Bright intense colours are a joy for the eye and the soul of everyone who loves taking photos.
It doesn’t matter if you a professional photographer in constant chase of that perfect shot or a curious traveller who likes to document beautiful corners of the world.
If your first impulse is to reach for your camera or for your mobile phone when faced with a town with vividly painted facades or a natural sight where thousands of hues and shades meet in perfect harmony, this list of the 15 most colourful places in the Veneto, Italy will be just what you need.
The Veneto is a region in the northeastern part of Italy. It is mostly famous for its capital – the stunning city of Venice – yet it has thousands of other worldwide famous and little-known corners that are worth it of a visit.
Especially if you are chasing colours!
Expect brightly painted houses, frescoed facades, churches in striking yellows and pinks, and even a former quarry that nowadays resembles the result of an explosion of colours.
Just have your camera ready and without further ado, let me introduce you in alphabetical order to the
15 Most Colourful Places in the Veneto, Italy to Delight Photographers and Curious Travellers
1. Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa is an elegant town on the banks of the river Brenta in the Veneto, Italy. The Venetian Prealps serve as its dramatic backdrop. A row upon row of houses and buildings in shades of ochre, yellow, and terracotta scale the steep hill on which the town’s historic nucleus is built. The crystal clear waters of the river reflect the colourful ensemble beautifully.
For more colourful views in Bassano del Grappa, head to the town’s central squares. They are surrounded by tall houses that once had their facades fully frescoed. The colours have faded through the centuries. Here and there, whole fragments of the original frescoes are now missing. This gives the town a precious antiquated look and alludes to the historic events that have taken place here.
There are many things to be seen and enjoyed in Bassano del Grappa – a place with rich multilayered history. The town’s wooden bridge over the river Brenta is particularly famous. Originally designed by Andrea Palladio (see point 3 in this list), through the centuries the bridge has been destroyed several times and then rebuilt.
Bassano del Grappa was also a battleground during several wars, most notably in World Wars I and II. Ernest Hemingway was stationed there during the First World War and then referred to Bassano in some of his books.
The potent Italian alcoholic drink grappa is produced here, too.
Above all, Bassano del Grappa remains a town that appeals visually to you and delights you with its colourful presence.
2. Borghetto sul Mincio
Borghetto sul Mincio is a medieval hamlet of ancient mills that are built over the fast-running waters of the river Mincio in the Veneto, Italy. It is right next door to the small town of Valeggio sul Mincio which is just a stone’s throw away from Lake Garda.
The ochre shades of Borghetto’s mills (many of which nowadays have been converted into restaurants and boutique hotels) contrast nicely with the blue waters of the river and the green forests in the surrounding plains and hills.
Each spring, lush wisteria shrubs envelop the scene in the scent of their purple blooms.
Borghetto sul Mincio is a gorgeous colourful place attractive both to photography enthusiasts and foodies. The local restaurants make and serve the local delicacy – tortellini known as love knots and which are stuffed with different seasonal fillings.
For more information about and colourful photos of Borghetto sul Mincio and the local tortellini, please, have a look here:
3. Burano
Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon and one of the most colourful places not just in the Veneto, Italy but in the whole world. Its iconic houses – each painted in a bright contrasting shade – have been photographed thousands of times. Every day crowds of people flock to Burano eager to see the island’s houses and experience the delight that is to walk surrounded by so many intense colours.
Ah, if only the whole world could be this beautiful!
Burano is also famous for its centuries-old lacemaking traditions and its fresh fish cuisine. Especially tasty is the local risotto prepared with a flavoursome broth made with goby fish (also called go’) caught in the Venetian Lagoon.
4. Caorle
Caorle is a lovely seaside town and resort in the Veneto, Italy. Its historic centre replicates the colours of Burano and the local fresh fish dishes are equally delicious.
In addition, Caorle has sprawling sandy beaches.
The Adriatic Sea’s tides leave them covered with thousands of colourful shells which are a delight to photograph.
