The Brenta is an Italian

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

that runs from

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

just south of the Venetian lagoon in the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

region, in the north-east of Italy. During the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

era, it was called Medoacus (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

: ''Mediochos'', ''Μηδειοχος'') and near

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

it divided in two branches, Medoacus Maior (Greater Medoacus) and Medoacus Minor (Lesser Medoacus). The river changed its course in the early Middle Ages, and its former bed through Padua was occupied by the

Bacchiglione __NOTOC__ The Bacchiglione ( la, Medoacus Minor, "Little Medoacus") is a river that flows in Veneto, northern Italy. It rises in the Alps and empties about later into the Brenta River near Chioggia. It flows through and past a number of cities, ...

. It is long and was first channelled in the 16th century when a long canal was built from the village of

Stra Stra is a town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, Italy. It is south of SR11. It is the location of the famed Villa Pisani Villa Pisani at Stra refers to the monumental, late-Baroque rural palace located along the Br ...

to the Adriatic Sea, bypassing the Venetian lagoon. A branch of the Brenta, named '' Naviglio del Brenta'', was left to connect directly

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and Padua (which was a kind of second capital of the Venice Republic). It runs through Stra, Fiesso d'Artico, Dolo, Mira, Oriago and Malcontenta to Fusina (which is part of the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

of Venice). Starting in the 16th century, many large villas were built along the shores of the ''Naviglio del Brenta'', and this inhabited area was subsequently named '' Riviera del Brenta''. Three of these villas are open to the public: the massive baroque Villa Pisani in Stra, Villa Widmann-Foscari in Mira, and the

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

building of Villa Foscari, also called "La Malcontenta". Villa Ferretti-Angeli in Dolo is also on the Riviera. Northwest of Padua, near the village of Piazzola sul Brenta, not far from the river, Villa Contarini is open. The Venetian aristocracy used to cruise along the canal on a type of boat known as a ''burchiello'', while cargo was carried on traditional barges known as ''burci''. In

Bassano del Grappa Bassano del Grappa ( vec, Basan or ''Bassan'', ) is a city and ''comune'', in the Vicenza province, in the region of Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo ...

, the river is crossed by the ''

Ponte Vecchio The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge", ) is a medieval stone closed- spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during the Second World War, it is noted for the shops ...

'' ( Italian, meaning Old bridge), or ''Ponte degli Alpini'' (bridge of the

Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operat ...

), a covered bridge designed by

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of t ...

in 1569. The bridge is pontoon-style and is built completely of wood. It was destroyed several times in its history, and was last rebuilt by the

in 1948.

External links

Website of the Reclamation/Drainage Consortium for the area crossed by the northern section of Brenta riverWebsite of the Reclamation/Drainage Consortium for the area crossed by the southern section of Brenta river
{{Authority control Waterways of Italy Rivers of Italy Rivers of Trentino Rivers of the Province of Vicenza Rivers of the Province of Padua Rivers of the Metropolitan City of Venice Adriatic Italian coast basins

See also

External links