Forno Veneziano

More than thirty breads a day

The bread programme is the reason to walk in: more than thirty varieties baked daily from carefully chosen flours, including rye and soy loaves alongside the traditional shapes. This is a panificio in the full sense, where the counter refills through the morning and the range shifts rather than repeats.

The Canciani family has run Forno Veneziano across three generations, which is why it is known around town as Panificio Canciani as often as by its own name. Gambero Rosso has given it the maximum Tre Pani rating and included it in the Pane&Panettieri d'Italia guide, placing it among Italy's better artisan bakeries. Qualità, tradizione e professionalità is the stated frame, and the choice of flours and ingredients is where it shows.

A counter on the piazza, not a cafe room

This works as a counter-service bakery. The visit is direct: look over the breads, pastries, biscotti, cakes, pizza and focaccia on display, order what you need, and take it away. The identity stays with the baking rather than with a table and a coffee.

Its position in the historic piazza, facing the Duomo, gives the counter a public, everyday role in the life of Piove di Sacco. Custom work belongs to that role too, from cakes with inscriptions to numbered bread rolls made for celebrations and buffets, which is the sort of order a neighbourhood bakery takes and a chain cannot. Pastries and biscotti stay on the counter through the day, so one visit can cover breakfast, the bread for lunch and something to keep for later.

Start with a loaf, then follow the season

Begin with the bread. A loaf for the table is the honest first order, and the rye or soy versions are the quickest way to see how far the range goes beyond a standard white shape.

Pizza and focaccia hold the savoury end of the counter, and the sweet side runs to muffins, cookies, cakes and biscotti, with custom desserts made for birthdays, parties and buffets. Seasonal baking is worth following: colombe arrive around Easter, and the festive programme brings its own cakes at Christmas. The order that best reflects the place is practical and bread-led, with something savoury beside it, biscotti for afterwards, and a colomba when the season brings it back.