Italy's northernmost zone, the Veneto includes Padua, Verona, Vicenza, plus Venice itself, which once ruled the area. Some 5,000 Renaissance villas still stand, many by Palladio. A food- and wine-lover's paradise, it's also the most artistically rich region in Italy, and the most romantic, with the art of Giotto and Mantegna in Padua, the Roman ruins in Verona, the canals and palaces in Venice itself. Bellini, Tintoretto, Veronese and Titian worked here. Experience their art and be part of their world, with the insights of an insider. Every detail is here about the foods, the sights, the best places to stay and eat.Situated where the Brenta and the Bacchiglione Rivers converge,