Discover what to do in Villamarzana: the wheat festival, a bike ride in Villamarzana, Villa Cagnoni Boniotti. Want to know more? First of all…
Where is Villamarzana?
The municipality of Villamarzana borders to the north with Costa di Rovigo, to the south with Frassinelle Polesine, to the southwest with Pincara, to the east with Arquà Polesine, to the west with Fratta Polesine.
The wheat festival
In 2023, the wheat festival took place from Friday, June 30 to Sunday, July 9 in the vast park framed by linden trees at the Church of Santo Stefano Papa Martire in Piazzale Chiesa, 1.
If you are wondering what to do in Villamarzana, the wheat festival is an unmissable opportunity to spend the summer season with live music, dance evenings, and food and wine specialties that will make your mouth water, from lasagna with ragù and bigoli with duck to brasola col manego and bondola di carne, just to name a few of the tempting dishes on the menu of the latest edition.
As per tradition, during the event you can witness the traditional wheat harvest the way our grandparents did.
For more information about the wheat festival, you can check the Facebook page Pro loco Villamarzana.
Bike ride in Villamarzana, Frassinelle Polesine and Arquà Polesine
The starting point of the itinerary is the parking lot at the Parco al Donatore (45.012238728127464, 11.694065365393499). At the intersection with Via 43 Martiri, turn left and head southwest for just over 1 km, entering the boundless Polesine plain covered with wheat fields and dotted with rustic farmhouses and elegant country houses framed by tree-lined gardens.
At the Sacrario and Oratorio di San Lorenzo, take the Adige Po cycle path on your right. The path winds in the shade of maritime pines, black locusts, willows, cypress poplars, alders, and elms. Continue west along Via I Maggio and Via Basse for almost 3 km, following the sinuous bends of the waterway covered with riparian vegetation.
Leave the bridge on Via Canalbianco (45.004545508393605, 11.645521842269439) on your left and head north on Via Basse for about 2 km. At the intersection, turn left and continue on Via Basse for 200 meters to the intersection with Via Zabarella.
Turn right and follow Via Zabarella for 1 km, then turn right onto Via Andrea Palladio. After 60 meters, cross the pedestrian crossing and take the cycle path that runs along a lush avenue of linden trees. The route leads to Villa Badoer, a spectacular Palladian architectural complex in Fratta Polesine. Leave the entrance of the Renaissance villa behind you and cross the stone bridge over the canal, then turn left, follow Via Ruga for 180 meters, and take Via Riviera Scolo on your right, at the 18th-century Palazzo Villa-Cornoldi (now Fanan).
After 500 meters, keep right on Via San Pietro until you reach the church of Santi Apostoli Pietro e Paolo. At the intersection, keep left and follow Via San Giorgio for 130 meters. At the intersection with Via G. Monti, cross the pedestrian crossing, turn left, and proceed for 160 meters, then turn right onto Via Ronchi.
Follow Via Ronchi for 2.2 km through vast wheat and corn fields that surround characteristic rural buildings. At the intersection with Via XXV Aprile, turn right, passing by Villa Cagnoni Boniotti.
At the intersection, turn left and follow Via G. Matteotti for 900 meters, leaving the church of San Bartolomeo Apostolo on your left.
At the intersection, keep left and continue along Via G. Matteotti for 750 meters. Leave the bridge over the canal on your left and turn right onto Via 43 Martiri. After about 300 meters, turn left to return to the parking lot of Parco del Donatore.
If you are wondering what to do in Villamarzana, this short itinerary is recommended for those who want to immerse themselves in the peaceful Polesine countryside and admire splendid examples of 16th and 18th-century architecture.
Villa Cagnoni Boniotti
Located at Via XXV Aprile, 2, the white stately home stands out in a lush flowering garden adorned with cypress poplars, cedars, acacias, and many other lush tall trees. Next to the sumptuous Renaissance residence rises a charming barchessa punctuated by wide round arches.
