Here, the water is in no hurry. The river boats linking Mantua to the Venetian Lagoon glide along the Canalbianco, a peaceful waterway regulated by its locks, between poplars, isolated farms and fields that run flat to the horizon. Rovigo is the discreet capital of this flat country, the Polesine, wedged between two great rivers, the Adige to the north and the Po to the south. A port call for curious travellers, far from any crowd.

Docking in the Polesine

River vessels moor on the Canalbianco, which skirts the city to the south; a short transfer then leads to the historic centre. Rovigo can be explored entirely on foot, in a stroll with no slopes: arcaded squares, discreet palazzos, cafés where locals put the world to rights at aperitivo time. You get a taste of everyday Italy, with no staging, the kind many travellers look for without finding it in the major destinations.

Squares, towers and palaces

The heart of the city beats on Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, a handsome space lined with arcades, Venetian façades and a former town hall. A few streets away, the Torre Donà raises its sixty or so metres of brick: a remnant of the 10th-century medieval castle, it ranks among the tallest medieval towers in Italy, leaning just enough to intrigue photographers. Palazzo Roverella, a carefully restored Renaissance palace, hosts art exhibitions of national standing that draw art lovers from across the region; the current program is always worth a look.

La Rotonda, the octagonal gem

At the edge of the centre, the Temple of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso, which everyone calls La Rotonda, surprises with its octagonal plan surrounded by a portico. Begun at the end of the 16th century, the building hides behind its sober exterior an interior entirely lined with large Baroque canvases glorifying the Virgin and the Venetian podestàs. Its slender bell tower, designed by a pupil of Palladio, serves as a landmark across the entire plain. It's the monument passengers most often remember from the port call.

The Po Delta, within excursion range

Rovigo opens the door to one of Italy's great natural landscapes: the Po Delta, a regional park where the river divides into lazy branches between reed beds, lagoons and fish farms. Excursions observe herons, flamingos and pochards on flat-bottomed boat rides. The local tables follow suit: Comacchio eels, risottos with lagoon seafood and fish from the delta make up a cuisine where fresh water and salt water mingle. Photographers, for their part, find light there worthy of the Venetian Lagoon.

Palladio in the countryside

Another possible escape: Fratta Polesine, where Andrea Palladio's Villa Badoer, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the master's other villas, spreads its Ionic portico above the countryside. The building, one of the architect's purest, can be visited in an hour and tells of the time when Venetian patricians came to manage their Polesine estates from residences worthy of ancient temples.

Back on the canal

As the boat passes through the next lock, the plain takes over again: rows of poplars, bell towers in the distance, herons standing motionless at the water's edge. Rovigo doesn't try to compete with Venice, its illustrious neighbour; it offers something else, a Veneto of fields and canals where the journey truly slows down. Quiet stops sometimes leave the clearest impressions.