Palladio was born in Padua, a stone’s throw from the Piovego Canal, a waterway used by his father, Pietro della Gondola to transport sacks of flour on a small barge. Water is an important feature in Palladio’s architecture in the world of country residences since it was as a means of moving goods and people. Water is also crucial in making it possible to admire from an appropriate distance the façades of the great Venetian churches. The seven-day 66th Course on Palladian Architecture continues with its traditional programme of visits to Palladio's principal buildings, this year with water as the interpretative key.