Veneto, explored in full.

Veneto reaches from the Adriatic lagoon, where Venice floats on its forest of pilings, up across the Po plain to the limestone spires of the Dolomites above Cortina and Belluno. Between them lie Verona on the Adige, the Palladian villas scattered through the Vicenza countryside, Padua's frescoed chapels and university, and the steep, terraced Prosecco hills around Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.

The Venetian table is generous and unfussy. Plump bigoli pasta turned on a bronze press, Sopressa Vicentina salami, the great wheels of Grana Padano and Asiago, and wines that run from crisp Soave to the velvet sweetness of Recioto della Valpolicella. A glass of Prosecco at dusk is less a drink than a daily rite.

Come in late spring or early autumn, when the lagoon light is gentle, the vineyards turn gold and the summer crowds thin from the great cities.