Don’t miss the town’s round bell tower which is almost one thousand years old. Then go for a photo walk along Caorle’s historic central streets where the facade of each house is painted in a different intense shade.
5. Castelletto sul Garda
Castelletto sul Garda (also known as Castelletto di Brenzone) is a small colourful town on the Veneto’s shores of Italy’s largest lake – Lago di Garda. With its pebbly beaches and a pretty harbour full of fishing boats, Castelletto is a very attractive place to visit.
The buildings and houses here are painted in different intense colours which make the small town look like a real gem caught between the blue waters of Lake Garda on one side and the green mountain slopes of Monte Baldo on the other.
Come here to relax and to enjoy the rich palette of the town and the lush nature that surrounds it.
6. Cava Dipinta di Rubbio
The Cava Dipinta is a former limestone quarry near the small town of Rubbio on the Asiago Plateau – a flat-top mountain in the Veneto, Italy. Together with three adjacent quarries, the Cava Dipinta has been transformed into an open-air art installation by the Italian artist Tony Zarpellon. It took him almost three decades to complete his daring project.
Nowadays, the Cava Dipinta is like an explosion of colours. Whimsical faces have been painted over the large jagged boulders. Everywhere you look you see stripes of colour, splashes of colour, dots and swirls of colour. It is a very inspiring place, the perfect example of what can be achieved when the creativity of man and nature are combined.
For more information about and colourful photos of the Cava Dipinta di Rubbio and the other three quarries which make part of Tony Zarpellon’s open-air art installation, please, have a look here:
7. Chioggia
Chioggia is a beautiful town on the southern edge of the Venetian Lagoon in the Veneto, Italy. It looks very much like Venice with two important differences:
One, Chioggia is older than Venice; and
Two, the town attracts just a tiny number of tourists thus leaving you to enjoy its colourful beauty without suffocating crowds.
Chioggia is a vision of small islands crisscrossed by canals and connected to the mainland by a causeway. Tall houses painted in a myriad of colours line up its streets. Large canvasses adorn the interiors of Chioggia’s many churches thus adding to the colourful palette of this lovely Italian town.
When the sun is shining and the skies are blue, Chioggia is a great place to go to in order to relax, take in the local way of life, explore the fish markets, take pictures of the photogenic clotheslines, spend some time on the beach and eat your weight in seafood and ice-cream.
For more information about and colourful photos of Chioggia, please, have a look here:
8. Grand Canal in Venice
There are many entries on this list of the most colourful places in the Veneto, Italy that are within the limits of the Venetian Lagoon.
There must be something about living so close to the water that makes you want to colour your house (or your palazzo!) in a splendid hue. And while (let’s be honest here!) Venice is not half as outrageously colourful as Burano, the palaces that line up its central thoroughfare – the resplendent Grand Canal – comprise one of the most striking spots of colour in the world.
As you travel along the Grand Canal, as you scale up and down the bridges that span its shores, as you stop for a minute to take in all its beauty and then some, you cannot help it but notice how incredibly colourful and yet perfectly harmonious this place is.
Here, brightly tinted facades stand next to lavish marble opulence, humble brick churches alternate with palaces covered with mosaics glinting in the sun, red awnings stretch in front of restaurants and black gondolas are tied to striped poles and left to relax under strikingly blue covers after an arduous day ferrying tourists up and down the Grand Canal.
If you love colours and have been chasing that perfect photo where colour is everything, make sure that you see Venice’s Grand Canal through your camera lens.
9. Lazise
Lazise is one of the many charming towns on the Veneto’s shores of Lago di Garda. If you want to see it at its colourful best, make sure that you arrive in Lazise on the board of one of the ferries that crisscross Italy’s largest lake.
First, in the distance, you will notice a long line of bright oranges, sunny yellows, and muted ochres. The sparkling blue waters of the lake at the front and the greens and browns of the hills at the back create a beautiful natural frame for this gem of a lakeside Italian town.
