Overview
Those who imagine that members of the Venetian patriciate reached their villas on the mainland on horseback or by carriage are mistaken. It would be like thinking that today's Venetians travel around the historic centre by car. The Contarini, the Pisani, the Rezzonico or the Foscari used to go on holiday by means of some burchiello, one of those typical wooden boats for transport on inland canals: in the most luxurious cases, these boats were equipped with several levels and rich decorations.
Times have changed. The navigation service, provided in the 18th century by the historic burchielli, is now offered by solid motorised boats operated by a private company. The complete journey between the Portello Staircase in Padua and the San Marco Basin in Venice (obviously possible in both directions) covers forty kilometres along the Piovego Canal and the Naviglio di Brenta in about ten hours, disembarking for visits to the Villa Pisani in Stra, the Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari in Mira and the Villa Foscari in Malcontenta. Between these last two residences, one can also descend or ascend, possibly limiting the route, to Oriago.
From the point of view of transport history, the tourist excursion helps us to remember that, in many European regions, inland waters offered for centuries what is currently provided by motorways: the most obvious way of transporting people, goods or products over a distance.
