The best traffic-free bike rides around Montegrotto Terme

Located on viale Italia in Bovolenta, the Monument to the Fallen is a work of great emotional impact created by sculptor Rocco Mozzato and inaugurated in 1923. The sculptural group in Carrara marble and trachyte depicts the Motherland as a woman holding up a laurel wreath, flanked by a victorious soldier with a flag and a child symbolizing the future and rebirth. Unlike many contemporary works, it does not list individual names but celebrates the collective sacrifice of the soldiers from Bovolenta in the Great War through patriotic inscriptions. Since 2003, the site has also hosted a plaque in memory of Giorgio Perlasca, adding a further layer of civic and historical value to the place.

In Stra, the Piovego canal joins the Brenta river, at the height of the Naviglio del Brenta, an important historical waterway between Padua and Venice. The intersection is regulated by locks such as the Porte Vinciane, which allow hydraulic control and navigation, also contributing to the protection of the lagoon. This junction is part of the broader hydraulic structure of the Veneto plain, divided into high, medium and low plains. The high plain has permeable soils with deep aquifers, while the medium and low plains are characterized by finer sediments and more superficial aquifers, requiring a network of canals and reclamation works to manage the water and prevent floods.

A very beautiful and quiet cycling route leading north out of the hills. Densely wooded – perfect for rides on hot days.

The street in the city center has been beautifully renovated. And something of ancient Rome is being unearthed.

The Bacchiglione is the longest resurgence river in the Veneto and perhaps in Italy (118 km) which originates from the natural area of the homonymous Risorgive, located just north of Vicenza in the municipality of Dueville, a beautiful and idyllic area, worth visiting, where the river originates, continuously drawing water throughout the year from the upper Vicenza plain and the Altopiano dei 7 Comuni and from where a route can start along the banks that reaches the southern lagoon of Venice, where it flows into the Brenta river near Chioggia, without particular differences in height (about 60 m), crossing the cities of Vicenza and Padua. It is an almost entirely navigable river and at the time of the Serenissima it was the main means of transporting goods between Venice, Padua and Vicenza via rafts, which were pulled by oxen along the banks as they went up the current, also thanks to the help of locks that can still be admired along its route. It interfaces with many cycling routes of considerable interest such as the Anello dei Berici, the Treviso/Ostiglia cycle route, the Anello degli Euganei and many others that allow you to discover the vast territories of central Veneto characterised by the presence of the Berici Mountains and the Euganean Hills (both candidates for recognition as a Unesco MAB Biosphere). For much of its route, the Bacchiglione itinerary is in fact one of the most significant sections of the Monaco/Venice cycle route, which after descending from the Brenner Pass and running through the Adige valley, turns east to Verona to reach the Bacchiglione river in Vicenza, which it will then follow to the sea. Following the course of the Bacchiglione it is possible to intercept 3 of the 9 places in the Veneto region included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, namely “Vicenza and the Palladian Villas in the Veneto”, “The 14th Century Fresco Cycles in Padua”, “Venice and its Lagoon”. Given the considerable length of the route, it is possible to reach primary railway stations in several points that allow for an easy return without having to resort to cars or other motorized means. The stations of Vicenza and Padua are a short distance from the route but with modest effort and following well-marked and passable cycle routes you can also reach the station of Grisignano di Zocco following the Treviso/Ostiglia or Grimana cycle paths.

The best thing about this place is ultra-original name. Even Caffe Commercio across the road can't beat it.

All roads lead to the town hall

Right bank of the Brenta, entirely cycle-friendly up to the confluence with the Bacchiglione