Città dei cento orizzonti

1 ASOLO Città dei cento orizzonti

Defined by Giosuè Carducci the City of a Hundred Horizons, Asolo is one of the most picturesque old town centres in . Contained within the ancient walls that branch off from the 12th century fortress, in every corner it preserves testimonies of its thousand- year old history. A fascinating place on the rolling Asolan hills, Asolo was a destination for poets and writers, artists and travellers that found inspiration and harmony here. Among them the English poet Robert Browning, the Divine theatre actress Eleonora Duse, the composer Gian Francesco Malipiero, the English writer and tra- veller Freya Stark. A visit to Asolo allows you to combine the pleasure for history and culture with that of dining. In taverns, restaurants, cafes and wine bars that overlook the characteristic arcades and squares you can enjoy de- licious dishes prepared with the finest local produce and linked to the Venetian culinary tradition, such as the delicious Cicchetti. All accompanied by a glass of sparkling Asolo Superiore DOCG, the ex- cellence of our land.

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Page 18 Old Town

Page 54 Accomodations

Page 63 Eat & Drink

Page 88 Itineraries

Page 118 Sport

Page 120 Shopping

Page 126 Tourism Services

Page 132 SOS SOS

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Comune di Asolo CAR PARKS Piazza G. D’Annunzio, 1- 31011 Asolo Piazza Brugnoli +3904235245 car park in the Tourism office +390423524675 old town centre turismo@.asolo.tv.it How to get there: it Culture office +390423524637 is the main square of [email protected] the old town centre. www.asolo.it Times: always open with ZTL- Limited Population: 9.068 inhabitants (31/08/2013 - Istat); Traffic Zone access Surface: 25,37 km²; restrictions. Density: 352,07 ab./km²; Price: “scratch and Altitude: 74-379 m.s.l.m.” park” card system purchasable at news- How to get there stands and bars in the BY CAR: centre. From the east: Toll booth Nord, via Monte- belluna/Toll booth Treviso Sud, via Castelfranco Ca’ Vescovo car park From the south: Toll booth Padova, via Castelfran- How to get there: along the Schiavonesca Marosti- co, Nuova Strada del Santo cana highway ( – Bassano del Grappa From the west: Toll booth Nord, exit Valda- connection) in front of the “Scarpa” factory. stico, via /Castelfranco and Toll booth Due- Distance from the old town centre: approximately ville, via Bassano 2 km (it is recommended to take the shuttle for the ascent, which runs every 30 minutes. The old town centre is accessible by car, except for Times: Always open Saturday evenings and Sundays and holidays, when Price: Free the ZTL applies. The Forestuzzo car park ZTL timetable (Limited Traffic Zone): Access to How to get there: from the Schiavonesca Marosti- the old town centre, to non-residents, is forbidden at cana highway(Montebelluna – Bassano del Grappa the following times: connection) go up towards the old town centre along -from 1 October to 30 April: Via Forestuzzo (reference: coming from Bassano go every Saturday from 9:30 pm to 2:00 am of the fol- left after the Shell petrol station, coming from Mon- lowing day – every Sunday and public holiday from tebelluna go right after the “Scarpa” factory). After 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. about 1.5 km it is signposted on the right (referen- -from q May to 30 September: ce: service area in front of the entrance of the former every Saturday from 9:30 pm to 2:00 am of the fol- hospital, now the ULSS 8 – Local Health and social lowing day – every Sunday and holidays from 10:00 Care Services) am to 10:00 pm. GPS: TV002 N45,7963667 E11,9137833 Distance from the old town centre: approximately

6 7 About

400 metres uphill (with moderate incline) with shuttle For the timetable see the following website: bus stop http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano Times: Always open Lines 161 and 162 Treviso- Montebelluna-Bassano Price: Free CANOVA TREVISO the “Cipressina” covered car park www.trevisoairport.it How to get there: from the Schiavonesca Marosti- +390422315111 cana highway(Montebelluna – Bassano del Grappa To reach Asolo, the ACTT company – line n. 6, has connection) go up towards the old town centre along continuous connections with the railway and bus sta- Via Forestuzzo (reference: coming from Bassano go tions of Treviso. left after the Shell petrol station, coming from Mon- From the Treviso bus station, take the bus for Asolo, tebelluna go right after the “Scarpa” factory). After Ca’ Vescovo bus stop. about 2 km it is signposted on the right (reference: For the timetable see the following website: after 200 metres from the beginning of the one-way http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano road and wide bend to the left). Lines 161 and 162 Treviso- Montebelluna-Bassano Distance from the old town centre: approximately 150 metres uphill (pavement along the access road). BY TRAIN Times: Always open with parking meter Nearest railway stations: Montebelluna, 15 km Parking area and motorhome parking Castelfranco , 16 km Equipped communal area with fee, open all year. Fa- Bassano del Grappa, 16 km cility with 13/15 gridded paved pitches, water, small , 8 km well, lighting, electricity, barbeque and picnic area, shaded. Located inside the Forestuzzo (P2) car park, Montebelluna at approximately 400 metres from the old town cen- from the Montebelluna station, take line 162 (12b.LM) tre, with shuttle bus stop. http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano Call Mr Attilio Pastro at n. 340 7733042. BY PLANE From the Castelfranco Veneto railway station go to MARCO POLO VENEZIA the via Padgora 1 bus station, take line 204 (4CTM) www.veniceairport.it http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano +390412606111 To reach Asolo, the MOM company has continuous Bassano del Grappa connections with the railway and bus stations of Tre- From the Bassano del Grappa railway station, take viso. line 162 (12b.LM ) or line 207 (7CTM) For the timetable see the following website: http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/aeroporto-bus FOR THE OLD TOWN CENTRE OF ASOLO From the Treviso bus station, take the bus for Asolo, From the Ca’ Vescovo bus stop, in the Montebelluna- Ca’ Vescovo bus stop. Bassano direction, a shuttle bus runs approximately

8 9 About every 30 minutes to reach the old town centre. Time- of great value; those who prefer nature can devote to table at the bus stop or on internet at the discovery of the three rivers of the province - the www.asolo.it, in the Plan your trip section. , and Livenza - and the many sports you Tel. +39368282232 can practice, cycling, paragliding; lovers of pleasures of the palate, ultimately, will not be dissatisfied with culinary excellence, first and foremost the Radicchio Information Point Rosso di Treviso and the famous Prosecco. This and much more make the the home of Piazza Garibaldi 73, 31011 Asolo good eating and living better. +390423529046 [email protected] Veneto Region Palazzo Balbi, Dorsoduro, 3901 Opening time. 30123 Venezia Monday: Closed +390412792111 Tuesday: 9.30-12.30 www.veneto.to Wednesday: 9.30-12.30 Thursday: 9.30-12.30 / 15.00-18.00 The Veneto Region was established by Act May 22, Friday: 9.30-12.30 / 15.00-18.00 1971, n. 340. Articulation n.1 of the Regional Statute: Saturday: 9.30-12.30 / 15.00-18.00 The Veneto Region is an autonomous one, in the unity Sunday: 9.30-12.30 / 15.00-18.00 of the Italian Republic, according to the principles and limits of the Constitution, and gives this Statute. The Region is made up of people from the communities province of Treviso and the provinces of , , Rovigo, Treviso, Via Cal di Breda 116, 31100 Treviso , and Vicenza. The capital is Venice. +390422656000 www.visittreviso.it

Located a few kilometers from Venice, the province of Treviso is a unique combination of landscapes, art, history, nature, good food and hospitality, the traveler could fall in love with it and it could stay in the heart of those who walks the scenarios. Scenarios that are constantly changing, passing by the harmony of the plains to the mountains of the Treviso Prealps, with the soft hills of Prosecco, the woods Montello and Cansiglio, through cities large and small, making the territory of the March “Gioiosa et Amorosa”, a mo- saic of beauty to be discovered. Art and history lo- vers will find signs of ancient civilizations, medieval villages, stunning modern architecture and museums

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the complexity of its programme of cultural events ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS offered as part of a long-term programme involving different forms of expression, with the participation of the whole area. Francobollo 2005 The Marca Trevigiana area has had its own postage Borghi più Belli d’Italia stamp beginning May 26, dal 2002 2005 Asolo was selected Since 2002, Asolo has been part of to represent it with a beau- “The most beautiful villages in Italy” tiful view of the city set in club. The awarding of the Anci mark the green hills surrounding it next to the two monu- attests not only to the great artistic, ments that are symbolic of Asolan history: the Civic historical, and traditional heritage Tower and the famous medieval fortress. The posta- in the municipality but also reco- ge stamp showing Asolo is part of the ‘Tourism 2005 gnises the fulfilment of a number series’ together with two other Italian locations: so, of structural characteristics, such as the architec- for , Asolo; for central Italy, Rocchetta a tural harmony of the urban fabric and the quality of Volturno; and, for southern Italy, Amalfi. its public and private building heritage, and general characteristics regarding how nice it is to live in the Bandiera village in terms of activities and services to its citizens. Arancione dal 2005 In 2005 Asolo received the Città dell’Esagono Orange Flag, the mark of en- dal 1999 vironmental tourist excellence Asolo is part of the “Esago- for inland areas awarded by no”, an ambitious project for Touring Club Italiano. It is given the promotion of tourism in- to localities that meet the criteria concerning the deve- volving Asolo, Bassano del lopment of quality tourism: optimising cultural herita- Grappa, Castelfranco, Citta- ge, conservation of the environment, culture of hospi- della, Marostica and . These six cities with tality, access to and usability of resources, the quality a strong historical and artistic traditions are proposed of hotels and similar establishments, restaurants, and as a single wider “territory” made up of walled cities, typical produce and products are just some of the key museums, works of art, handicrafts, typical produce elements for obtaining the recognition. and natural landscapes on an irregular line where the plain of Veneto meets the foothills of the mountains. Città veneta della Cultura 2003 Città del Vino dal 1997 The Regional Council of the Veneto awarded the Mu- Asolo is part of the “Città del Vino” (Wine Cities) as- nicipality of Asolo First Prize and the designation of sociation thanks to its wine production (with relative “Veneto city of culture -year 2003” for the variety and

12 13 About output with DOC desi- Titolo di Città gnation Montello e Colli Conferment of the Coat of Arms, Asolani) and its com- the Standard and the entry in the mitment to favouring an “Heraldic Book of Non-profit ma- economic and social de- king organisations” - year 1931. velopment that respects the environment and local identities. Città Slow Cittaslow: Asolo is part of the “Cittaslow” association. Città Murate del Veneto dal 1995 The aim of the association was and is to broaden the philosophy of Slow Food to the local towns and city governments, applying the concepts of wine and food to the practice of everyday life. Cittaslow is a new model that is no longer centred on continued growth but on the quality of the life in the The Municipality of Asolo is a member of the Regional city: the environment, historical, artistic and cultural association for the conservation and optimisation of heritage, the protection of the walled towns and cities in the Veneto Region. the value of typical products, services, but above all of the issues of the identities of the Soci di Arteven dal 1994 cities, the relationship with workers and citizens, the re- ception and hospitality. www.cittaslow.org

The regional association for the promotion and spread of theatre and culture throughout the com- munities in the Veneto offers a theatre bill of prose that involves professional companies in the Vene- to region. The activities consist of a large circuit of shows over the area, especially through the cre- ation of festivals in cities and villages alike. Moreo- ver it organizes themed seminars, publications and activities of promotion and education of the public.

