Chioggia, Rovigo and the Po's Delta

• Chioggia
•  Rovigo and the Po's Delta

Chioggia

To the south of the Venetian lagoon lies the ancient Chioggia. It has been for long time the second city after Venice in the Serenissima Repubblic, and historically it is famous for the war of Chioggia when the Genoeses destroyed the city in 1380.
Its most typical vessel is the "bragozzo", with its curious rounded bow and brightly painted sails.

The crowded urban network of parallel narrow streets is crossed lenghtwise by the Canale della Vena and by Corso del Popolo, where you find concentrated the most beautiful examples of architecture in the city.

In 1110 Chioggia became an Episcopal seta and many of its monuments are still standing today. The Cathedral of Santa maria Assunta is an imposing sight. Don't forget the simple lines of the little precious Gothic church of San Martino. Finally San Domenico with its 14th century bell-tower and paintings by Carpaccio and Bassano.
With its canals, bridges and piazza, Chioggia has always been an unusual ans delicately structured town. Its economy is based on several different sectors: fishing (don't miss the picturesque fish market), vegetables culture (with its "radicchio rosso di Chioggia"), a port and recentrly tourism with beaches nearby (Sottomarina).

Rovigo and the Po's Delta

Rovigo is the most important town in the area called Polesine.
You can still find ample evidence of a town plan and road system dating back to the Middle Ages (such as the castle and the towers) and monuments and buildings which bear witness to an architectural style begun in the 11th century.
The heart of the city is Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, with the Loggia dei Notai (of the Solicitors), the Torre dell'Orologio (Clock Tower) an dthe Palazzo Roverella of the Academia dei Concordi. The last one hosts a library with mor ethan 200,000 volumes, and an archeological collection with paleoventian, Etruscan, and Roman artifacts.
One other interesting spot is the Rotunda (Chiesa della Beata Vergine del Soccorso). Begun in 1594 and designed by Zamberlan, an associate of Palladio, this church has an octagonal floor plan and a beautiful bell tower by Longhena. Inside a rich collection of 1600' Venetian Pantings.

The Po Delta: hemmed in between the two longest rivers in Italy, the Adige to the north and the Po to the south, and subdivided by the flow of other waterways as well as by a myriad of canals and drainage ditches, the Po Delta (known as il Polesine) occupies the southern most border of the Veneto region. Here the Delta forms a unique natural setting. It is possible to make lots of activities around this area, and above all the cycling tours. For more informations please see www.deltapocard.it