When on holiday, it is always difficult to find the right pastry for every moment of the day: breakfast brioche is very different from a pastry to enjoy at tea time, or from a cake to buy and enjoy in private on a patch of grass by the Naviglio canal.
There is probably no single right place for a tasty break. There is the café with the richest assortment of brioches with unusual flavours, and the bar that offers fine and unusual coffee products. There is also the family-run bakery that bakes warm pastries all night long for an alternative night-time snack. For an afternoon break, single-portion desserts and samples of different pastries are a must, satisfying every palate and allowing you to savour new combinations.
For lovers of sweet treats, there is nothing better than the delicacies offered by the artisan pastry shops along the Brenta Riviera. Among these, we recommend the historic Zaggia pastry shop in Stra, strategically located in the main square, not far from Villa Pisani, a comfortable stop for a pleasant stroll along the Naviglio canal. Over the years, it has maintained an excellent level of quality with its desserts, pastries and brioches. Every day, the workshop of young pastry chefs Gianluca and Alberto produces delicacies for those with a sweet tooth, such as brioches and croissants, pistachio cream puffs, the famous mousses, chocolate croccantino, the much-loved millefoglie with cream and much more. The pastry shop, managed by Silvia Nobile, is the ideal place not only to buy pastries or cakes for special occasions, but also for those who like to stop for a few minutes to have breakfast, enjoy a coffee, or don’t want to miss the Veneto region’s quintessential evening aperitif.
Not only desserts, but also artisan ice cream has always been one of the excellences of the coastal area.
A good example is Gelateria da Simone, owned by Simone Valotto, which, with its three shops between Miranese and Riviera del Brenta (Olmo di Martellago, Noale and Oriago di Mira), offers a quality refreshment point, thanks to its particular attention to tradition and innovation. Gambero Rosso has listed his ice cream parlours among the best in Italy, winners of the technical award at the Sherbeth International Artisanal Ice Cream Festival. While strolling along the Brenta and its Venetian villas or admiring the ancient towers in the square of Noale, enjoying a salted ice cream or the more traditional pistachio, strictly made with the best ingredients and also available in a dairy-free version, offers a few minutes of happiness.
In a building dating back to the 1600s, once used to provide refreshments and carriages to travellers, you can enjoy one of the Riviera del Brenta’s finest confectionery products: the historic Torronificio Scaldaferro (in 2010, the international magazine “Gambero Rosso” awarded it the title of producer of the best Italian almond and hazelnut nougat).
A production technique that has been handed down from generation to generation for 100 years, the quality of the raw materials and honey used are the secrets of a product of absolute prestige; so good that it is often served in combination with savoury foods and cheeses. For some years now, it has also been possible to taste the special gourmet ice creams of Gelateria Artigianale Veneziana Scaldaferro, located inside the Locanda alla Posta, which share the same production philosophy as the nougat.
