Discover Mira: Villas, Gardens and Walking Routes

Mira provides several ways to experience culture and landscape: Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari with its manor house and park, historic villas in the town and surrounding area, and designated walking routes along the Canale Serraglio and the Canale Taglio.

Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari

Specific visiting hours apply to Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari: it is open for tourist visits from Tuesday to Sunday and on Mondays that are public holidays. Opening hours are 10:00–13:00 and 13:30–16:30. You should take this split time window into account when planning the visit into your day.

The manor house extends over three floors and is fully furnished with historic furniture, Murano glass chandeliers and brocade curtains. A dedicated room focuses on the gondola and the related traditional crafts. The villa therefore displays not only representative interiors, but also a specific connection to Venetian boat culture and the occupations associated with it.

Park, Canals and Information about the Surrounding Area

The complex includes a listed park covering more than 16,000 square metres. Hornbeam avenues, old roses and a romantic pond with bald cypress trees are among its documented features. The park complements the visit to the three-storey manor house with a separate landscape setting, without requiring you to plan another destination.

The IAT at Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari provides information about excursions on the Brenta and in the Venetian Lagoon. For orientation in Mira, the Canale Serraglio and the Canale Taglio are also designated as walking routes. Thus, in addition to the villas, waterways and excursion destinations around the town are also central features.

Mira Porte and Historic Villas

Mira Porte is a small village with an eighteenth-century appearance. A lock once opened beneath its central square. The name also refers to the area's water-management history: Mira Porte received it in the seventeenth century, when locks were built there that were also called “Porte”. Its historical significance is therefore explicitly linked to an earlier function.

Further architectural points of reference add to this picture. Villa Franceschi dates from the seventeenth century. Villa Valier gave the entire locality and Parco Valmarana the name “La Chitarra”. Barchessa Valmarana is the surviving part of the original architectural complex of Villa Valmarana, which consisted of a main building and two barchesse. Villa Contarini Dei Leoni houses the town theatre.

Circular Route and Ville Card

A circular route to villas and gardens runs through the centre of Mira and can be explored on foot, by bicycle or by boat.

This should be distinguished from the Ville Card in the wider area around Mira. It combines visits to Barchessa Valmarana and Villa Widmann with visits to other villas, bicycle hire and trips on the Brenta. The IAT and the Ville Card therefore have different focuses: the IAT provides information about excursions on the Brenta and in the Venetian Lagoon, while the card links several named offerings.

Other places in the selection: Albignasego, San Salvaro, Massanzago-Ca' Baglioni, Loreggia, Saccolongo, Noventa Padovana, Santa Margherita and Camposampiero.

For the overarching travel overview: Padua.