Stra
Stra is a municipality in the province of Venice located on the Riviera del Brenta, the stretch of the Brenta river historically d...
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of Stra
The Riviera del Brenta
Stra lies along the Riviera del Brenta, the navigable stretch of the river that connected Venice to Padua and which, from the sixteenth century onward, became a summer retreat for the Venetian nobility. Dozens of villas were built along its banks, some of considerable architectural value, forming the backdrop to boat journeys between the two cities. Stra, positioned at the eastern end of the riviera toward Venice, is home to the most imposing of these residences, Villa Pisani.
Villa Pisani Nazionale
Villa Pisani, today a National Museum, was built in the eighteenth century by the Pisani family as a demonstration of its prestige, in a monumental building with more than a hundred rooms. The central ballroom houses the fresco Apotheosis of the Pisani Family by Giambattista Tiepolo, considered among the masterpieces of eighteenth-century Venetian painting. Because of the building's scale and the richness of its decoration, the villa is often described in local tradition as a kind of Versailles of the Riviera del Brenta, though this is a descriptive expression rather than an official title.
The Park and the Maze
The park of Villa Pisani covers a large area and includes Italian-style gardens, a monumental stable building, and the famous boxwood-hedge maze, created in the eighteenth century and considered one of the best known in Italy for its complexity and state of preservation. At the center of the maze stands a small tower from which visitors can look down over the intertwining paths, a feature that makes the visit popular with families as well.
Villa Foscarini Rossi and the Footwear Museum
Stra is also home to Villa Foscarini Rossi, another historic residence on the Riviera del Brenta, which houses the Footwear Museum. The museum recounts the history of shoe manufacturing in the Riviera del Brenta district, an area that over the course of the twentieth century became one of the world's leading centers for the artisanal and industrial production of high-end footwear, with displays of historic and contemporary models linked to the fashion houses operating in the area.
The Brenta Canal
The Brenta canal runs through the territory of Stra and can still be navigated by boat, with organized excursions along the riviera between Venice and Padua, offering a way to relive the historic route that once took the Venetian nobility to their summer residences. A cycle path also runs along the embankments, allowing visitors to reach the area's main villas by bicycle.
Experiences Not to Miss
- Visitare il salone di Villa Pisani con l'affresco di Tiepolo
- Visit the hall of Villa Pisani with Tiepolo's fresco
To see
What to see in Stra
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Stra
Jobs · JobFlow