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HISTORY former Queen of , the Seigniory of Asolo. She Its great location and wonderful climate made Asolo a created a magnificent Renaissance court of artists, population centre right from prehistoric times and later men of letters and poets and left an indelible imprint in a principal settlement for the Veneto people. Acelum, the art and in the very ideal of the city. Through Veni- the Asolo of Roman times, went through a period of ce, Asolo received far-reaching urban reorganisation great expansion: the town that also became munici- and its big brother bound it to itself and its aristocra- pium, developed mainly between the first century BC cy inextricably until the fall of the Venetian Republic. and the first century AD. Archaeological remains and “Asolo is Venice and Venice is Asolo” goes the saying findings - housed in a special section of the City Mu- to underline the similarity of the atmosphere that is seum- document the present of a spa, an aqueduct, demonstrated in the architecture and in the spirit of a forum and a theatre testifying to the importance of the towns. The year 1797 saw the entrance of Na- Asolo in Roman times. A very ancient centre of Chri- poleon. In the nineteenth century under the dominion stianity as far back as the sixth century, the city had of Austria, Asolo was involved in the reforms of the a bishop and was the centre of the diocese until 969 civil institutions and by a programme of public works, when it became enfeoffed to the bishopric of Treviso. such as the revamping of the Duse Theatre. It finally At different times between the XIth and XIVth centuri- became part of the in 1866. A cu- es it knew the hegemony of various powerful families rious testimony to the events in Asolo’s history during (Tempesta, Ezzelini, , Scaligeri, ) the XIXth century is the old clock with an enormous and finally fell under the sway of Venice. From the end pendulum hidden behind the counter in a wine shop of the fourteenth century with the Venetian denomina- in via Browning, not far from the Teatro dei Rinnovati. tion, the centre entered a period of great splendour. The events of the city’s history are noted down here In 1489 Venice bestowed upon Caterina Cornaro, starting from the beginning of the nineteenth century.

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1) Chiesa di San Gottardo 15) Casa Gotica 2) Casa Malipiero 16) Castello 3) Fontanella Zen 17) Teatro Duse 4) Villa Freya 18) Palazzo Beltramini 5) Cattedrale 19) Casa Duse 6) Palazzo della Ragione 20) Case Anseatiche, Costruzioni dell’architetto Pittore 7) Museo Civico Mario De Maria (Marius Pictor) 8) Fontana Maggiore 21) Chiesa di S. Caterina 9) Mura 22) Casa Longobarda 10) Rocca 23) Villa degli Armeni e “Fresco” 11) Convento S.S. Pietro e Paolo 24) S. Anna e Cimitero con tombe 12) Piazza Brugnoli di Eleonora Duse e Freya Stark 13) Acquedotto Romano “La Bot” 25) “Maglio” 14) Villa Scotti-Pasini

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What to see

1) Chiesa di San Gottardo - Church Church the presence of a Friars Minor Conventual monastery is documented in a land sale contract da- ted 1254; the church was dedicated to San Michele Archangel, then known as Sant’Angelo. It is known by the name San Gottardo because, in the first half of the fifteenth century, an altar and a brotherhood of flagellants dedicated to the saint were institured. It became the best known monastery in Asolo and used to offer hospitality to leading personalities. It was also the venue of a school for Asolo’s finest fami- 2) Casa Malipiero - Historical Building lies. It boasted a very extensive library that was bro- Standing on the Foresto Vecchio near the Church of ken up following a Venetian Decree of 1769 suppres- San Gottardo is the house where composer Gianfran- sing religious orders. The state of abandon into which cesco Malipiero (Venice 1882-Asolo 1973) lived for the monastery fell led to a decision to knock it down nearly fifty years. It is characterised by small rooms between 1820 and 1830 conserving only the church furnished with severe furniture made of dark wood. that passed under the administration of the cathedral. Striking are the collections of butterflies and insects Inside, the oldest antique decorative work dates back as well as the antiques the composer loved to col- to the middle of the 1300s and a further cycle of fre- lect. Today the building is the Headquarters of the scos were superimposed over it a century later. Now Foundation bearing the Master’s name with the aim deconsecrated, the church is periodically the setting of preserving his memory. Behind the house one can of high-profile chambre music concerts organised by walk along a path to the cave where Malipiero wanted Asolo Musica. to be buried.

3) Fontanella Zen - Monument The small cistern for the collection of water situated at the southern entrance to the city, near the Castel- franco gate, was built by the Zen family in 1571 fol- lowing an agreement between them and the Town Council. The family had in fact asked the town council to bring water from the collection point in the square to their mansion on the Foresto Vecchio. The town council consented to the construction of the pipe only against the precise pledge by the Zen family to build the mountain for the benefit of the wayfarers arriving in the village after a long climb. lts water also supplied the collection tanks used by washerwomen and as troughs for horses, situated just outside the Ceci (now

20 21 Old Town

Casrelfranco) gate. The recently restored fountain is still used as a stop for refreshment for those tackling Asolo’s steep climbs.

travels. The park, that continues behind the house, was occupied in Roman times by the Roman theatre complex discovered in 1879 and following years by Pacifico Scomazzetto; in the 90s it was excavated by the .

5) Cattedrale - Church The first documented mention of the complex dates back to 969 when the ecclesia in honore Bearae Vir- gins Mariae constructa is mentioned. In 1584, accor- ding to the description of a pastoral visit, the church must have assumed the structure that can still be seen. In 1606 following the collapse of the roof, the 4) Villa Freya - Villa apse and the main altar were reconstructed in ad- Near the Castelfranco gate stands the house and dition to the cover. It was during the course of that grounds that belonged to Freya Stark, the great En- century that the structure lost the signs of its medieval glish writer and traveller (Paris 1893 Asolo 1993) who layout. In the middle of the eighteenth century, archi- chose Asolo as a home for recouping her energies tect Massari was commissioned to reorder the inside. after her tiring journeys of exploration in the Middle The Cathedral has a main nave and two side naves East. Set into the front door is a ceramic tile in ea- with stone columns. Next to the main altar two angels stern style with an Arabic inscription. The interiors by Giuseppe Bernardi are to be seen; the baptismal are simple but cosy, only a few of the rooms being font dated 1491 shows the coat-of-arms of Queen furnished in a slightly extravagant style. The groun- Cornaro who commissioned architect Francesco ds were once transformed into a botanic garden to Graziolo. Then there are two major altar pieces by accommodate the essences collected on Stark’s and Jacopo Da Ponce. The external

22 23 Old Town is the result of the work completed in 1889 to the against the Parthians” while the northwards-facing design of Pietro Saccardo who juxtaposed the visible section has a frieze resplendent with scrolls and fe- face with the old facade. stoons of vegetation. The entire groundfloor is occu- pied by the portico (Loggia) where justice was admi- nistered during the Venetian period. Memorial stones and epigraphs are set into the internal walls. Situated on the top floor you will find the Sala della Ragione, once the Museum’s exhibition hall and now used for cultural gatherings and temporary exhibitions.

7) Museo Civico - Museum In addition to the Palazzo del Vescovado, the current Town Museum also occupies the Loggia della Ra- gione building built to house the representatives of the Town Council and the Magnificent Community 6) Palazzo della Ragione - Historical Building of Asolo and was decorated with frescos around the The mansion, an integral part of the building occupied middle of the sixteenth century. The first nucleus of by the Town Museum was built during the fifteenth the museum’s collections was formed at the begin- century. The eastwards-facing facade, looking onto ning of the nineteenth century thanks to donations the square is decorated with a fresco painted in 1588 from Bartolomeo Fietta and, above all , from Dome- the subject of which is the “The defeat of Crassus nico Manera and Giovan Battista Sartori Canova. At

24 25 Old Town the end of the century, the museum was officially in- stituted, established in the then municipal hall of the Loggia della Ragione, and it was gradually expanded in part as the result of bequests from Andrea Manera and Pacifico Scomazzetto. From the early twentieth century, donations became more and more frequent and considerably increased the artistic and historical items in the institute. Recent rearrangements house the Archaeological Section (Ground Floor), the Art Gallery (first floor), the Caterina Cornaro section, the Treasure of the Cathedral and the Eleonora Duse and Freya Stark section (second floor). Historical Archive. At the end of the fifteenth century, the Asolo com- munity demonstrated a particolar awareness of its deeds and documents as a source that would also be useful to generations to come; from that period it therefore had “a conserving machine” realising the importance of written documentation and the require- ment that it is not tampered with, falsified or lost.T he 8) Fontana Maggiore - Monument history of the Historical Archive over the nineteenth The fountain, situated in the square of the same century is interwoven with that of the Museum that name, is the spititual centre of the town, is important was about to come into being. A number of important as a tangible sign of the solution of age-old and recur- manuscripts relative to Asolan history and persona- rent issues experienced by the inhabitants of Asolo in lities were therefore included among the museum’s their quest for a water supply, a fact that indissolubly archaeological collections until they were significantly links the fountain with the historical town of Asolo. grouped together starting from 1921. In the 1970s, From time immemorial until the first thirty years of the then Museum Director Corrado Fabris saw to a the twentieth century, the Fontana Maggiore was the general rearrangement that enabled academics to main system of water collection in the centre of town use the archive. Since 1981, all the documentation in thanks to the supply by the underground aqueducts the Historical Archive (from the fifteenth to the first half of the “Bot”. The form of the fountain visible today da- of the nineteenth century) was transferred to the mu- tes back to 1575 when it was restored under the Po- seum centre. Restoration operations followed which desta Giovanni Pisani. The bequest of the winged lion involved maps, incunabula, the codes of the Treviso by sculto Antonio Dal Zotto, on the other hand, dates statutes etc. The archive is sub-divided into three to 1918. The fountain was recently given a thorough sections: old regime (1411-1796), AustroFrench era overhaul and cleaning restoring it to working order. (1797-1814) and eighteenth and nineteenth century (1815-1920). 9) Mura - Monument Opening time: Saturday and Sunday 10.00-19.00 The building of the medieval town’s defences along Price: 5 € full, 4 € reduced the lines of the system of fortification still partly in www.facebook.com/MuseoCivicoDiAsolo existence, was completed in the fourteenth century,

