The city of Vicenza, Monte Berico Hill sanctuary, and the hill on which Palladio’s Rotonda stands are three emblematic starting points for a tour that winds through the Berici Hills, taking in old villages, ancient churches, stunning villas and their estates, all of which are an extraordinary expression of man’s relationships with the local limestone landscape – a relationship whose origins are lost in the mists of time.

Mines were dug into the rock here in Roman times; magnificent villas were built here, flanked byvineyards andterraced gardens fed by rainwater collection tanks in the mountainsides.

Age-old roads wind through the hills, revealing ever-changing landscapes, the far-off Euganean Hills, reclaimed countryside, the 13th-century Bisatto canal, and a strategic communications link with Venice that became a favoured location for a great many villas, alongsideother plants and gardens associated withnavigability and access by boat.