Trip Reports Home | My Trip Reports | Create Trip Report | Recent Reports | Search Trip Reports

Report 835: City, Country, Suburbia: Northern Italy from Three Viewpoints

By Roz from Boston, MA, Fall 2005

Trip Description: Two Weeks in Emilia Romagna and the Veneto: Sep/Oct 2005

Destinations: Countries - Italy; Regions/Cities - Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Venice

Categories: Hotels/B&Bs; Foodie Trip; Sightseeing; Independent Travel; 2 People

Piazza Maggiore through a Portico

In five previous trips, we've been to the Big 3 (Rome, Florence, Venice), spent a lot of time in Tuscan and Umbrian hill towns, and most recently several days on the Amalfi Coast. So where next, to continue our love affair with Italy? Reading John Grisham's The Broker got us interested in Bologna, and the more we researched the area, the more we found to intrigue us.

Here's how our itinerary finally played out:

The City Part - Emilia Romagna
Bologna was our base for 6 nights with day trips by train to Parma, Ravenna, Ferrara, and Modena.

The Country Part - The Veneto
Agriturismo Villa Mocenigo in Mirano was a real working farm. We had a car and made day trips to Padua, two Palladian villas, Treviso, Vicenza, and Verona.

In the Suburbs of Venice
Marghera, at least the area where we stayed, was surprisingly pleasant, and a good base for Venice if you come with a car. From here we also visited the Villa Barbaro, Bassano del Grappa, and Asolo.

Special thanks to all the Slow Travelers who helped with my trip planning, especially RAR for his great essay on Bologna. Since we covered so much ground, I've tried to limit this report just to the very high points or it would have been longer than the tome it already is!

(Photo is a view of the Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, approaching from a portico.)

Contest Winner 2006