26 27 Old Town when Asolo became the object of bitter, continuous the Dieda gate, demolished in 1812 for the construc- struggles between the noble families of Verona, Pa- tion of the Foresto nuovo (also called S. Gervasio), the dua and Venice. Probably the city had already had S. Martino gate, now bricked up and partially visible a number of towers and isolated defence works for in the garden of the De Lord villa (outside the wall) or a long time before that, but the first definite wall- in the garden of the “Casa Rossa” (inside the wall), building activities were recorded in 1318 when a so the Colmarion gate (also called the Bot gate), the S. called dry wall was first built along some stretches of Caterina gate (also called the Foresto, di Belvedere) the perimeter of the town. Decisive for the definitive and the Sottocastello gate. In modern and contem- form of the wall was the Paduan dominion of Asolo porary times some stretches collapsed and were de- in 1381 and 1388. It was then that work began to molished . To date there is absolutely no evidence to “murare burgum Asili” or wall Asolo by Francesco da support the hypothesis, several times advanced and Carrara without however finishing the work before the maintained even though unfounded, of the existence final coming of the Venetians who completed the city of walls in Roman times. fortification. The circuit of the walls was not limited to including the entire tightly settled area and the castle 10) Rocca - Rocca complex, but it extended as far as the fortress at the Built at the summit of Mount Ricco that overlooks the top of Mount Ricco, that thus became a physical part centre of Asolo, the mighty edifice in irregular polygon of the town and its privileged point of strategic value, style of the fortress (average height 15 metres and both as a watch tower and for defensive purposes. a width of 2.5 metres for the north and west sides The circuit of the walls stretched 1360 metres with 24 and 3.5 metres for the other sides) dates back to a towers at strategic points and several gates and do- period spanning the middle-end of twelfth century to ors, not all of the same time, where the roads leading the beginning of the thirteenth century, as has been into and out of the town passed through. The ope- established by archaeological findings in excavations nings are the Castelfranco gate (also called Loreggia), conducted by the University of Padova. This is the period in which the ancient settlement acquired gre- ater importance and therefore built itself a more im- posing defensive structure. The construction of the fortress entailed the destruction on the one hand of the residential area - formerly productive, on the other of a number of graves from the necropolis in the area. Traces of the initial habitation of the fortification (thir- teenth century) are rather weak, but more evident are those linked to the successive eras of domination by the municipality of Treviso (1261-1339), Venice (1339-1381), Carrara (1379 1388) and Venice again (1388-1796). Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries there was the construction of a cistern-well for the collection of rainwater (still visible) and the arrangement of the southeastern area with the con- struction of a bread oven. For the entire length of time

28 29 Old Town between the sertlement and 1510, the year in which became the Headquarters of the city schools, which records declare the fortress was used for warlike pur- it continued to be until the new scholastic building poses for the last rime, it housed a garrison of sol- was built near the hospital. The church and annexed diers. The fortification started to fall into decay right monastery took the name S. Luigi for a while after the back as early as the sixteenth century. In 1650 there conversion of the complex into a school and young was even an attempt to sell the Fortress by Venice for people’s meeting point. It was recently given back its the, not very high, price of 320 ducats. The operation original name. Today, the complex is home to presti- was suspended and avoided at the eleventh hour by gious master’s courses organised by CIMBA (Consor- the fervent desire of the Asolan community which lo- tium Institute of Management and Business Analysis), ved that building which, having already become by a consortium of thirty-seven American Universities. age-old tradition an unimpeachable part of town life is still to be admired today, almost guards and acts 12) Piazza Brugnoli - Square as custodian of the little village lying at its feet. From The existence of Roman hot baths at Asolo was the buttresses of the fortress that underwent massive known as long ago as 1715 when a Roman inscrip- work to restore them in the 1980’s and 90’s it is today tion was discovered having been put to new use as possible to enjoy a bird’s eyeview and a 3600 view of the base of a window. It commemorated a certain the horizon from the Po plain to the entire arc of the Publius Acilius, curator rei publicae originally from surrounding mountains. On clear days and with good Rome (a sort of Prefectural Commissioner today), light one can clearly make out the lagoon of Venice. who restored the public baths damaged in a fire. A Opening time: Saturday and Sunday few clues to the probable location of the baths have 10.00-19.00 (april-october) been gathered around today’s piazza Brugnoli: Ro- 10.00-17.00 (november-march) man walls, remains of conduits, various objects as Price: 2€; free for children under 6 well as the discovery back in 1642, of a mosaic floor. This public building was not however precisely iden- tified until 1876- 1877 when an old district of houses was entirely razed on the site of the square today (the so-called Alocco district) to make way for the buil- ding of the Cattle Market. On this occasion Pacifico Scomazzetto, selftaught archaeologist and one of Asolo’s principal “ancient” historians, managed to bring to light and reveal the foundations of parts of the bathing system, (the remainder is still buried in the garden of villa Scotti, now Pasini), and to recuperate various materials. Features that can be recognised of 11) Convento S.S. Pietro e Paolo - Historical the baths complex, dating from between the first and Building fourth centuries A.D., include a large calidarium (the The Benedictine monastery complex found against place where hor baths were the city wall at the foot of the hill the fortress stands taken) with a floor standing on small brick columns on, was occupied by monks from 1634 to 1807. Af- for the passage of hot air underneath that heated ter that, it was converted into a boarding school and the water baths, another room with a floor on small

30 31 Old Town columns, perhaps the tepidarium (where tepid baths long dug into Mount Ricco. The water had to be d istr were taken), two large baths, a room with a black and ibuted to the baths directly with piping, found at va- white mosaic floor, two rooms used as a praefurnium, rious times in the past, in the final stretch of the water a place for combustion and the production of hot air. works where it currently comes out in Piazza Brugno- A direct link with the Roman aqueduct called the Bot li. The underground Roman passage (on average 50 led to these rooms. Between 1964-65 and in 1993, centimetres wide and between 1 and 2 metres high) while the square was being resurfaced, small-scale present at least four different cladding techniques de- excavations were made that substantially confirmed pending on the different geological make up of the the discoveries of Scomazzetto. ground as it was encountered. The original water sy- stem can be dated to the first century A.D. In perhaps 13) Acquedotto Romano “La Bot” - Monument medieval times the Roman aqueduct became part of The aqueduct, the function of which is linked to a more complex water system thanks to the construc- the Roman baths ensuring them a water supply, tion on the northern stretch of a superimposed tun- stretched for some 600-700 meters from the water nel that traced the oldest route, the so called “Cava” inlet at the “Tintina” spring (on the Northern slope of (pit) or the “Cava delle Monache” (Monks’ pit) (owing Mount Ricco) down as far as the town square where to the vicinity of the S. Luigi or S. Pietro Monastery) the baths were situated. From the source to around The beginning of works to restore the Bot began in the medieval gate known as “Pusterla del Colmarion” the early 1800s. It was not, however, until 1918 that the water was taken by a system of lead pipes some architect Leon Gurekian measured and analysed the of which were discovered in the 1800s by academic Bot in the form of a historical document and, with the Pacifico Scomazzetto. From this point where it con- report by the “Commission for the protection of the verged with another ancient source, the aqueduct ran Monuments and the Landscapes of the Asolo Area” in an underground tunnel approximately 157 metres (Commissione per la protezione dei Monumenri e dei Paesaggi dell’Asolano) in 1922, it obtained the pro- tection of monument status in 1923. From that date the “Bot” once more fell into oblivion; the “pit” was used as depository - wine cellars and, during the last world war, as an airraid shelter. Only in the last ten years have the waterworks been the subject of a spe- cific study and a complete graphical reconstruction. Opening time: Saturday and Sunday 10.00-19.00 Price: Free Entry

14) Villa Scotti-Pasini - Villa From the slopes of Mount Ricco, the Villa dominates the area of the squares in the town centre. The first villa layout seems to date back to the seventeenth century, while various extensions and tights of way were made in subsequent centuries. The first nu- cleus of the villa was built when small buildings were

32 33 Old Town

16) Castello - Castel The castle, together with the fortress one of the symbols of the Asolan countryside, seems to date back to the l0th century although there is no definite information indicating the origins of the complex in 1242 it was home to Ezzelino da Romano and, from 1339, it became the seat of the podesta of Venice. At the end of the fourteenth century it became one with the city walls, construction that begun during the brief dominion of the Carraresi. Three of the four to- wers once characterising it still remain: the Civic or Bell tower, the Reata tower acting as a gaol and the grouped during the seventeen hundreds, while the Carro tower, nowadays part of the adjacent residence addition of the wings that give the structure its current called La Torricella. In 1489 it became the residence appearance came later. of Caterina Cornaro, and Pietro Bembo set his “Gli Asolani “ dialogues in this palace and its gardens. Af- 15) Casa Gotica - Historical Building ter Caterina’s death it was readapted to administra- Between 1988 and 1990 the Veneto Archaeologi- tive functions and extensively restored. The French cal Department conducted largescale excavations were stationed here in 1797 and, the next year, the around the building known as “Casa Gotica” or Go- thic House. Through these it has been possible to document the uninterrupted habitation of Asolo from the late bronze age - early iron age (X-IX century B.C.) down through the medieval period to the modern age. The materials that have come to light refer to a settlement of the ancient tribe of Veneto people. It is probable that already with this first residential area, originally rather sloping and uneven, was levelled and terraced for the precise purpose of providing an area that could be accessed and transited easily. For the middle and late iron age (VI-II centuryB.C.) finds at- testing to the influx of the Retic people restify to the role Asolo played in ancient times as a hinge between two cultural worlds. Again in the Roman era the area was earmarked for housing. In fact, the remains of a house have come to light that can be dated to betwe- en 1st and 3rd centuries A.D., with a water drainage channel, as well as the remains of a later house (2nd to 5th century A.D.), with large ourdoor area and an external brickwork sewage channel.

34 35 Old Town great “Pretoria Hall”, where Venetian podesta once administered justice, was converted into a theatre. The western side of the castle was knocked down in 1816. Today the majestic clock tower is visible from all over town.

17) Teatro Duse - Theater The theatre has been housed in the castle since 1798, first as created by AntonioL ocatelli, a simple wooden structure and then rebuilt to the design of architect Marrignago in 1857. The new theatre had three or- ders of boxes and was embell is hed with figurative reliefs by the Aster brothers and paintings by De Mar- chi. In 1930 the theatre was knocked down and the wooden profile dismantled and sold to antique dealer Loewi in Venice who resold it to the State of in 1949. Today it can be seen at the Ringling Museum in Sarasora (Florida U. S.A.). The only testimony to the old theatre remaining in Asolo is the crystal chandelier that now lights the genious solution was adepte for the architectural de- Council Chamber at the Town Hall. The new theatre, coration of the facade inserted in the limited space of built to the design of architect Forlati, was inaugura- the square: the result was a three-order facade with ted in 1932 and named for Eleonora Duse. During the arcade with ashlar-work columns laid out in such a Nineties, the castle complex and the clock tower un- way that they can be seen from the end of via Corna- derwent radical revamping that, among other things, ro. The inside is refined too; the noble hall occupies restored the theatre in a form reminiscent of the origin two stories and is crowned with an elegant curved al structure. For the last few years it has been the balcony. The mansion first became the property of venue of large-scale and well-appreciated plays and the Pasini family and then of the Nerudas before pas- other performances. sing into the hands of the municipality which made it the town hall. 18) Palazzo Beltramini - Historical Building The mansion known as Beltramini, the name of a fa- 19) Casa Duse - Historical Building mily who arrived in Asolo from Lombardy in the se- If you walk along via Canova, when you get to the cond half of the fifteenth century and soon became Santa Caterina gate which closes off the long view of one of the most famous in the city, took on a new ar- the road you find Casa Duse.T his mansion, in the six- chitectural appearance during the eighteenth century. teenth century already residence of Francesco Nursio In fact, in this period the mansion in piazza D’Annun- Timideo da Verona, personal secretary of Queen Cor- zio was restored and structured in its present form by naro, is situated on the medieval walled perimeter. It the famous architect Giorgio Massari, again on the was rented and restored by the star with the intention commission of the Beltramini family. A special and in- of retiring there. The availability of the house was the

36 37 Old Town

dow sill. And I have an altar”. It was only after the “ad- versary” pulled out of the negotiations that Eleanora Ouse regained possession of the building that was la- ter acquired by the daughter of the famous actress.

