century.
The Burchiello was a typical Venetian boat for transporting wealthier passengers, equipped with a large wooden cabin with four balconies, finely crafted and decorated with gilded stuccoes and mirrors, used by the wealthier Venetian classes to reach their villas in the countryside from the city.
Today,’ says Stefano Piccolo general manager of the Burchiello, ’the Burchiello is a modern and comfortable vessel, equipped with a cabin with comfortable sofas, a panoramic deck that allows passengers maximum visibility, an air-conditioned passenger cabin, a bar and toilets.
As in the past, even today the Burchiello, which has become a scheduled public service of grand tourism, sails along the Riviera del Brenta from Padua to Venice and vice versa; heir to ancient traditions, it plies the waters of the Brenta with slow pace, while the guides on board illustrate the history, culture and art witnessed by the Villas of the Brenta.
The mini-cruise can be a full-day or half-day trip and includes a guided internal visit to three Venetian Villas, famous summer residences of 18th-century Venetian patricians, richly frescoed, and a stop for an optional lunch at the famous Il Burchiello restaurant in Oriago, where the boat docks.
An evocative mini-cruise – assures Stefano – that, crossing nine revolving bridges and five locks, real ‘water lifts’, allows tourists to descend, or ascend again, the 10-metre difference in water level between Padua and Venice, ending the trip in Venice, in the magical marble setting of St Mark’s Basin.
