The best traffic-free bike rides around Saccolongo

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.

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua / Basilica of Saint Anthony, Padua The Basilica of Saint Anthony, known as "the Saint," is the city's most important religious center and attracts thousands of pilgrims every year, especially on June 13, the saint's feast day. The basilica was built in 1232 to protect the tomb of the Franciscan friar Anthony, who died in Padua in 1231. The large building presents a complex structure with a fusion of styles: Romanesque elements in the façade, Gothic elements in the ambulatory, Byzantine elements in the eight domes covered with lead, and Moorish elements in two tiers. The Church of Saint Anthony holds numerous reminders of the Carrara Signoria. In 1350, Cardinal Guido de Boulogne came to the cathedral to acknowledge the saint's miracle and was greeted by Jacopo II da Carrara and Bishop Hildebrand. Members of the Carraresi family, such as the Lupi di Soragna and the Conti, chose the basilica as the site for their own mausoleums. The Chapel of the Black Madonna now stands on the site of the earlier church, dedicated to Santa Maria, Mother of the Lord. The polychrome Madonna is by Rinaldino di Francia and dates from 1396. Rinaldino is also likely the artist of the shield bearing the portrait of Stefano da Carrara, now in the city museums. A funerary monument to Raffaele Fulgioso, a renowned jurist from the University of Padua, is located to the left of the chapel. The Chapel of Blessed Luca reveals even closer ties to the Carraresi family: it was built between 1380 and 1382 by Naimerio and Manfredino Conti, executing the will of Fina Buzzaccarini. They commissioned Giusto de'Menabuoi, a painter from the Carraresi court, to create the frescoes. The stories of Saints Philip and James, arranged on the chapel walls, reveal a surprising new sense of spaciousness. In the center, within the lunette, are portraits of the patrons: Saint Anthony, Blessed Luke, Saint Francis, and Saint Louis of Toulouse, as they are presented to the Virgin. Text / Source: Turismo Padova https://www.padua.info/de/padua/was-zu-sehen-ist/details/basilica-di-santantonio

It's beautiful but it makes a mess when you ride a bike through it.

Great place to stop, lots of tables but not much space to park your bike if you don't have a stand.

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

A small refuge for cyclists, wayfarers and the curious. The Telaio Bike Caffè is more than a break: it is a place where you sit and feel part of something. Good coffee, sincere smiles, stories that intertwine between a water bottle that fills up and a fruit salad that runs out. If you are traveling to Casa Luciana or are simply enjoying the Venetian countryside, this is one of those places that is worth the detour.

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.