Once on shore, get exploring Lazise’s curving streets. Flowers in full bloom will greet you from every balcony. Boats in blue, red, and white will be swaying in the small harbour. Handmade gelato will be tempting you in dozens of flavours and colours – from watermelon to choc chip mint.
To summarise it, Lazise really is a photographer’s dream!
10. Malcesine
There are several Lake Garda’s towns on this list of the most colourful places in the Veneto, Italy. Malcesine is one of them and many people, including myself, will tell you that it truly is difficult to find a more charming lakeside town this side of Europe.
With steep cobbled streets dotted with gelaterias and shops selling the locally produced olive oil, with crenellated facades in burnt orange and terracotta shades, and with the stunning lakefront garden of its Captain Palace, Malcesine is a pure delight for those who seek happiness and colour in life.
This small town is especially charming when the pomegranate trees and jasmine shrubs are in full bloom in the late spring/early summer period. To best appreciate its beauty, see Malcesine either from the top (by taking the swish cablecar to the top of the adjacent Monte Baldo) or from the lakefront (by following the path which brims the lake from the nearby Val di Sogno to the town).
This way you will see Malcesine at its very best – a colourful hilltop town with medieval roots and an imposing yet romantic castle that makes the whole scene seem plucked from a dreamy fairytale.
11. Montagnana
Montagnana is a walled town with millennia-old roots that is right next to the volcanic Euganean Hills in the Veneto, Italy. With rows of houses in pastel colours and old palazzi in vibrant shades, the town is pretty as a picture and looks great in photographs.
Most people come to Montagnana attracted by its fame as one of Italy’s best prosciutto-making centres. Well-known for its soft texture, pink colour, and sweet taste, the local prosciutto is called Veneto Berico-Euganeo DOP and since 1996 it enjoys a Protected Designation of Origin status.
Yet, what keeps me returning to Montagnana time and time again is the full of colour beauty of its streets. It is especially nice being here on a sunny day when all the brightly painted facades, coloured wooden shutters, and elegant decorative elements make the town feel so heartwarming and special.
It is not surprising then that even Giorgione – one of the most famous artists of the Venetian Renaissance – couldn’t resist Montagnana’s charm and sketched the town in a drawing which is now kept in a museum in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
No drawing skills are required nowadays when the beauty of Montagnana can be easily captured with our cameras and, above all, with our eyes and soul.
For more information about and colourful photos of Montagnana, please, have a look here:
12. Pellestrina
Pellestrina is a long and thin island that separates the Venetian Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea in the Veneto, Italy.
When you want to experience the colourful beauty of Burano (see point 3 above) but you simply can’t face the tourist crowds, you need to come to Pellestrina.
Dotted with fishing villages, this island is so peaceful that it’s literally sedate. Yet, its houses – all painted in bright vivid colours – are a delight to see and photograph.
The best bit is that you can easily combine a visit to Pellestrina with a time spent in Chioggia (see point 7 above), too. Both are a short ferry ride from one another and both are full of colours that are offset by the sparkling waters of the Venetian Lagoon.
13. Recoaro Terme
Formerly a Europe-wide popular thermal waters resort, nowadays Recoaro Terme in the Veneto, Italy is a quiet town the beauty of which talks of past glories and fame.
A walk up the high street will reveal many colourful facades for you to enjoy with your eyes and through your camera’s lens. The absolute highlight is the historic Villa Margherita with its sunflower-yellow hue.
Add to this the surrounding green mountainous landscape and the fast river Agno that rushes through Recoaro Terme and you have a beautiful place where the colours of nature and men both complement and contrast each other.
14. Verona
Verona is one of the biggest cities in the Veneto, Italy and it doesn’t really need much of an introduction. Worldwide famous as the city of love for it serves as the stage of the tragic romance of Romeo and Juliet, Verona has another big ace up its sleeve.
For the city is certainly one of the most colourful places in the Veneto. Here, tall facades covered with frescoes or painted in striking colours are at every step. Everywhere you look, you see how the excellent use of colour has created through the centuries an environment that inspires poetry in our hearts.
