Onboard the Burchiello amongst the Brenta Villas

Every year, from March to October, a romantic mini-cruise among the Venetian Villas of the Riviera del Brenta, from Padua to Venice or the other way round, a trip through art and history on the way followed by the ancient Venetian Burchiello in the 1700’s.

The Burchiello was a typical Venetian barge, finely wrought and decorated, used to transport well-off passengers and equipped with a wide wooden cabin, and three or four balconies finely worked and decorated with stuccos and mirrors. The Burchiello was used by the richest classes of Venice to reach the city from their villas in the countryside.

Today the Burchiello – says Stefano Piccolo, general manager of Il Burchiello mini cruises – is a modern and comfortable boat, equipped with a cabin and comfortable sofas, air-conditioning, a bar and toilets, and a panoramic deck that offers passengers a full view around.

To this day Il Burchiello, which is now a public service that attracts tourists from across the globe, sails through Riviera del Brenta from Padua to Venice and back; heir to old traditions, the vessel slowly cuts through the waters of river Brenta whilst tour guides on board takes passengers on a journey through the art, history and culture of the Villas that line river Brenta.

The mini cruise can be full-day or half-day includes navigation, a guide on board, the guided tour of Villa Foscari known as La Malcontenta, Villa Widmann in Mira and Villa Pisani in Stra, plus a stop for the optional lunch at the famous restaurant Il Burchiello in Oriago, where the barge moors.

“It will indeed be an evocative mini cruise,“ guarantees Stefano, “it will take the tourist through nine movable bridges and five floodgates that operates as ‘water lifts’ and allow the Burchiello to elegantly move up or down the river despite the ten metres difference in altitude between Padua and Venice. The cruise will then end in Venice, where tourists will be charmed by a magical view of St. Mark’s basin.”