Area: 18,390 square kilometres
Population: 4,700,000
Regional capital: Venice (pop. 271,251)
Main cities: Venice, Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, Rovigo, Belluno
Main lakes and rivers: Lake Garda, River Po, River Adige, River Piave
Main mountains: Marmolada (3343m), Le Tofane (3243m), Cristallo (3221m), Lessini (2259m), Pasubio (2235m) , Baldo (2218m) Cortina d’Ampezzo
Make up of landscape: mountains: 29%, hills: 14%, plain: 57%
Main industries: agriculture: 7%, industry: 42% other: 51%
Veneto and Venice Weather: The mildest weather is around Lake Garda and the Adriatic coast. Otherwise the region has quite long cold winters often with fog, and has hot sometimes stuffy weather in the summer months. Obviously, the mountain weather is more extreme.
The region is divided into four distinct geographical areas. In the north you have the Alps and the Dolomites and the wooded valleys of the Cadore. Moving down to the west there is the hilly region which leads to the edges of Lake Garda, then the flat land of the Po valley in the south of the region, surrounded by the Eugenian hills and Monti Berici and finally the marshes and lagoons on the east coast.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the area was besieged in the 7th century by the Lombards who destroyed most of the cities except Venice which remained loyal to the Byzantines. Venice’s strategic position meant it eventually became an independent maritime republic ruled by a doge, whilst the cities of the Po valley continued to be fought over by church and state. Venice became a world superpower, maintaining its influence until the end of the 18th century.
The region suffered a number of internal wars and foreign invasions in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1797 part of mainland Veneto was handed over to the Austrian Empire. The territory reverted to Napoleon in 1801, but after his defeat it was handed back to Austria again. The Veneto remained in Austrian hands from 1815 to 1866 when it became part of the Kingdom of Italy. This move (which included banning the Venetian dialect) forced many hundreds of thousands of Venetians to emigrate.
The Veneto was a major front in World War One and the flooding of the Piave River played a major role in the Italian victory at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in 1918.
The Veneto’s second biggest city is famed as the home of Shakespeare’s lovers Romeo and Juliet, in fact, you can visit Juliet’s balcony in the city. Verona’s Roman amphitheatre - the Arena seats over 22,000 and is the location for many world-class opera performances every summer. Verona is one of the most prosperous cities in northern Italy and has fabulous shops, luxury hotels and restaurants and a chic, fashionable populace. (Dress down if you dare!)
Probably the most famous city in the world, with its main sights almost legendary: St Mark’s Square, the Bridge of Sighs, the Grand Canal, the Doge’s Palace… and how could we forget the breathtaking buildings, the gondolas, the water, the light. Last century also saw the reintroduction of the Carnival and the establishment of the Venice Film Festival.
Italy’s largest lake is located at the foot of the Alps and set amidst mountains, olive groves and vineyards an enchanting mix of Mediterranean and Alpine scenery. It is the perfect venue for sightseeing and sports, with world-famous golf courses as well as mountain biking, tennis, paragliding, free-climbing, scuba-diving, clay-pigeon shooting, sailing and windsurfing. It has numerous pretty villages and a lively night life.
Known as Padova in Italian, this city claims to be the oldest in northern Italy. It too has a Shakespeare connection as the location of The Taming of the Shrew. Padua University was founded in 1222 and has the oldest botanical gardens in the world. Padua is the birthplace of renowned architect Andrea Palladio and his neo-classical 16th century villas can be seen throughout the area between Venice and Padua.
All the major airlines fly to Venice – BA, Alitalia and so on.
For cheap flights to Venice, BMI fly from Aberdeen, Belfast (City), Dublin, Durham Tees Valley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, London Heathrow and Manchester.
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