The pilot, 70-year-old Renato Pasotti, from Brescia, was flying towards Lombardy when the plane fell to the ground in a hilly area of Castelgoberto, northwest of Vicenza.
Fire fighters, police and doctors arrived at the scene and put out the fire, but were unable to save Pasotti.
The cause of the incident is not yet clear, Italy's fire service said, and neither technical failure nor a sudden illness on the part of the pilot have been ruled out. The plane was a Skyleader 200, a two-seat metal aircraft used for both recreational flying and special operations.
The weather conditions in the area when the crash happened at around 5pm were mild.
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Fire fighters investigate the wreckage. Photo: Vigili di Fuoco