20) Case Anseatiche - Historical Building The two curious constructions (Casa de Maria and Casa Pusinich) are clearly architectural “loans” from Nordic European culture that, with a considerable film-set like effect, make these little buildings real ca- meos in the context in which they are situated. The two small villas were constructed in the years 1914-15 by painter Mario de Maria, better known as “Marius subject of an event that testifies to the romantic and Pictor”. He chose Asolo to live in and it was here that passionate soul of Eleanora Ouse. In dispute with a he decided to be buried: it was his friend D’Annunzio Venetian family, the actress initially gave up the re- who dictated the epigraph on the commemorative sidence when she discovered why her “adversary” plaque placed on the front of his house in 1924 and it wanted it: wife of a soldier who fell at Grappa, she is still visible today. It must not however be forgotten wanted to keep alive his dear memory by looking out that one of the two houses was the residence of poet of the windows of that building with its enchanting and man of letters Guido Pusinich. view of that tragic spot. The famous words of the ac- tress are significant: “When in the morning I open the shutters of my room, Mount Grappa is framed in the window. Then I put two vases of flowers on the win-

21) Chiesa di S. Caterina - Church Its construction is linked to the birth and development of the Battuti Brotherhood whose presence dates back to the early 1300s. The foundation of the hospi- tal situated alongside the church also dates back to

38 39 Old Town

At the western end of via Santa Caterina, stands a house with unusual architectural form and a fine- ly sculpted facade. It is the house of architect and sculptor Francesco Graziolo, who came to Asolo du- ring th e reign of Queen Cornaro , as her personal architect, and died here in 1536. It takes the name Longobarda because, in the engraving found on the architrave of the second order, the architect is called longobardus. It must have been the site of his wor- kshop on the facade of which he exhibited a number of his works.

23) Villa degli Armeni e “Fresco” - Historical the brotherhood. The building has a smooth hut-like Building facade with central oculus with a single room. The interior was decorated between the fourteenth and fifteenth century with a first cycle of frescos. At the beginning of the 1500s, it underwent a restoration that changed its appearance considerably in addition to creating new paintings inside that can still be seen today (episodes from the life of St. Catherine and sce- nes from Christ’s passion). The hospital continued to function until the beginning of the 1900s when the new town hospital was built.

22) Casa Longobarda - Historical Building It is situated to the west of the town centre at the summit of the Messano hill. It is one of the most fa- mous monuments in the Asolo area and consists of two distinct but intimately connected bodies: the so-called “Fresco”, consisting of a spectacular faca- de pointing northwards and clearly seen from the S. Caterina district, and the actual villa on the southern slope of the hill. The two parts are connected by a tunnel running through the top of Mount Messano. The complex was constructed by a Venetian family, the Surians, in 1558 and became the properry of the Contarinis by inheritance. Then it passed at the be- ginning of the 1800s into the hands of various noble Venetian families: the Bragadinis, the Soranzos and the Pasqualinis to be finally transferred to the Arme-

40 41 Old Town nian boarding school on the island of San Lazzaro 25) Maglio - Historical Building of the lagoon of Venice and recently return to priva- The complex is situated in Pagnano, at the foot of the te property. Worthy of note while the villa was under Asolan Hills, and consists of a forge, a service building construction were the frescos with biblical scenes, behind and a dwelling. The date of “1468” and the the work of Brescian artist Lattanzio Gambara, that sign with an anvil were found in the oldest part next still adorn the southern face. to a Gothic window. The forge used from medieval times up to 1979 for the working of metal, harnessed 24) S. Anna e tomba E. Duse e F. Stark - Monu- the driving force supplied by a derivation of the Mu- ment son stream. The use of the complex changed during the eighteenth century when it was used for clothes fulling works. Around a century later , in 1770, acti- vities linked to iron working were resumed. In 1989 the complex was bought by the Asolo Town Council, restored and put to work for cultural purposes.

The Monastery of the Capucine monks with annexed church was built with the permission of Sixtus V in 1587 and survived until 1769. After becoming munici- pal property it was fitted out as a lazzarette, barracks and home for the needy. The belvedere of the mo- nastery became a burial place after the Napoleonic Piazza Garibaldi - Square Saint Cloud edict ordering cemeteries to be moved Heart of the city can be considered the central Piazza outside the town and, after that, illustrious persona- Garibaldi, with the sixteenth-century fountain topped lities from Asolan life (E. Duse, Freya Stark, Manara by the winged lion of St. Marco. From here you can Valgimigli etc.) came to rest forever in this hermitage easily reach the main monuments of Asolo. sleeping in the quiet greenery After a century and a half of alternating activity and semi abandonment, the old monastery was finally able to return to its origi- nal and more suitable purpose: in 1928 the Capuci- ne monks returned there and it took on the name of Sant’Anna from an altar existing in the church.

42 43 Old Town

Traditions and Events EVENTS

Palio dei 100 Orizzonti Events Introduced for the first time in 1992, the Palio dei 100 Orizzonti, was inspired by the arrival of Que- en Caterina Cornaro in Asolo, rising for 1,800 meters in the Foresto Vecchio back in October 1489. This event therefore wants to evoke in a popular form this important moment for the city of Asolo. The “Palio Antique Market dei 100 Orizzonti” sees 9 crews, composed of young Every second Sunday of the month (except July and guys driving a Roman chariot with a handmaiden August) since 1976, the antique market has taken on board, representing the municipalities of , place. Furniture, jewellery, silverware, prints and bo- Asolo, , Fonte, Maser, , Possa- oks, modern art and general objects, are exposed gno, Riese PioX and San Zenone degli Ezzelini. The along the streets of the old town centre. HISTORICAL PROCESSION is enriched by figures in period dress. References for the antique market http://www.paliodiasolo.com/ From Monday to Friday: dr.ssa Antonella Bagatella Tel. 0423 524675 Email: [email protected]

44 45 Old Town

Personalities (1916) taken from the homonymous novel by Grazia Deledda. She returned in 1921, presenting her new repertoire with pieces by Ibsen and D’Annunzio (The Eleonora Duse lady of the sea, La città morta / The Dead City, The Ghosts), by Marco Praga (La porta chiusa / The Clo- sed Door) and by Tommaso Gallarati Scotti (Così sia). In 1923, though in poor health, she started a new tour in the United Stated, and passed away in Pittsburgh in April 1924.

GIANFRANCESCO MALIPIERO

ELEONORA DUSE was born in 1858 in Vigevano into a family of wandering artists, Vincenzo (stage name Alessandro) Duse, originally from Chioggia, and An- gelica Cappelletto. She started treading on the bo- ards at a tender age with her parents, and proved her talent in 1873 when she played Juliet at the Arena of Verona. She joined various companies, and then founded one with famous Giacinta Pezzana, with Musician GIANFRANCESCO MALIPIERO was born whom in 1877 she successfully staged Emile Zola’s in Venice on 18th March 1882. He did his studies in drama Thérèse Raquin in Naples. From 1880 to 1887 Paris and Berlin, where he came into contact with she performed with Cesare Rossi’s Compagnia Città the contemporary expressions of music and assimi- di Torino, gladly playing Dumas’s characters (Princess lated the influences of Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky. He of Baghdad, Lady of the Camellias, Wedding Visit spent his life in Rome and the Veneto, teaching in se- and Claude’s wife). She soon separated from her hu- veral institutes. In 1939 he became the director of the sband, actor Tebaldo Marchetti (stage name Tebaldo Conservatoire of Venice.He discovered Asolo in 1910. Checchi) from whom she had a daughter, Enrichetta. Attracted by the beauty of the place and in search for Between 1885 and 1904 she experienced two great a shelter from the city fuss, he stayed there until his passions, which enormously impacted on her artistic death. His strong tie to the town is attested by one of life as well: Arrigo Boito, poet and Verdi’s librettist, his writings in which he mentions Asolo: La pietra del and Gabriele D’Annunzio, who basically started his bando, printed in 1945 and later reprinted in 1990. A theatre production because of Eleonora Duse (Sogno prolific composer, his works include Poemi Asolani, di un mattino di Primavera / The Dream of a Spring Torneo notturno (1931), I capricci di Callot (1942) and Morning, Gioconda, Gloria, La Città Morta / The Dead Uno di dieci (1970).From 1925 to his death he held City, Francesca da Rimini). In 1909, at the age of 51, the office of Honorary Inspector of Superintendence she suddenly left the stage, but this did not prevent for Monuments, which allowed him to deal with the her from working on her only film, Cenere / Ashes protection of the environment and cultural heritage in

46 47 Old Town

Asolo.He died in Treviso in 1973 and was buried in a Caterina Cornaro grave designed by himself, located at the bottom of CATERINA CORNARO was born in 1454 in San Cas- his house garden in via Foresto Vecchio. siano, a Venetian palace overlooking the Grand Ca- nal; her parents were the noble knight Marco Cornaro FREYA STARK and Fiorenza Crespo. The Cornaro (or Corner) family achieved dogado (dukedom) in 1365 with eighty-year old Marco, and became rich and powerful thanks to the fruitful trade with the Levant, in particular with Cyprus. In this island, the various family branches ow- ned large landholdings and plantations and had set up ties – also at economic level – with the ruling house of Lusignano (of the royal house of Borgogna), who in 1192 replaced the Templar Knights in the island government. Both Caterina’s uncle Andrea, and her father Marco were habitual visitors, and financiers, of Explorer and writer FREYA STARK was born in Paris the Nicosia court: thanks to Venetian support, James in 1893. Her parents, both English, brought her up in II Lusignan, named “The Bastard”, had come to the , England and Italy. As a child she lived in Asolo throne. The same Andrea had lent great amounts of for a long time, then in 1911 she went to study at Be- money to the king so that he could face the Turkish dford College, but the tragic fortunes of the war took threat. Moreover, it seems that it was uncle Andrea her back to Italy, where she helped as a Red Cross who suggested to the king the marriage with his niece nurse on the Carso area. Being charmed by faraway Caterina, envisaging the advantage of a marital bond lands, she started learning Arabic in 1927 and went with a daughter of Venice. Caterina married the king of on frequent journeys to the Near and Middle East. Cyprus by proxy in a lavish ceremony in Venice (1468), She got in touch with the Royal Geographical Society, and was then “adopted” by the city; she joined her which in 1933 awarded her the Back memorial Prize husband on the island only in 1472, where she was for her cartographic contributions and trips to Luri- crowned “Queen of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia”. stan. In the following years she collected literary suc- Upon death of James II in 1473 and of her young son cesses, collaborations with the British government, James III in 1474, Caterina Cornaro governed Cyprus the BBC and the Royal Asia Society. During the se- until 1489, when because of Venetian ambitions she cond world war she was in Yemen, at the age of 76 she left for Persia and then for Afghanistan and Iraq. In 1972, thanks to her reckless life, she received the title of honour “Dame Freya Stark” by the Queen of England. She went to Nepal on her last expedition at 88, and then settled down in her house in Asolo, where she died in 1993 at the age of a hundred.

48 49 Old Town was forced to surrender her kingdom to the Serenissi- Roberto Browning ma, obtaining in exchange the domination of the land of Asolo. Here the queen dwelt in the Castle fortress, which had become the rendezvous for artists and il- lustrious people (Pietro Bembo set the conversations of love of Asolani at the Asolo court). Between 1491 and 1493 she had a country villa built up and deco- rated in Altivole, at the foot of the hills of Asolo, which Bembo named Barco. The queen spent the last part of her life between Asolo and the palaces of Venice, and passed away in 1510 in San Cassiano palace.

