A stone throw south from Venice is Chioggia, Emilio’s quite vibrant home town, also known as ‘Venice’s little sister’. Built on several small islands, Chioggia maintains the typical picturesque aspect of a fishermen’s town, with colorful boats anchored along the canals as well as cars and scooters running along the side-streets. Be on the look out for local reckless drivers!

Here you can still see fishermen returning home after a trip fishing all night and older fishermen, who no longer go to sea, repairing their fishing nets under the porticos.

No doubt, the pulsing heart of Chioggia is ‘the Pescheria’! Buy some of the best quality fresh fish or just chat with some of the locals. People here are well known for being chatty and very sociable!

Veneto is an area rich in wonderful villages, picturesque hill-towns, scenic and artistic highlights and world renowned vineyards. It is well worth spending a few days exploring the Palladian Villas in and around the town of Vicenza and Piazzola sul Brenta; the Giotto frescoes and the oldest Universities in Padua and the ancient university astronomy observatory ‘la Specola’,  ‘il Battistero’ and the nearby ghetto and piazze. An evening aperitivo at one of the local ‘folpari’ is worth the queue (‘folpo’ means ‘octopus’ in Venetian dialect), a real street food institution! Make a time to visit also the lovely town of Bassano del Grappa with its wooden bridge designed by Palladio in the 16th century over the Brenta River. Heading to Possagno you can visit the Gipsoteca Antonio Canova Museum and admire the art of neoclassical world known sculptor Antonio Canova. The best way to end your day is driving up, down and around the strangely contoured Valdobbiadene hills, where you can feast on cured meats and local cheeses and of course Italy’s finest Prosecco wine. One of our favourite winemakers here is ‘Case Paolin’.

Just half an hour’s drive north from here is my hometown Feltre, a place that really must be visited if you are planning a holiday to the most spectacular Dolomites, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most people have never even heard of it but perhaps it’s better like that. Feltre is situated on the edge of the Dolomites National Park. At sunset the mountains light up in fiery red, turning to purple before fading into the night. Heaven!

We chose this episode of ‘Italy unpacked’ TV series, these guys and the way they describe our region is a pleasure to watch!

Thank you!