Just a quick post with some beautiful pictures of Vlla Pisani In Strà, on the Riviera del Brenta near Venice. The author is a local photographer Franco Amormino, you can see all of his collection on fliker

It’s March 10th and it fells like Christmas Day in Siberia!
These are a couple of videos I took of the situation outside the house at 8.30 am, you can hear the wind howling, well it is worse than it looks!
Venice’s countryside in the snow storm on March 10th 2010

Countryside in Oriago, near Venice under snow [...]

10 Old Venetian Proverbs about Food, Drink and Family
Yesterday at the library in Oriago, my home town, I came across a very interesting book about old Venetian proverbs, many of which I remember from when I was young and many I did not know.
The book is called Proverbi Veneti Commentati by Mario Massari and is [...]

Astronomy and Mineral Exhibition in Villa Farsetti, Near Venice
Yesterday, 7th March 2010, here on the Riviera del Brenta was a beautiful sunny and windy day, preparing us for maybe what will be a nice Springtime (we hope).
We decided to head for the day to Villa Farsetti in Santa Maria di Sala, a small town 30 [...]

VILLA E BARCHESSA WIDMANN IN MIRA, JUST OUTSIDE VENICE
I find myself always talking about Venice,
but today I decided it was time to talk about the Terraferma (the inland) and about what it can offer to Venice’s visitors.
During the Middle Ages Venice looked at the water and the sea as a mean to expand and gain [...]

7th March: Women’s day – Free entry in all State owned Museums in Venice

On 7th March 2010, the Italian Ministry of Beni e Attività Culturali has decided to celebrate International Women’s day by offering all women a free entry to all State owned Museums and Art Galleries in Italy.

On this occasion on 7th [...]

Facts, figures and bizarre things about the beautiful city of Venice
OK, so here you are: getting ready to come to visit Venice, the Serene city of Europe, the great Dame of the Water!
You have booked your holiday, your luggage is ready, your passport is up to date, you have got your map and guide to [...]

As probably many of you know, there are more than 430 bridges in Venice.
I am going to try to list some of the most famous and explain to you why they have been named that way.

Originally all bridges were made of wood or stone and they did not have any side protection, which in [...]

Venetian Ghosts: all revealed in a great book by Venetian writer Alberto Toso Fei.
When I first bought the book Venetian Legends and Ghost Stories by Alberto Toso Fei (to help me prepare my Food and Ghost tour of Venice) I thought it would be the usual invented and over-tragic list of ghost and horror tales. [...]

San Valentino: Origins of Valentine’s day

The Origins

Starting from 4th century BC the Romans had the tradition of celebrating the god Lupercus with a ritual which was repeated every year: all those who believed in the god had to put their name inside an urn. The names of the men and the women would [...]

Ah, here it is again, like every winter, the eternal question: shall I dress up or not for the Venice Carnival?
Today a collegue and twitter friend @casinadirosa  ( www.casinadirosa.it ) asked me if I had anything written down on the Venice Carnival.  As I said no, that  I didn’t and that I had to [...]

Always wanted to learn Italian, but don’t have the time? Always wanted to visit Venice and live like an Italian for a while?
Well this is the course for you.
You can take part in a short week-end language course in the outskirts of Venice, on the Riviera del Brenta in my own house.
You can learn the [...]

Yes, I admit it: I am Venetian and I never been on a rowing boat in my whole life!
First of all I would like to clarify something: the term Venetian does not apply only to people who are born and live in Venice itself, but also to all of those people who live in the [...]

TOLFA
Tolfa is a little village of about  5,000 inhabitants, about 500 metres above sea level, positioned on the Roman hills, about 70 Kms from Rome. It is surrounded by unspoilt nature, pastures and woodlands. It has  important Etruscan, Roman and mediaeval archeological sites; quality artisanal products of leatherwork, ceramics, and wrought iron. Only a few [...]

We just came back from a wonderful day in  Venice. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze, there were not so many people around.  First we went to visit Casa Goldoni, the birth house of the famous Venetian playwriter.
I have to say it was a bit dissapointing (only 3 rooms to see), but [...]

Sunday 7th of June 2009 my husband and I, together with our son and a friend of his went to visit the Oasis WWF Valle Averto on the SS 309 (The Romea), the road which connects Venice with Chioggia.  It was a beautiful experience: first we took few rounds on a cart
pulled by horses around [...]

Last week-end we went (as we always do once a year) to Asolo, a little medieval jewel town in the Veneto Hills. It was very very hot, but we soon took care of that by walking into the old Ice Cream parlour http://www.caffecentrale.com/ in the main square and after an aperitive and an ice-cream, the [...]