Just walking through the streets of Verona brings so much joy. Colours both complement and contrast each other, frescoes are resplendent in the sun, and red rooftops put the finishing dots to this glorious scene.
For more information about and colourful photos of Verona, please, have a look here:
15. Valstagna
Valstagna is a tiny town – really more of a very long street – in the foothills of the Veneto’s lush mountains in the northeastern part of Italy.
In the past, the town served as a point of departure for the river transport of large logs that were used to fortify the foundations during the construction of Venice’s lavish palaces. Later on, the area became famous for the locally-grown tobacco.
Nowadays, Valstagna grabs the imagination and the eye with its colourful buildings which are offset by the crystal clear river Brenta at the front and the steep limestone mountains at the back.
The best way to enjoy the colours of Valstagna is from a raft floating down the river Brenta. On a sunny day, the water is a transparent green shade – stunning, really! – and then the line of houses along the high street is dotted with pinks, yellows, oranges, and beiges.
Bonus Colours in the Veneto, Italy
If you like colourful buildings and uniquely painted facades, here are six churches in the Veneto, Italy to impress you with their striking outside patterns and shades:
- 15th-century Gothic Church of the Sanctuary of Monte Berico – Vicenza, Province of Vicenza: take delight in photographing the facade of this church with a geometrical pattern in pink and white;
- Church of Carmini – Vicenza, Province of Vicenza: another striking facade covered with a pattern in brown and white;
- Church of San Giovanni Battista – Cavaion Veronese, Province of Verona: don’t miss this bright yellow hilltop church presiding over the colourful houses of this pretty town near Lake Garda.
- Church of San Lorenzo – Soave, Province of Verona: expect a bright yellow facade which looks resplendent in the bright sun;
- Sanctuary of Madonna della Corona – Spiazzi, Province of Verona: discover this salmon-covered church that is built half-hewn into the rock at a spot that is halfway between Heaven and Earth;
- St. Mark’s Basilica – Venice, Province of Venice: this incredibly beautiful church will have you spend long moments of time deep in admiration of the colourful mosaics and precious marbles that cover its facade. A must-see when in Venice!
In Conclusion
If you enjoy seeing and photographing beautiful places that are full of colours and life, the above blog post is for you.
It lists in alphabetical order the most colourful places to see for yourself in the northeastern Italian region of the Veneto. From little known yet full of colour towns to worldwide famous islands and spots, every source of colourful delight for your camera lens and your eyes is covered.
I hope that you will enjoy seeing the above-mentioned places for yourself thus discovering the endless beauty of this corner of Italy.
More Helpful Links for Cool Places to Discover in the Veneto, Italy
- 30 Days of Adventures in the Veneto, Italy – #30daysofadventures
- Top 15 Places to Visit in the Veneto, Italy – The Ultimate Guide
- Hidden Gems in Venice – 101 Things to Do in Venice, Italy Off the Beaten Track
- Haunted Venice – Legends, Mysteries, and Stories to Creep Yourself Out About the Most Romantic Place on Earth
- Venice, Italy – 15 Weird and Wonderful Types of Boats You Can Only See in La Serenissima
- Best 12 Towns to Visit around Lago di Garda – Italy’s Largest Lake
- Lake Garda with Kids or The Best 11 Things to Do at Lake Garda for Families
- 20 Best Things to Do and See in Verona, Italy in One Day – The Ultimate Itinerary with Photos and Tips
- 8 Most Beautiful Villages to Visit in the Veneto, Italy
- Day Trips from Verona – 16 Destinations in Italy to Fall in Love with (With Travel Times and Train Tips)
- Day Trips from Padua, Italy – Over 25 Unmissable Destinations in the Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna
- Day Trips from Vicenza, Italy – Over 90 of the Best Destinations
- 11 of the Best Day Trips from Venice (With Lots of Photos, Travel Times and Italy Train Tips)
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