Veneto - Amordivino

Veneto

Population: 4.469.156
Surface (Kmq): 18364
Density (Inhabitants/Kmq.): 243
Main city: Venezia (VE)
Other towns: Belluno (BL); Padova (PD); Rovigo (RO); Treviso (TV); Verona (VR); Vicenza (VI).

A unique region with an ancient charm where history, nature and centuries of tradition, art and religion are bound together. Miles of low coastline with sandy beaches contrast with majestic and imposing mountains, such as the extraordinary Dolomites with their sharp and distinctive peaks. The lower mountain ranges and the foothills of the region are flanked by green rolling hills covered in vines and by sub-soil rich in mineral waters and thermal springs, forming one of the most important spa areas in Italy. Veneto is also for art lovers. Venice, the city on the sea, one of the world’s greatest cultural cities, famous and unique for its elegance and charm. Padua, the city of Giotto and Mantegna. Vicenza, the Palladian city. Verona, immortalised by Shakespeare. And Lake Garda, lacus Benacus of the ancient Romans, provides bright colourful Mediterranean scenery dotted with olive groves.

The first human settlements of the lagoon and the surrounding areas maintained a simple social structure until the arrival of the Romans in the second century B.C., who divided the land into parcels and distributed them among the locals to be cultivated. The Romans founded the cities of Verona, Vicenza, and Padova, and named what was then the 10th imperial region, Venetia. Both the Veneto region and the province of Venice (Venezia in Italian) derive their names from the original Latin name of the area. The precursor of the city of Venice that we know today was founded during the Middle Ages when the locals escaped the barbaric invasions that followed the decline of the Roman Empire by taking refuge in coastal areas, islands, and the lagoon’s marshland.

The Venetian trade routes that connected Europe with Asia brought great wealth to the region. In many provinces, especially around Treviso, mulberry cultivation and the breeding of silkworms imported from China brought more affluence and prestige to local residents. With money pouring in from all quarters, Venice began its great building projects, chief among them creating the lagoon and canal infrastructure and systems still in use today.

Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th centuries, following the opening of the Suez Canal, Venice once again became an important port. Foreign investment financed the creation of the industrial infrastructure of Porto Marghera and freed the port of Venice from the burden of commercial navigation. Improved communications technology has allowed the rest of Italy and the world beyond closer ties to Venice, and has contributed to making Venice into an incomparable tourist destination.

The long period of power and splendour that blessed Venice encouraged the highest quality creations by local artisans. The ongoing demand for jewellery, precious fabrics, lace, glass, wood and ceramic products by the noble Venetians shaped the development of the typical stores along the narrow calli (streets) of Venice, as well as factories both inland and on the lagoon islands.