Stra on the Brenta: Villas, Museum and Cycling Route

Stra on the Brenta combines historic villas, special insights into shoe culture and several ways to explore the surrounding area actively. The town is an interesting choice of location if you want to combine your stay with cultural sightseeing, a cycling route and a transport connection between Padua and Venice or Mestre.

Villas and parks on the Brenta

A defining destination is the park of Villa Pisani. It occupies an entire bend of the Naviglio del Brenta and covers 11 hectares. The grounds are therefore characterised not only by their historical context, but also by their unusual position within the course of the river.

Villa Foscarini Rossi is a 17th-century architectural complex in Stra on the Brenta. The complex includes the Shoe Museum. It houses a collection of more than 1,500 designer and luxury women's shoe models. The museum is located in the 17th-century Villa Foscarini Rossi, giving it a distinct cultural focus in the town.

Another historic stop is Villa Loredan. It was built at the beginning of the 16th century by the Venetian noble Loredan family and includes a chapel and a large park. At Piazza Marconi, the Monumento ai Calzaturieri also commemorates the importance of shoemaking to Stra; it was inaugurated on 23 April 2017.

Museum experience and visiting arrangements

If you plan to visit the Museo della Calzatura, you should take its visiting arrangements into account: guided tours are offered by prior reservation. The tours are available in Italian, English and French. This makes the museum visit a clearly defined item on your itinerary, with language and reservations needing to be factored into your planning in advance.

Villa Foscarini was built between 1617 and 1635. Together with the Villa Foscarini Rossi complex, the Shoe Museum and Villa Loredan, Stra offers a broad range of historic and cultural places to visit, without these being combined into a single complex.

Exploring the area by bike and boat

A specific way to combine Stra with a cycling tour is the “Ring between Riviera del Brenta and Terra dei Tiepolo” route. It starts and ends at the car park on Via Fossolovara in Stra. In addition, a published offer from the daily scheduled service “Il Burchiello” combines a half-day boat trip from Stra to Oriago and back with half-day cycling tours. This allows you to distinguish between an independent loop ride and a combined boat-and-bike experience.

Getting there and further destinations

For regional travel orientation, it is relevant that a bus route connects Padua and Venice or Mestre via Stra. In addition to the sights mentioned, you can also access Meolo, Camponogara, San Donà Di Piave, Fossò, Fiesso D’artico, Pramaggiore, Ca' Lino and Cavallino on this page.

For the overarching travel overview: Venice.