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Near the estate you'll find plenty to replenish body and spirit. Created in 1989, the Colli Euganei Regional Park is a nature reserve covering 20,000 hectares. These hills are some 35 million years old, created by volcanic activity, and conceal the remains of human settlements dating back to the early Stone Age. The remains are now housed in archaeological sites and museums. The park contains not only natural wonders but mediaeval fortresses, stone-built villages and Renaissance villas.
The woods are rich in Mediterranean plants, as well as sweet-chestnut and glades of oaks, where foxes, hedgehogs and more than 130 species of birds can be spotted. You can spend hours or days exploring this marvellous park by foot or cycle path. And you must make sure you visit the Lispida Lake - one of only two natural thermal lakes in the area. Lispida is, of course, within the Veneto region.
Veneto is a fascinating part of Italy - a land of contrasts meeting both the Dolomites and Alps, and the Po valley and the Adriatic. Dominated by Venice, the region grew over more than 1000 years into one of the wealthiest, most powerful republics on Earth. It rejoined Italy in 1866 but retains a fascinating, complex mixture of cultural influences.
With the ancient cities of Venice, Verona and Padua, the crystal blue waters of Lake Garda, mountain spas and winter sports, and the sprawling plains of the Po Valley, Veneto has something for everybody. Venice needs little introduction, the city of art, the destination of many a romantic break and subject of many a daydream. Then there's Padua - home of masterpieces by Giotto and Mantegna. There is the Roman Arena of Verona; Treviso, rich in works by Tomaso and Lorenzo Lotto, and criss-crossed by canals; and Vicenza - its avenues and piazzas lined with the architecture of Andrea Palladio. [ Region map ] [ View on Google Map ]
Small provincial towns and rural areas, off the beaten track, hide unexpected gems of art and craft left by inspired artists and creative craftsmen. Masters such as Bellini, Giorgione, Cima, Titian, Canova, Palladio, and Tiepolo all lived and worked here. Now you have the chance to glimpse the colours, light and landscapes that inspired them. The whole of the Veneto cries out to be discovered.
Nearby lies Valsanzibio, one of the most impressive Baroque gardens in existence, and perfected by Venetian aristocrat Francesco Barbarigo during the late 1600s. His eldest son, Gregorio, cardinal and, later, saint, was the inspiration behind Bernini's design for the garden. In the 1500-acre park you can admire more than 70 statues set in follies, streams, waterfalls, fountains, sequenced jeu d'eau and fish-ponds, as well as a famed maze. The villa is thought to be the work of Vincenzo Scamozzi, a pupil of Palladio. The garden has an extraordinary variety and number of flowering plants in flower-beds and lining the waterways and lawns.
The Castle is a tremendous venue for meetings and conferences too. Technical and audiovisual back-up is available on request, with telephones, teleconference devices, closed-circuit TV, wide-screen TV, simultaneous translation, document reproduction, amplification, audiovisual supports, slides, multimedia projectors, video, and internet access all available. And within easy reach of Lispida Castle you'll find four splendid golf courses, two of 27 holes, one 18 hole and one of nine holes. There is also horse-riding and treks through the nature reserve.
