This route for the first section, from Brugine to Bacchiglione, follows the route from Piove di Sacco to Rovigo and as with that route passes in front of two important Venetian villas: Villa Roberti at Brugine and, more significantly, Villa Garzoni at Pontecasale. The route crosses the Adige River, touches on the city of Cavarzere and ends at Adria a few km/miles from the Po River. The route follows in part on dedicated bike paths and in part on local roads with little traffic. Along the final segment from Cavarzere to Adria it runs along a regional highway with lots of traffic and therefore is not very bike-friendly.

Point of departure is the ST(*) train station at Piove di Sacco, on the Venezia-Adria line. Cut through the center of the city and then take the street along the Fiumicello Canal as with the Rovigo route. When you come to Brugine you pass in front of Villa Roberti and then take the bike path as far as a rotary just before the village of Campagnola, where you get on Via Conche, taking you all the way to the river Bacchiglione.

From here on the route differs from the Rovigo route; instead of turning left to Pontelongo, turn right towards Bovolenta; when you arrive in this village you cross two bridges, after the second bridge turn left for a short section and then turn right onto Via Navegauro which takes you to Pontecasale and the huge Villa Garzoni, a masterpiece of Jacopo Sansovino; to visit the villa you need to make a slight detour towards Candiana.

After Pontecasale we reach the village of Arre, cross the busy Via del Mare, and continue to Agna. After this village, touching again on the Rovigo route, take Via del Cimitero [cemetery], which after a bit becomes unpaved and which in a few km/miles reaches the Gorzone Canal, which runs parallel to the Adige River. Take the embankment road to the left as far as reaching the large village of Cavarzere, which due to the curving of the border is in the province of Venezia (the entire route except for this section is in the province of Padova). In fact we are not very far from Chioggia nor from the Venice Lagoon.

In order to reach Adria it is not easy to find a truly cyclable route. Neither in my first visit nor in my latest was I able to find a better alternative than to get on regional highway (formerly a state road) 516 which is rather busy with traffic and lacks a bike lane; it therefore requires one’s maximum attention.

Once in Adria we will find the terminus station of the ST Venezia-Adria line which functions also as an FS train station with service to Rovigo and Chioggia. If you still have time you can reach in 4 km/2.5 miles the village of Bottrighe on the north bank of the Po, which would then place you near the mouth of the river. During the ancient Roman period the mouth of the Po was at Adria which then was a seaport and the city which gave its name to the Adriatic Sea. During the following centuries the Po delta was formed and increasingly expanded so that now Adria is more than 20 km/12 miles from the sea.