Christian “Serge” Sergiacomi and Shelley Sergiacomi (Craft) have been travelling to the Veneto for the better part of thirty years. He arrived first, as a professional rugby player at Benetton, the same club, the same ground at Stadio Monigo where the Queensland Reds will play this November. They've been going back ever since.
Christian didn't only tour the region playing Rugby, he lived in it. Four seasons in Italy, two national championships with Benetton and a move to Parma, and enough of the language to sit on a weekly rugby panel show in Italian. He came to know the place the way locals do rather than the way a guidebook does. Four decades on from his first game as a nine-year-old, he's still in it, coaching local North Coast Rugby, Far North Coast representative sides and, in 2026, is now the Head Coach of NSW Country Under-15s.
Shelley has spent her career doing what every traveller wishes they could: going first and reporting back. One of Australia's most recognisable television personalities, she fronted The Great Outdoors for six years and has been a fixture on The Block since 2011, with a lifetime of destinations behind her.
They met in television, built their life in Byron Bay, and both their daughters play rugby, so their weekends, like those of thousands of Australian families, belong to a field.
Between them, they've been back to Treviso and the surrounding Veneto many times, Christian as a young player and then as partners, and later as a family. Which is exactly why we asked them the questions a first-time visitor actually wants answered. Where to go in Venice when you've only got a day. Whether Verona or Padua is the better use of an afternoon. What to eat, what to drink in Prosecco country, and what you'd be sorry to have missed.
1. Christian, take us back to the offer to go and play in Italy. What made you say yes and what was Treviso really like once you got there?
When the opportunity came to play for Benetton Treviso, it was simply too good to pass up. Treviso was, and still is, one of Europe’s premier rugby clubs, with world-class facilities, a proud history, and a reputation for excellence. There was also a strong Australian connection, with former Wallabies like Michael Lynagh and Julian Gardner having played there, which made the move more appealing.
2. Our Reds Supporters land in Venice and think they've seen the Veneto. You lived in it. Verona, Padua, Treviso itself, so when the tour supporters have a free afternoon in each, where should they actually go?
In Verona, for me it has to be the Arena - the mini Colosseum. You can’t beat wandering around there at sunset when the whole place comes alive. Definitely check the schedule before you go, too, because some of the world’s biggest bands and acts perform there. Seeing a concert in that setting is pretty hard to beat.
In Padua, I’d spend the afternoon touring some of the beautiful churches and simply walking around the historic town centre. It’s a great city to explore on foot and just take in the architecture and atmosphere.
And then there’s Treviso. For me, the best way to experience it is to start around Piazza dei Signori as dusk approaches, grab a spritz and a bowl of crisps, and just wander. Walk beneath the porticos and make your way towards the Buranelli, one of the prettiest stretches of water in town. Stop at a bar here and there along the way and don’t be in too much of a hurry. Spritz hour is a huge part of life in Treviso and probably the best way to experience the city like a local.
“But the biggest difference for Reds supporters will probably be that the noise and energy simply don’t stop for 80 minutes. There’s singing, chanting, trumpets, drums and music, with everyone getting behind the green and white of Benetton. It creates this constant wall of sound and energy around the players.".
3. What's a Benetton matchday at Monigo actually like, especially against a partner club? The walk in, the crowd, the noise, the food? And what will a Reds supporter notice that they won't get at Suncorp?
The first time I arrived at Monigo Stadium, I couldn’t believe the atmosphere. In many ways, it felt like a condensed version of Suncorp Stadium - incredibly vocal crowds, food vans, music playing everywhere and a sea of supporters dressed in Benetton’s green and white.
What really struck me was how close everyone was to the action. The stands rise almost vertically from the edge of the ground, so the crowd feels like it’s right on top of you. When we ran out, the noise was incredible. You could have closed your eyes and thought you were running out at Suncorp.
But the biggest difference for Reds supporters will probably be that the noise and energy simply don’t stop for 80 minutes. There’s singing, chanting, trumpets, drums and music, with everyone getting behind the green and white of Benetton. It creates this constant wall of sound and energy around the players.
For Reds supporters heading to Monigo, especially for a match between two partner clubs, I think they’re going to love it. It has all the passion of a big rugby occasion, but in a much more intimate setting and that makes it a pretty special place to watch rugby.
4. Rugby in Italy sits in a country obsessed with football. How does that shape the culture around the game in the Veneto, and how did the local fans treat an Aussie import?
The biggest learning curve for me was arriving in Italy thinking football would dominate everything, and then discovering that the Veneto region has one of the strongest rugby cultures in all of Europe. Rugby there runs deep, with clubs that are rich in tradition. If people weren’t following football, they were following rugby.
What amazed me most was the depth. That passion isn’t just for the top teams; it runs through first, second, third, and fourth division right down to the under-sevens. And as an Aussie import, I felt incredibly welcomed. Following in the footsteps of guys like David Campese, Michael Lynagh and Julian Gardner, who’d earned huge respect, opened doors right away. Supporters would show me old photos, invite me into their homes for dinner even point me to their favourite cafes and bars as a way of saying you’re one of us now.