Pietro Bembo ROBERT BROWNING, (London 1812-Venice 1889), already author of verses Pauline (1833) and Paracel- sus (1835) as well as of the historical tragedy Straf- ford (1837), visited Italy for the first time in 1838 to study on spot the setting for his poem called Sordello. Afterwards he went to Trieste, Venice, Treviso, Bassa- no, Asolo, Vicenza, Padua and his first stay in Asolo inspired the dramatic tetralogy Pippa Passes (1841). During his second journey to Italy in 1844 he went to Naples, Rome and Livorno where he probably drew PIETRO BEMBO (1470-1547), born into a Venetian inspiration for the patriotic poems The Italian in En- noble family, was started by his father in humanistic gland and The Englishman in Italy (1845) and for The studies, which he completed in Messina at Lasca- Patriot (1849). At the end of 1846 the poet was back ris Greek school. Back in Venice, he participated in in Italy, first in Pisa, then in Florence where he spent Aldo Manuzio’s editorial-cultural programme. He held fifteen years beside his wife, English poetess Elisabeth important public offices and became in 1530 official Barrett. In 1861 his spouse died and he returned to historian of the Venetian Republic; in 1539 he was England with his young son Pen, but was back in Italy made cardinal.Being a cousin of Caterina Cornaro, on several occasions from 1878 on the lake Como, in he came to Asolo in 1495 for the wedding of the Fiera di Primiero and mostly in Asolo and Venice, the Queen’s damsel. His stay in town inspired the setting places of his early inspiration. In December 1889 his for Asolani (1505), dialogues in three volumes alter- last poem was published, Asolando, dedicated to his nating prose and verses, in which he brings forward friend from Asolo Caterina Bronson. He passed away the idea of a spiritual love, contemplative desire for shortly after that in Venice on the 12th of December beauty. Yet his fame is linked to the Prose della volgar 1889 in Rezzonico palace, which had been bought lingua (1525), a work that affirmed the exemplarity of by his son a few years earlier. fourteenth-century authors (mostly Tetrarca and Boc- caccio) and gave origin to the language question.

50 51 Old Town Accomodations

HOTEL

Albergo Al Sole Via Collegio 33, 31011 Asolo +390423951332, +390423951007 [email protected] www.albergoalsole.com ***** Nestled in the heart of the medieval village of Asolo, this timeless Hotel has a warm atmosphere and is surrounded by rich art and culture, including Palla- nowadays the hotel offers 31 lovely rooms (2 single dian Villas and the temple of . An ide- and 29 double). A stay in the romantic Hotel Villa Ci- al starting point for walks and excursions to vineyards priani offers enchanting views of the landscaped gar- and wineries that give charm to the landscape. A po- den or still a gorgeous panoramic view on the gentle pular destination for cyclists from all over the world for hills of Asolo , The two Grand Deluxe rooms have a its spectacular natural scene ryand paths around the large outside terrace. The bedrooms are all furnished city its surroundings. with genuine antiques and finished in exquisite exam- ples of traditional Italian craftsmanship such as terra- cotta, marble and watercolors. The Hotel Villa Cipriani also offers room service, 24-hour front desk, service, concierge, business secretarial staff, business center, currency exchange, porterage, laundry, 24-hour valet parking, car rental, maid, shoe shine, wake-up and doorman services.

Hotel Duse Via Browning 190, 31011 Asolo +39042355241 Hotel Villa Cipriani [email protected] Via Canova 298, 31011 Asolo www.hotelduse.com +390423523411, +390423952095 *** [email protected] Situated directly on the romantic central square with http://www.villaciprianiasolo.com/it/ the cathedral and adjacent castle, under gothic ar- **** cades and between the characteristic small streets, A Renaissance villa with a unique perfumed Italian stands the Hotel Duse. Ancient building entirely re- garden surrounded by an enchanting mix of art, hi- newed, to the inside presents a simple style but at- story and nature: Villa Cipriani is all and much more! tentive to the details giving to the Hosts a warm at- Located in the heart of the picturesque town of Asolo. mosphere. Century old walls conceal 14 comfortable The elegant Villa used to be the private home of the rooms furnished in a charming style, fully equipped famous 19th century English poet Robert Browning; with air conditioning/heating, minibar, tv-sat, direct

52 53 Outside the city walls Accomodations phone and dial-up internet connection socket. Other Farmhouse/Housing units facilities: courtesy-service, hairdryer, shave-set, the- eth-set, possibilities to rent a bike, personalized tours Al Morer around the area. Via Risorgimento 10, 31011 Asolo +39042355060 [email protected] www.almorer.it “AL MORER” appears as the ideal place for a hap- py break: surrounded by a landscape that allows the space on the plain of Treviso and characterized by the presence of trees Mulberry, has kept with the recent restoration works, the original architectural features.

Hotel Asolo Via Castellana 9, 31011 Asolo +390423952963 [email protected] www.hotel-asolo.com holiday house *** The Hotel Asolo offers various rooms by type, all Villa Flangini elegantly furnished with colors and solutions de- Via Foresto di Pagnano 2, 31011 Asolo signed to make every room a small autonomous +39042355622 universe. Thirty-two rooms with private bathroom, [email protected] hairdryer, wi-fi, mini bar, safe, LCD TV, private tele- http://www.villaflangini.it phone. The hotel Asolo has a geothermal system Congress, conferences, holidays, climatic stays for in- which makes it an environmentally friendly structure. dividuals, groups, families, and in religious structure.

54 55 Outside the city walls Accomodations

Housing units Ca’ Cinel Via 9, 31011 Asolo Casa Pietro Bembo +390423952401, +393355449091 Via Santa Caterina 23, 31011 Asolo [email protected] +39335207028 www.cacinel.it/www.Cacinel.it/Home_it.html [email protected] At the foot of the hills of Asolo, circndata by 25 acres of countryside, Ca ‘Cinel is a true example of a 1600 Toffolo Bruno building that preserves the original structure. Via Marconi 137, 31011 Asolo +390423952748

AFFITTACAMERE DI 3^ CAT. “APPARTAMENTO BELTRAMINI” Asolo - Via Contrada Canova 330/b - Tel. 0423 529045 - [email protected]

Bed & Breakfast Casasolana Via Sottocastello 18, 31011 Asolo Al Lauro +39042355754 Via Lauro 4, 31011 Villa d’Asolo [email protected] +390423564440, +393337551696 www.casasolana.it [email protected] www.beballauro.com/IT/index.html The B & B is set in the Veneto countryside. On the ground floor is the breakfast room with TV and mini- bar. Upstairs there are three bedrooms with bathroom.

Casasolana is located in a hilly area along the scenic route that leads to the Castle of Queen Cornaro, just 800 m from the city center. It is a typical Venetian farmhouse of the nineteenth century, surrounded by a beautiful park of 7000 square meters., Recently reno-

56 57 Outside the city walls Accomodations vated with simple but refined taste. The three rooms available for guests, all with own facilities, are each dedicated to a female character who was a major in- fluence in the history of Asolo if: Caterina Cornaro, Eleonora Duse, Freya Stark. On the ground floor, sur- rounded by large windows, there is a common room where breakfast is served.

Casa Pagnano Via Vallorgana 22, 31011 Pagnano +390423529276, +393293932570 “DO ‘NONE” is located in Asolo, a few kilometers [email protected] from the Palladian Villas Canova Plaster Casts Gallery www.casapagnano.com and Museum. Two studios with double bed and sofa bed, bathroom and kitchen, satellite TV and free Wi- Casa Pagnano (Pagnano House) is surrounded by Fi. air conditioning Asolo hills green and beauty and it dates back to 1400. Pencil and watercolour drawthe building cada- Europa di Toffolo Bruno stral map, an Eighteenth Century rare and precious Via Vallorgana 6, 31011 Pagnano document, today kept in Asolo Historical Archives. It +390423529254 is ideal for those who aim at spending a peaceful and relaxing holiday, the B&B has two elegant bedroom- swith independent entrance, including private facili- Bed & Breakfast di Gallina Tommaso ties, TV and air-conditioning. They have been recently Via S. Colomba 4, 31011 Asolo restored and furnished in a warm and cosy style, the +393496086346, +393284230962 rooms have a small equipped kitchen for breakfast. [email protected]

Do’ None Via Calò 26, 31011 Pagnano Larry’s House +39042355682, +393296370479 Via Marco Ricci 1/B, 31011 Casella d’Asolo www.donone.it +393209365948 [email protected] “Larry’s House” is located at the foot of Asolo in 5 minutes from the city center. The structure offer an independent apartment with sloping ceilings with exposed beams, living room kitchen, bathroom with shower and heated towel rail, double bedroom and possible bedroom with two single beds. The apart- ment has a washing machine and outdoor parking.

58 59 Outside the city walls Accomodations

Le Gemelle Villa Vega Via Bernardi 8, 31011 Pagnano Via Foresto di Pagnano 3, 31011 Asolo +390423950819, +393406601349 +39042355026, +393475436622 [email protected] Pleris www.villavega.it Via Bernardi 26, 31011 Pagnano +390423952181 [email protected] www.bedandbreakfast-pleris.it From the garden, a splendid vista over the hills and the town of Asolo “Perla della Marca Trevigiana”, will capture one’s eyes. The town of Asolo is easily rea- ched also by way of trails suitable both for hiking and bicycle riding. The kitchen, spacious and comfortable, is ready to offer delicious breakfast in a relaxing atmosphere. The rooms are confortable, the furniture harmoniou- sely matches the ambience. Each room has a tele- The hills of Asolo, city of a hundred horizons, full of vision. On the first floor there’s a single/double room houses and magnificent villas, set among the green with private bathroom. nature, dominate the fertile plain underneath. On the second floor, a double room and a single one Villa Vega, a beautiful building in the liberty style of the share the same bathroom. The double has a rich li- end of the 1800s, looks on to the south-west face of brary. Peace and quiet are interrupted only by the a hill. The area is rich in sun and wonderful landsca- twittering of birds as the vehicular transit in the “Bor- pe, including the silent “” and its long go” is restricted to residents. history.

Barone d’Asolo Country House Via Gasparona 11, 31011 Pagnano +390423529005 [email protected] www.baroneasolo.it

60 61 Outside the city walls Eat & Drink Old Town Immersed in a beautiful park, a lake of water lilies and RESTAURANTS lotus flowers, paths through woods and orchards, the country House Barone d’Asolo will welcome you with Al Bacaro its distinctive peace and tranquillity and become the Restaurant/Tavern perfect place for your relaxing stay. Via Robert Browning 165, 31011 Asolo +39042355150 €

ASOLO BED AND BREAKFAST Asolo - Via Risorgimento 4 cell 345 4870191 - 334 7667921 fax 0423 952029 [email protected] www.bedandbreakfastasolo.it

Asolo’s centenarian tavern (but the first host was from Puglia) with a cuisine dedicated to traditional Vene- to’s and local recipies. Specialities: meat, Veneto’s specialities, pot pie, nerves, snails, Vicenza’s saled codfish, tripes. Everage price (drinks excluded): 25€. Closed on Wednesday.

