The etymology of the toponym is uncertain: some attribute it to the Latin MIRARE ('to look') with the meaning of belvedere, others to San Nicola di Mira, who was born there and, consequently, gave its name to the surrounding area... #tuttitaly
Mira, a scattered municipality with a municipal seat in Mira Taglio, was born from the merger between the hamlets of Mira Taglio and Mira Porte with the centers of Oriago, Borbiago, Marano, Gambarare, and Malcontenta.
The inhabited center was born in the Middle Ages as a river port for the boatmen who connected Venice to the Brenta Riviera. Boatmen and fishermen mainly inhabited the town.
The building developed in the Venetian era with the construction of numerous villas on both banks of the Brenta River by the nobility from the Serenissima who spent the summer here.
The symbol of Mira is one of the most beautiful Venetian villas, the work of the great architect Andrea Palladio: Villa Foscari, known as Discontent, in the homonymous hamlet of the municipality. The building dates back to 1559 and belongs to the noble Foscari family.
Also famous is Villa "dei Leoni," the center of a complex
that includes the barn and the oratory. The barchessa, once restored, became the municipal theater of Mira. The villa is used for exhibitions and events.
In Mira, the most important places of worship are the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena (in Oriago), the Church of San Giovanni Battista (in Gambarare), the Church of San Nicolò (in Mira Taglio), and the Church of Santa Maria Assunta ( in Borbiago).
In Mira, you can taste the Venetian cuisine. Among the
typical dishes, we find sardines in saor, moleche, Venetian liver, peverada, manai, Venetian beans, casunziei, Venetian artichokes, baicoli, and the classic risi e bisi.
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