For centuries the Veneto formed the heartland of Venice’s terra ferma empire, stretching from the Adriatic to Lake Garda, and from the plain of the Po to the foothills of the Dolomites.

But it would be quite wrong to consider the Veneto merely as an appendage to La Serenissima, culturally or politically. The region is too large and varied for such relegation – and has a history which is far longer than that of the maritime republic.

While more and more of the countryside is regrettably soaked up by urban and industrial development, many of the most illustrious and art-historically important cities in Italy are situated in the Veneto. So also are some of the country’s loveliest smaller towns, often with their mediaeval circuit of walls still intact.

In the fields of painting and sculpture, the Trecento is particularly well represented, with Giotto’s finest fresco cycle heading the list. From the fifteenth century are masterpieces by Pisanello, Donatello, Mantegna and Bellini; great paintings by Giorgione, Veronese and Tiepolo, inter alia, represent later centuries. The architecture ranges from Roman through Romanesque to Gothic, and on to Renaissance and Neo-Classical.

A recurring theme is the genius of Andrea Palladio. To this one man is owed the appearance of most of the villas in the countryside, and indeed of much of eighteenth-century England, for he became the most internationally influential of all Italian architects. Work by another Italian architect also makes repeated appearances: Carlo Scarpa created some of the most affecting designs of the twentieth century, blending old with new.

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