It was a genuine, grounded warmth that I’ve never forgotten. So, yeah, in a football nation, discovering that tight, proud rugby heartbeat in the Veneto was something really special
5. Shelley, you've made a career out of finding what's genuinely good about a place. When you visit Christian's old stomping ground, what makes the Veneto different from the Italy people think they're booking?
I think the Veneto surprises people because it’s not the Italy they necessarily arrive expecting. We tend to picture Italy through the big headline destinations like Rome, Florence, the Almalf, but the Veneto has this wonderful mix of grandeur and everyday Italian life.
You have the extraordinary beauty and history of Venice and Verona, and only half an hour away, be sitting beside Lake Garda in a little town like Lazise, having an aperitivo with locals as the sun goes down. Head further into the countryside and you’re amongst vineyards, beautiful old villas, tiny villages and some of the best food you’ll eat anywhere.
And I think that’s what I love most about it, it still feels lived in. It’s sophisticated without trying too hard, incredibly beautiful without always feeling like it’s performing for tourists.
Christian obviously has that deeper connection because it’s his old stomping ground, so travelling there with him you get to see the Veneto from the inside out. And for me, that’s always the best kind of travel, when you stop ticking off sights and start understanding how people actually live.
7. The tour spends a day in Prosecco country, winery tour, tasting, lunch before the Reds match. For someone who knows the region, what should people understand about Prosecco from the hills that they won't get from a bottle at home?
What I think people don’t always understand about Prosecco is that there’s a huge difference between simply drinking a glass of Prosecco and actually drinking it where it comes from.
In those hills around Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, you suddenly understand that it’s an agricultural product first. You see these incredibly steep vineyards, much of the work still being done by hand, the different slopes and little pockets of land and you realise there’s real craft and history behind something we can be a bit guilty of thinking of as just an easy glass of bubbles.
And when you taste it there, particularly some of the smaller-production wines, you notice how fresh and delicate it can be. It’s not necessarily that sweet, one-dimensional style people might associate with Prosecco at home. You start tasting the fruit, the minerality, the difference between vineyards and, of course, everything tastes considerably better when you’re looking across those hills with a plate of beautiful local food in front of you.
That’s really the magic of travelling for me. You stop consuming the product and start understanding the place and the people behind it.
Although I should point out that a winery tour, tasting and long Italian lunch before a Reds match is a fairly ambitious itinerary. I have enormous respect for whoever planned that day!
“I think travelling for work and sport has taught us both that the real privilege is being given a reason to go somewhere, but the magic happens when you start feeling present in it. And years later, you’re rarely saying, “Remember that five-star room?” You’re saying, “Remember that night in that tiny town when…..( the mighty Reds took down Benetton at their home ground?”) That’s the difference. The best trips become part of your folklore.".
8.Between you both, you've travelled for work, for sport and for yourselves. What's the difference between the trips that fade and the ones you're still talking about years later?
For me, the trips you remember aren’t necessarily the ones where everything went perfectly, they’re the ones where you felt really connected to the place, and usually to the people you were with.
You can stay in the most beautiful hotel, eat at the best restaurant and tick every box, but if you’ve just moved through it all, it can blur into the next trip. The ones that stay with you have a story attached to them… the little restaurant you stumbled into, the person you met, the wrong turn that became the best part of the day, the meal that went for hours.
I think travelling for work and sport has taught us both that the real privilege is being given a reason to go somewhere, but the magic happens when you start feeling present in it.
And years later, you’re rarely saying, “Remember that five-star room?” You’re saying, “Remember that night in that tiny town when…..( the mighty Reds took down Benetton at their home ground?”)
That’s the difference. The best trips become part of your folklore.
9. So Serge, a mate rings you tomorrow and says he's going on the Queensland Reds Supporter Tour of Great Britain and Italy, for ten days. What's the one thing you tell him not to miss, and the one bit of advice you'd give him before he goes?
Don’t miss the bits between the big-ticket moments. The rugby will be brilliant, Italy will be beautiful - but some of the best memories will probably happen on the bus, over a long lunch, or wandering down a street you weren’t planning to be on.
And my one piece of advice? Don’t over-schedule yourself. Leave a little room for spontaneity. Ten days goes incredibly quickly, and the temptation is to try to squeeze everything in. But the magic of places like Italy is often in slowing down enough to actually notice where you are.
And if you find yourself sitting in a little bar in the Veneto with a glass of something local and nowhere else you need to be for an hour… stay for another one.
Christian Sergiacomi
Christian Sergiacomi played four seasons of professional rugby in Italy, winning back-to-back national championships with Benetton in Treviso before moving to Parma. He returned to Australia to a career in television production and cinematography, spending almost a decade filming for The Great Outdoors across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. He founded junior rugby in the Byron Shire in 2019, coaches Far North Coast representative sides, and in 2026 was appointed Head Coach of NSW Country Under-15s.
Shelley Sergiacomi (Craft)
Shelley Craft has been on Australian television for three decades, beginning with Saturday Disney in 1996. She presented The Great Outdoors from 2002 to 2007, filming in destinations across the world, and moved to the Nine Network in 2008 to host Australia’s Funniest Home Videos. She has co-hosted The Block since 2011 and hosts The Aging Project podcast. She lives in Byron Bay.
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