Bristot Restaurant Via P. Bembo 85, 31011 Asolo +390423529592 [email protected] www.ristorantebistrotasolo.com €€

62 63 Old Town Eat & Drink

Summer terrace. Creative cuisine with seafood and Via Canova 288, 31011 Asolo meat specialities. Asparagus and mushrooms, chico- +39042355288 ry, herbs, pâté, bread and olive oil from Asolo’s hills. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gala-Aso- Fish and crustaceans, raw, carpaccio and a good lo/455369967860646 wine list, local desserts. Open during the evening € from 18:00. Everageprice (drinks excluded): 30-40€. In the centre of Asolo, this restaurant is furnished with Closed on Sunday. care and good taste. Vast choice of Veneto’s typical wines and traditional cuisine. Cornaro Restaurant/Pizzeria Hostaria Ca’ Derton Via Regina Cornaro 214, 31011 Asolo Restaurant/Tavern +390423950361 Piazza G. D’annunzio 11, 31011 Asolo € +39042355218 [email protected] €€

If you feel like tasting a really good Neapolitan pizza, the best thing to do is visit the Cornaro Pizzeria. Ex- cellent pice/quality ratio and stainless service.

Cosy restaurant that offers the traditional Veneto’s cu- isine with a hint of innovation and creativity. Traditio- nal tasting menu: 35€. Good wine list. The attached wine shop offers the same cuisine in an informal at- mosphere and with cheaper prices. Gala di Susanna Quagliotto Closed on Wednesday. Restaurant/Wine Bar Everage price (drinks excluded): 45€.

64 65 Old Town Eat & Drink

Hotel Villa Cipriani products, such as “morlacco” cheese, are from the Restaurant owner’s farm. Via Canova 298, 31011 Asolo +390423523411 [email protected] www.villacipriani.it €€€€

La Terrazza - presso albergo Al Sole Restaurant Via Collegio 33, 31011 Asolo +390423951332 [email protected] www.albergoalsole.com €€€€

This restaurant, which achieved prestigious rewards, is part of the hotel of the same name and offers Ve- neto’s regional specialities transforming them with Mediterranean and international cuisine. The menu is seasonale and and the daily list varies according to the availability of the local products. There’s a brea- thtaking view on Asolo’s valley.

Al Sole hotel’s terrace, meeting place of the inter- La Corte del Re national clientela, is a real outdoor sitting room that Restaurant/Tavern overlooks Asolo’s historical center. Innovative cuisi- Via Dante 24, 31011 Asolo ne, which at the same time is able to enhance the € traditional product, that are accurately selected. The This small tavern is situated in Asolo’s main squa- menu is made with high quality raw products, from re. The area for the outdoor lunch is near the main fresh seafood to meat, to vegetarian dishes. The chef car park ( near the great palace). The tavern offers is Enrico Villanova. many local specialities, such as porchetta and cold cuts and interesting beers wines and grappa. Many

66 67 Old Town Eat & Drink

Pane, Vino e San Daniele Beer house/Sandwich bar Restaurant Via Browning 183, 31011 Asolo Epoca +390423951375 Beer house/Sandwich bar € Via Roma 50, 31011 Asolo +390423950100 €

Very good quality of the food and nice atmosphere. Homemade first courses, cold cuts, San Daniele’s Typical and welcoming sandwich bar. Kind and ham, Friuli’s specialities, salads, Friuli’s wines. Home- courteous staff. Fast food (hamburgers) but also more made cuisine. Everage price (drinks excluded): 15- demanding dishes (spaghetti with ragù). 20€. Closed on Tuesday and on Thursday evening. PASTICCERIE / GELATERIE TappoBar Bar/Restaurant Gelateria Browning Via Roma 55, 31011 Asolo Via Browning 159, 31011 Asolo +390423952201 +300423951375 [email protected] Ice-cream parlour appreciated by tourists and citi- www.tappobar.it zens. €€

Restaurant in the town’s centre, divided into two ro- oms, one for the café and the other for the restaurant. The rooms are nice and well-finished.

68 69 Old Town Eat & Drink

BAR / CAFÈ Caffè Commercio Via R. Cornaro 210, 31011 Asolo Al Castello +390423952290 Piazza Duse 227, 31011 Asolo Located in the historical center, the “Caffè Commer- +390423952158 cio” is open from 7.00 am to 01.00am. It offers brea- kfast, small plates and quick meals. Great selection of beers and prosecco by glass. Closed on Mondays.

Al Municipio Piazza G. D’Annunzio 8, 31011 Asolo

Caffè Centrale Via Roma 72, 31011 Asolo +390423952141 [email protected] Winebar www.caffecentrale.com Enoteca alle Ore The Cafè is located in the center of Asolo. It’s well Via Browning 186, 31011 Asolo furnished, clean and it offers drinks, cocktails and ho- Elegant restaurant, well-finished in every detail... very memade ice cream. good treatment. Excellent for an aperitif.

70 71 Outside the city walls Eat & Drink

RESTAURANTS Picturesque place surrounded by green, cosy and wecoming, nice and simple people, very good char- Al Bersagliere grilled, rustic and savory cuisine. There are ofter mu- Restaurant/Tavern sicians on Friday evening. Good wine collection with Via San Martino 31, 31011 Asolo more than 150 types of wine. Everage price (drinks +390423952744 excluded): 35-40€. Closed on Monday. € Old tavern founded in the late 19th century by Giovan Ferro e Fuoco Battista Stona, Bersagliere during the First World War. Restaurant/Pizzeria Nowadays the tavern is run by his granddaughter Via Ponte di Pagnano 1, 31011 Asolo Marisa with her husband Gianni. Welcoming atmo- +393398035597 sphere (both in the Summer and in the Winter) that € offers simple cold cuts, local cheese and local wine. Everage rice (drinks excluded): 25€.

Al Via Lauro Restaurant/Pizzeria Via Lauro 23, 31011 Asolo +390423564112 € You can taste different types of dishes and it is also a pizzeria, Closed on Tuesday and Wednesday mor- Pizzeria Ferro e Fuoco welcomes you with warmth ning. and sympathy. At lunchtime it also offers dishes as a restaurant. It has a Summer dehors. Da Vanore Restaurant/Tavern La Tavernetta Piazza G. D’annunzio 5, 31011 Asolo Restaurant/Tavern +390423952279 Via Schiavonesca Marosticana 45, 31011 Asolo €€ +390423952273 http://www.ristorantelatavernettatv.com €€ Typical and welcoming restaurant near the historical centre. The cuisine joins traditional products and cre- ativity, from the first course with homemade pasta to grilled specialities and Veneto’s traditional’s dishes. Homemade desserts.

72 73 Outside the city walls Eat & Drink

La Trave Esotic atmosphere and cuisine for this restaurant Restaurant where it’s possible to taste Mexican’s traditional cu- Via Contrada Bernardi 15, 31011 Asolo isine. +390423952256 € Momà Old and rustic trattoria with local and seasonal spe- Restaurant/Disco cialities (spring herbs, mushrooms, risotto, “sopa Via E. Fermi 32, 31011 Asolo coada”, snails, salted codfish). Everage price (drinks +390423952467 excluded): 28/30€. Closed on Monday. [email protected] http://www.moma-asolo.it Locanda Baggio € Restaurant/Inn The exclusivity and the taste for life are the distinctive Via Bassane 1, 31011 Asolo characteristics of the MoMA’. We’re in Asolo, but we +390423529648 could be in Paris, NYC, Barcelona, London. The re- www.locandabaggio.it staurant has an international and cosmopolitan soul. €€€ Closed on Tuesday and on Saturday at lunchtime. Intimate and cosy restaurant, characterised by the typical and traditional cuisine. Very good wine collec- tion with a selection of local, national and international wines. Everage price (drinks excluded): 40/50€. Clo- sing: Monday and Tuesday at lunchtime.

Osteria di Via Tuna Restaurant/Tavern/Pizzeria Via Tuna 2, 31011 Asolo Mexican Grill +390423952310 Restaurant [email protected] Via Croce d’Oro 1, 31011 Asolo www.osteriaviatuna.it +390423564075 € €

74 75 Outside the city walls Eat & Drink

For the admirers of Friuli’s cuisine, who, in Asolo, don’t want to give up on the typical Veneto’s dishes, there’s trattoria Ciarnie. Venetian’s liver, “pèasta e fa- sioi” (pasta with beans), hare with sauce, roast with cornmeal mush and cheese. Everage price (drinks excluded): 25/30€. closed on Monday even ing and on Tuesday.

Villa Flangini Restaurant Tavern, pizzeria and restaurant that offers the typical Via Foresto di Pagnano 2, 31011 Asolo local cuisine, revised with simplicity and innovation. +39042355622 Wine list that has a special consideration for Asolo’s [email protected] wines. It’s also a water shop with a vast choice of types http://www.villaflangini.it of water from all over the world. Everage price (drin- €€ ks excluded): 15-30€. Closed on Tuesday evening. Villa Flanfini is a historical aristocratic dwelling, from the 18th century, situated 500 metres far from Aso- Ponte Peron lo’s historical centre, surrounded by a big park and a Restaurant/Trattoria wood crossed by several paths where you can have Via Vallorgana 14, 31011 Asolo a walk. The villa has two main rooms: the dining room +390423952268 that can contain up to 70 people and the fireplace [email protected] room which can receive more than 100 guests. http://www.ponteperon.it/www1/ €€ Villa Razzolini Loredan Trattoria Ponte Peron, founded in 1950, situated in Restaurant the Asolo’s hills near the town of the 100 horizons, Via Schiavonesca Marosticana 11, 31011 Asolo takes its name from the bridge that crossed the creek +390423951088 of the same name. The atmosphere of these place http://www.villarazzolini.it and the family-run business are the perfect frame for €€€ the typical cuisine. Homemade pasta, char-grilled meat, mushrooms and homemade desserts. Everage price (drinks excluded): 30/35€. Closed on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday.

Trattoria Ciarnie i di Canciani Daniele Restaurant/Trattoria Via dei Torretto 2, 31011 Asolo +390423952237 [email protected] www.trattoriaciarniei.com €

76 77 Outside the city walls Eat & Drink

At the foot of Asolo’s rocca, surrounded by a big park, Pizzeria Rock the majestic Veneto’s villa of the 17th century, hosts a Pizzeria restaurant. The refined cuisine respects the territory Via Tuna 19, 31011 Asolo with offers of seasonal products. The seasonal menu +390423951041 enhances the products with “bisi de Borso”, seasonal € mushrooms, white asparagus, Grappa’s typical chee- Pizzeria Pizza Rock is a pizzeria with a very good se, artichokes. During the Winter there are recipies staff, proud to offer their own products. made with Bassano’s broccoli and Treviso’s and Ca- stelfranco’s . Seafood cuisine at every time of Farmhouse the year. Everage price (drinks excluded): 25-55€. Agriturismo da Gino Farmhouse PIZZERIE Via Loreggia 22, 31011 Asolo +390423529467 Ai quattro gatti http://www.agriturismodagino.it Pizzeria € Via Giorgione 2, 31011 Asolo The owner Gino, helped by his wife and sons, resto- +390423951108 red an old stable and a barn to obtain a rustic and [email protected] welcoming restaurant where you can enjoy the tra- http://www.pizzeriaaiquattrogatti.com ditional local dishes. Everage price (drinks excluded): € 25€. Open on Thursday night only only with booking, on Friday evening, Saturday evening, Sunday and ho- lidays.

Pizzeria and restaurant Ai 4 Gatti, run by Cristiana adn Fabio, in Casekka d’Asolo, near Treviso, offers pizza with take-away service, first courses, aperitives. Pizzas are made using first rate ingredients. Conditio- ned rooms, summer garden and car park.

