This journey begins in northern Italy at Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet before heading east past vineyards and castles to the cultural jewel of Padua. From there it is east along the Brenta canal to the Venetian Lagoon and Venice, one of the one most famous cities in the world, which has stood for over 1,500 years. North of the city are the southern foothills of the Alps and a whole series of historic villas around Asolo. The journey ends at Vicenza, the home of one of the greatest late renaissance architects, whose buildings in the city have influenced architecture around the world for centuries.