Piazza Castello

Piazza Castello is the centre of Noale -- a long arcaded square between the Rocca and the clock-tower gate, and effectively the town's only public space.

The arcades on both sides are the Venetian centuries built over medieval foundations, and they do what arcades do in a mainland Veneto town: shelter the shops, and give the evening passeggiata somewhere to happen.

There is nothing monumental here. What there is, is a small working town's centre that has not been turned into anything else -- the weekly market, cafés, and people who live in the buildings above them.

This is a residential square in a town with no tourism economy. The buildings above the arcades are people's homes; keep noise down at night and don't photograph into windows.

The most useful thing a visitor can do in Noale is spend a little here -- a coffee under the arcades, lunch, or the market -- rather than treating the town as a photo stop between Venice and Padua.

The station is a short flat walk away and the plain is ideal for cycling, so arriving without a car is easy and keeps the centre clear.

The square is a public space: free, always open, and partly pedestrianised.

It is in the centre of Noale, a two-minute walk from the Rocca and about ten minutes from the Noale-Scorzè station.

Realistically this is a twenty-minute stop, or an hour with a coffee -- it is the setting for the Rocca rather than a destination on its own.

The square is flat, paved and level, and the arcades are step-free in most stretches, making this an easily accessible part of the town.

Shops keep a long midday closure, and the square is quietest then.

Market morning is the best time by a distance -- it is when the square is full and doing what it was built for.

Early evening, during the passeggiata, is the other good time.

May, June and September are the pleasant months; the arcades give shade in July and August and shelter in the wet autumn.

Summer evenings when the Rocca has a concert on bring the square to life afterwards.