78 79 Outside the city walls Eat & Drink

Pastisseries / GELATERIE Cappelletto Franco Via Dante 24, 31011 Asolo Asolo Dolce s.a.s. Via E. Fermi 21, 31011 Asolo Centro Bar +3904235221, +390423522111 Via Chiesa 6, 31011 Asolo AsoloDolce. 25 years of business for this pastry shop +390423952321 specialized in puff pastry. Quality lunch and aperiti- ves. Coffeehouse Via Schiavonesca Marosticana 8, 31011 Asolo Cafè, ice-cream parlour, food service.

Country Pub s.a.s. Via G. Verdi 4, 31011 Asolo

Dissegna Manuela Via D’Annunzio 8, 31011 Asolo +390423529462

Il Gelato s.n.c. Hollywood Bar Via Schiavonesca Marosticana 6, 31011 Asolo Via E. Fermi 14, 31011 Asolo +390423950203 Ice creams and specialities. Papagayo s.n.c. Via Bassanese 13, 31011 Asolo

BAR / CAFÈ Rossetto Maria Via Giorgione 58, 31011 Asolo Bar Jolly Via Cavin dei Cavai 47A, 31011 Asolo +39042355840

Bar Posta Via Tiziano 35, 31011 Asolo

Barracuda Bar/Cafè/Music Bar Via Cavin dei Cavai 47, 31011 Asolo Barracuda. At the foot of Asolo’s hills, a new sensa- tional vintage cafè with a rock soul where you can find beer and very good wine.

80 81 Eat & Drink

Food and Wine

The flavours of local produce, the flavour of fine food, the workshops of the craftspeople who together with taverns and cafes face onto arcades and squares are part of the inviting climate that one perceives walking through the streets of the village. It is the leisurely rhythm of living as an “Asolan”. Perhaps the atmo- sphere of Asolo would not be the same if you could not stop off at a wine bar or without the aromas and pleasures of the table coming from fine food and wine of ancient tradition. Restaurants and trattorias, like everything in Asolo, are in great demand. Here you

can savour dishes from a simple, wholesome culinary tradition, linked to the changing of the seasons and the influence of Venice: from “sarde in saor” sauce to “bigoli in salsa”, mushroom soup, pasta and beans, Treviso or Castelfranco radicchio (a kind of red lettu- ce), pumpkin and white asparagus from Bassano. One can try the typical “cicchetti”, fine wines or fanci- ful specialities such as ice-cream in elderberry-based liqueur or “Tintoretto”, a variant of the Bellini cocktail with the flavour of pomegranate. When you are se- ated at the little tables of the cafes, it is not hard to imagine the famous personalities who have stayed in

82 83 Eat & Drink the city over the last two centuries from poets or mu- sicians, such as Robert Browning or Gian Francesco Malipiero to celebrities like Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve, or Yoko Ono to name but a few. In Asolo it is still possible to find wood baked bread and in the speciality boutiques you are spoilt for choi- ce in front of the dazzling array of local salami and cold cooked meats, wines, grappas, oils, jams and delicious sweets. The typical produce of this area can be defined as niche products impossible to find elsewhere; they are distinguished by the care taken over organic cultiva- tion to preserve ancient traditions and particular local production such as pearl white corn, cheeses such and daytime heating of the slopes; to the nocturnal as Morlacco and Bastardo, the Biso (pea) of Borso accumulation of cold air, especially close to the slo- del Grappa, dwarf beans of Levada, the Monfumo pes of Monte Grappa, and the effects of breeze regi- apples, oil production in the foothills of Mount Grap- mes coming from the and the Piave Valley. It pa that has its northern most appendix in the region, is characterized by hot but not muggy summers, and Maser cherries and Grappa honey. relatively cold winters, while the rainfall is spread fairly Vigorous reds and important whites such as Merlot, evenly throughout the year. Cabernet, Prosecco, Chardonnay, Pinot, Incrocio It covers an area of approximately 20.000 hectares, Manzoni are the first class wines of the area that are mostly hilly, but which also includes large portions of served on Asolan tables or that can be sampled in the flat land joined to the hills. wine bars. Asolo is an important centre for “Montello The area of Valcavasia highlights the characteristics e Colli Asolani” doc production, and the best local of the pre-alpine slopes. Within the hilly environment selections have also won many awards. there are marl limestones, marls, argillites, siltstones, Part of the national circuit of Città Del Vino (Wine Ci- sandstones and conglomerates formed in the Tertiary ties), every year in August with the “Calici di Stelle” alternate and are greatly deformed by tectonic mo- (Wineglasses under the stars), as in other Italian cities vements. the best wines of the territory and typical local produ- The lithological alternation also finds an immediate ce are celebrated with tastings. visual comparison in the form of elevations. More compact structures have created a steeper and more The wine area rugged landscape (Asolo Hills) while more malleable The climate of the area of DOC Montello - Asolo Hills substrates (marl and clay) have generated over time is typical of the temperate area, the result of the origi- gentler shapes in correspondence to Montello. The nal integration between factors such as latitude, pro- area of Montello, with its flattened shape, the result of ximity to the Mediterranean and local climate factors an original and unique evolutionary framework, shows that act as modulators. The progression of the hills the presence of terraces and karst phenomena. must be pointed out among these, which generate Here the typical Bordolesi and Renane varieties, fol- a wide range of effects due to exposure, to sunshine

84 85 Eat & Drink lowing the Napoleonic domination took root, giving DOCG Colli Asolani – Prosecco “Spumante great qualitative returns: Merlot, Cabernet and the Superiore” various types of Pinot and Chardonnay are very wide- Colour: golden yellow, sparkly. spread DOC wines. Alongside these for the pro- Effervescence: fine and persistent. duction of Prosecco is certainly the most extensive Bouquet: pleasant and characteristically fruity. vine variety and is the largest generator of revenue for Taste: dry or sweet, bodied, pleasantly fruity, charac- the wine industry. teristic. It is also very important to remember the recovery op- eration in progress of the Recantina vine and, subor- dinately the Bianchetta vine Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG and Montello Superiore DOCG are situated at the top for quality production. These are only some of the products of this corner of Veneto, full of history and tradition that boasts wines that are at the top of the most important international competitions.

Prosecco Asolo

Asolo Prosecco DOCG Colour: straw yellow, more or less intense. Bouquet: vinous, characteristic, slightly fruity in the medium-sweet type. Taste: pleasantly slightly bitter dry and light bodied, slightly fruity medium-sweet.

DOCG Colli Asolani – Prosecco “sparkling” Colour: straw yellow more or less intense, sparkly. Effervescence: evident forming of bubbles. In the type with re-fermentation in the bottle, the foam is mild and evanescent. Bouquet: pleasant and characteristically fruity. In the type with re-fermentation in the bottle hints of bread crust and yeast are added. Taste: dry or sweet, fresh, sparkling and fruity. In the type with re-fermentation in the bottle hints of bread crust and yeast are added.

86 87 Itineraries

ITINERARY 1 the starting point: so we will start from the centre of Asolo, love at first sight the old town centre, from the Fontana Maggiore (8). Short itinerary (1.5 – 2 hours) Until a few years ago still powered by the ancient Roman aqueduct, the fountain has always been a Fontana Maggiore (8), Cathedral (5), Cappella del meeting point in the daily lives of the people of Asolo Cristo, Civic Museum (7), Palazzo della Ragione (6), and reminder of the history of the town: the central Castle (16), Duse Theatre (17), Villa said of part has its origin in a column of who knows which the Armenians (23), Palazzo Beltramini (18), Porta majestic palace of the ancient Roman municipium of di Santo Spirito, the Duse house (19), Gothic Hou- Aceleum and the lion of St. Mark, which, sitting as a se (15), Piazza Brugnoli (12), Villa Pasini Scotti (14), sign of peace, protects the coat of arms of Asolo, is a Rocca (10), Bot (13) reconstruction of the 1800 work of Antonio del Zotto to reintegrate the original one destroyed in 1797 on The first steps of the walk in the town of Asolo must the arrival of the French troops of . have the monument, the symbol of the square, as This date, 1797, put an end to the Podesteria (admin-

88 89 Itineraries istrative organization) of Asolo, cutting the umbilical of great historical and artistic importance such as the cord that had tied the town for more than four hun- altar pieces of Lorenzo Lotto and Jacopo da Ponte in dred years, since 1388, to the . the left aisle or the sixteenth century baptismal font This detachment was unbearable for many Asolans in the Cappella del Santissimo in the right aisle, a gift and they organized a plan down to the minimum de- from Caterina Cornaro to the town. Coming out of the tail to make an attempt on the life of Napoleon, ex- main entrances the building which stands in front of actly in the old café that is still present at the side of us was once the Bishop’s Palace and now houses the the fountain today named Caffè Centrale. The sub- sections of the Civic Museum (7), a place that room versive action was never put into practice because after room revives the centuries-old history of Asolo informers reported the assailants that were soon from archaeological findings to exquisite paintings, to imprisoned, convicted and executed. But let’s go the memory of the women that made the name of back to the fountain and follow the gaze of the lion the town international: Caterina Cornaro, Queen of to start to asolare through the streets of the centre. Cyprus, Armenia and Jerusalem, the Divine Eleonora We turn down via Robert Browning, English poet Duse and the eccentric English traveller Freya Stark. of the late nineteenth century, who with the term The Museum can be reached by going up the short “asolando” wanted to describe the habit which he stairway that leads to Piazza Garibaldi. On the corner also had of walking aimlessly with equanimity, taking is IAT (Tourist Information Office) where we can find in the beauty of the town. We will resist the tempta- material to find out more about Asolo and all the area. tion to carry on to the end of the road, protected by Coming out of the office we find the Palazzo della arcades, and cross over the road to walk along the Ragione on the left (6), place of public administra- side of the Cathedral (5). If we just turn toward the tion during the Venetian Podesteria, recognizable also arcades we can admire the wonderful facades of the from a distance for the large fresco of the Defeat of Cesana, Polo and Martinelli palaces, whose frescoes Crassus against the Parthians. The building is divided are now just a pale impression. On the base of one with the Sala della Ragione upstairs where a precious of the pillars, a plaque recalls the terrible Santa Cos- marble of Canova is preserved representing Paris and tanza earthquake that devastated the Asolan territory a Canovian school cenotaph, besides the frame fres- on 25 February in 1695. We carry on and immedi- coed with all the crests of the Podesta surrounding ately find on our left the entrance to a minute chapel, the one of Caterina Cornaro; downstairs the Loggia called the Cappella del Cristo, a place of intimate del Capitano opens out, part of it covering the piazza devotion for the people of Asola. Here an eighteenth of Asolo to protect the citizens from the sun and bad century wooden crucifix of strong emotional impact weather and that has commemorative stones, fres- is preserved, a work by Giuseppe Bernardi known as coes, memories of ancient buildings and places of Torretto, the first teacher of Antonio Canova. Right in Asolo, abandoned or destroyed over the centuries, front we can enter into the Cathedral by the ancient among which to tombstones with Hebrew writing fifteenth century porch that has an Agnus Deime- from the ancient cemetery of the Jewish community. dallion, perhaps in memory of bishop Agnello, who Going up along Via Cornaro we get closer to the rock in the late sixth century administered the Diocese of spur that supports the castle but let’s first enjoy the Asolo, then dismissed in969 even if today Asolo has a few steps, looking up and admiring the surviving trac- bishop, only in a titular manner. The Cathedral, dedi- es of frescoes on the facades and near the end of the cated to St Mary of the Assumption, preserves works road we recognize the rayed holy wafer, symbol of the

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Blessed Bernardino da Feltre, founder of the Monte di brings back less glorious moments in the history of Pieta of Asolo. Asolo and of Italy. We go down along the silent Via After the short climb, we take the cobblestone road Canova as far as the Porta di Santo Spirito or San- that goes up to the left and we enter through the big ta Caterina (Gate of Holy Spirit or of St. Catherine), main door into the area of the Castle of Caterina fourteenth century access to the town walls. Casa Cornaro (16). Inside the building, evidently modi- Duse (19) the two-tone red and white building that fied during the last century is theDuse Theatre (17), is against the arch and on which a commemorative which was once the throne and reception room. stone was affixed, written by Gabriele D’Annunzio, Walking in the outdoor area from a small terrace un- that recalls when the “Divine” lived in Asolo. The room der the archway of the medieval walls that protect the in which Eleonora Duse used to live is the room just Castle the roofs of Asolo can be admired, which re- above the arch. We go back up Via Canova pass- ally resemble Venice; climbing the steep steps of the ing under the arcades on whose beams swallows Reata Tower, the observation point for the Queen’s generally nest to give birth to their little ones that will guards and prison for her enemies, other beautiful then leave in the autumn. Along the road we can also views of the city of a hundred horizons can be seen, see one of the most prestigious handicraft products just as they can from the short scenic walk that looks of Asolo: the School of Ancient Embroidery, which, toward the south or from the Belvedere della Specola with its refined products, has decorated the homes (observatory viewpoint) to the north which offers the of noble Italian and foreign families. Leaving Piazza eye a view over the palaces that wind along Via Santa D’Annunzio on the right we go straight along Via Caterina and in the distance gives the best view of Dante, that just at the beginning of it on the left, has the massif of Monte Grappa. On the hill to the left rise the ancient sixteenth century gate of the Colbertaldo the outlines of the fresco of Villa Contarini said of family residence. At the end of the road we look up to the Armenians (23) and the particular cupola of the the right to the old Gothic House (15) where a strik- oratory. We continue our walk and at the end of the ing Venetian gothic three-mullioned-window has al- cobblestone road of the Castle we are facing Piazza chemical symbols in the capitals of the columns, part D’Annunzio, once used as a seed market. The build- of the mystical atmosphere of the town. Let’s stop ing with massive white columns is Palazzo Beltra- in the shade of the horse chestnut trees in Piazza mini (18), the Town Hall, refined by Giorgio Massari Brugnoli (12) to admire the wonderful Villa Scotti in the eighteenth century with a strange asymmetri- Pasini (14) dominated on the summit of Monte Ricco cal cut of the facade to make the perspective of the by one of the faces of the Rocca (10). We go down square larger than it is. along Via Roma, imagining the splendour of the Ro- Above an arch of the palace in front of us there is man baths whose remains lie beneath the porphyry still a plaque of the Monte di Pietà, established at the surface of Piazza Brugnoli and whose waters were end of the fifteenth century to compete against the provided by natural springs of the hills channelled into moneylending business of the Jewish families, who the Bot (13). In front of us we can see once again the had their homes along Via Belvedere and in Contrada Fontana Maggiore, the departure and arrival point of Canova, exactly to the north and east of where we are our itinerary. now. On the facade of the palace, north of the square and at the intersection of four balconies the faded image of the face of the Duce, covered by a helmet

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ITINERARY 2 fountain today named Caffè Centrale. The subversive In the embrace action was never put into practice because informers of the walls of Asolo reported the assailants that were soon imprisoned, convicted and executed. But let’s go back to the Half-day itinerary (3 hours) fountain and follow the gaze of the lion to start to asolare through the streets of the centre. We take the Fontana Maggiore (8), Walls (9), Dieda Tower, Villa- steep ascent of Via Bembo, named after the cardinal Palazzo Fietta – Serena, Villa Freya (4), Portello di who composed, between the fifteenth and sixteenth Castelfranco, La Mura house, Fontanella Zen (3), centuries, Gli Asolani dialogues about love set in the Cathedral (5), Cappella del Cristo, Civic Museum (7), , Asolan court of Caterina Cornaro. The route of the Palazzo della Ragione (6), Castle (16), Duse Theatre picturesque little road follows the medieval town (17), Villa degli Armeni (23), Palazzo Beltramini (18), walls (9) of Asolo for a stretch; here the recent resto- Porta di Santo Spirito, The Duse house (19), Gothic rations of the walls allow us to recognize the points House (15), Porta del Colmarion, Monastery of Saints were boards were inserted to support the bretèches, Peter and Paul (11), Villa Scotti Pasini (14), Piazza or the wooden walkways that ran along the walls. On Brugnoli (12), Rocca (10), Bot (13). the left we pass by the tower-house of Sant’Andrea, for centuries a strategic lookout over the accesses The first steps of the walk in the town of Asolo must from the south and west, and then we go down the have the monument, the symbol of the square, as stairs that lead us to the point where until the end of the starting point: so we will start from the centre of the nineteenth century was the main entrance to the the old town centre, from the Fontana Maggiore (8). city: Dieda Tower, fatal place of imprisonment of the Until a few years ago still powered by the ancient Blessed Arnaldo da Limena who, in the mid thirteenth Roman aqueduct, the fountain has always been a century dared to oppose the tyranny of Ezzelino da meeting point in the daily lives of the people of Asolo Romano. Via Marconi begins here and encloses the and reminder of the history of the town: the central eighteenth century Villa Fietta Serena in the corner part has its origin in a column of who knows which of the curve, an admirable Asolan work by the Vene- majestic palace of the ancient Roman municipium of tian Giorgio Massari. Continuing under the arcades Aceleum and the lion of St. Mark, which, sitting as a on the left side of the road we finally find the main en- sign of peace, protects the coat of arms of Asolo, is a trance of Villa Freya (4), Asolan home of the English reconstruction of the 1800 work of Antonio del Zotto explorer and writer Freya Stark; in the lush garden of to reintegrate the original one destroyed in 1797 on the villa, in opening hours or on reservation, it is pos- the arrival of the French troops of Napoleon. sible to admire the remains of the Roman theatre of This date, 1797, put an end to the Podesteria (admi- Asolo (I century A.D.). Beyond the gate of Villa Freya, nistrative organization) of Asolo, cutting the umbilical the short descent to the left leads us to the Portello cord that had tied the town for more than four hun- di Castelfranco, the most recent of the access ga- dred years, since 1388, to the Republic of Venice. tes to the walled town, opened toward the end of the This detachment was unbearable for many Asolans fifteenth century to allow access into Asolo from the and they organized a plan down to the minimum de- south. The ancient La Mura house is built into the tail to make an attempt on the life of Napoleon, exact- wall here, where at the end of the nineteenth century, ly in the old café that is still present at the side of the the poet Robert Browning, cup of tea in his hand,

94 95 Itineraries wrote Asolando, from the verb asolare, that is, “have rible Santa Costanza earthquake that devastated the fun outdoors”. Close to La Mura, the sixteenth centu- Asolan territory on 25 February in 1695. We carry on ry Fontanella Zen (3) indeed marks the beginning of and immediately find on our left the entrance to a mi- Via Browning, with its frescoes and shaded arcades nute chapel, called the Cappella del Cristo, a place that give shelter to taverns, small shops and stores, of intimate devotion for the people of Asola. Here an harbingers of irresistible scents and colours of the eighteenth century wooden crucifix of strong emotio- culinary and craft tradition. Going along the arcades nal impact is preserved, a work by Giuseppe Bernardi looking upwards, we can come across fragments known as Torretto, the first teacher of Antonio Cano- of ancient frescoes and, when the season is right, a va. Right in front we can enter into the Cathedral by multitude of lively and populous swallow nests. Befo- the ancient fifteenth century porch that has an Agnus re coming out into the main square let’s be tempted Dei medallion, perhaps in memory of bishop Agnello, by curiosity and abandon Via Browning to cross the who in the late sixth century administered the Dioce- road and walk alongside the Cathedral (5). If we just se of Asolo, then dismissed in969 even if today Asolo turn toward the arcades we can admire the wonderful has a bishop, only in a titular manner. The Cathedral, facades of the Cesana, Polo and Martinelli palaces, dedicated to St Mary of the Assumption, preserves whose frescoes are now just a pale impression. On works of great historical and artistic importance such the base of one of the pillars, a plaque recalls the ter- as the altar pieces of Lorenzo Lotto and Jacopo da Ponte in the left aisle or the sixteenth century bapti- smal font in the Cappella del Santissimo in the right aisle, a gift from Caterina Cornaro to the town. Co- ming out of the main entrances the building which stands in front of us was once the Bishop’s Palace and now houses the sections of the Civic Museum (7), a place that room after room revives the centuri- es-old history of Asolo from archaeological findings to exquisite paintings, to the memory of the women that made the name of the town international: Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, Armenia and Jerusalem, the Divine Eleonora Duse and the eccentric English traveller Freya Stark. The Museum can be reached by going up the short stairway that leads to Piazza Garibaldi. On the corner is IAT (Tourist Information Office) where we can find material to find out more about Asolo and all the area. Coming out of the of- fice we find the Palazzo della Ragione on the left (6), place of public administration during the Vene- tian Podesteria, recognizable also from a distance for the large fresco of the Defeat of Crassus against the Parthians. The building is divided with the Sala della Ragione upstairs where a precious marble of Canova

96 97 Itineraries is preserved representing Paris and a Canovian scho- cobblestone road of the Castle we are facing Piazza ol cenotaph, besides the frame frescoed with all the D’Annunzio, once used as a seed market. The buil- crests of the Podesta surrounding the one of Caterina ding with massive white columns is Palazzo Beltra- Cornaro; downstairs the Loggia del Capitano opens mini (18), the Town Hall, refined by Giorgio Massari out, part of it covering the piazza of Asolo to protect in the eighteenth century with a strange asymmetri- the citizens from the sun and bad weather and that cal cut of the facade to make the perspective of the has commemorative stones, frescoes, memories of square larger than it is. ancient buildings and places of Asolo, abandoned or Above an arch of the palace in front of us there is still destroyed over the centuries, among which to tom- a plaque of the Monte di Pietà, established at the end bstones with Hebrew writing from the ancient ceme- of the fifteenth century to compete against the money- tery of the Jewish community. lending business of the Jewish families, who had their Going up along Via Cornaro we get closer to the rock homes along Via Belvedere and in Contrada Canova, spur that supports the castle but let’s first enjoy the exactly to the north and east of where we are now. few steps, looking up and admiring the surviving tra- On the facade of the palace, north of the square and ces of frescoes on the facades and near the end of at the intersection of four balconies the faded image the road we recognize the rayed holy wafer, symbol of the face of the Duce, covered by a helmet brings of the Blessed Bernardino da Feltre, founder of the back less glorious moments in the history of Asolo Monte di Pieta of Asolo. and of Italy. We go down along the silent Via Canova After the short climb, we take the cobblestone road as far as the Porta di Santo Spirito or Santa Cateri- that goes up to the left and we enter through the big na (Gate of Holy Spirit or of St. Catherine), fourteenth main door into the area of the Castle of Caterina century access to the town walls. Casa Duse (19) Cornaro (16). Inside the building, evidently modified the two-tone red and white building that is against during the last century is the Duse Theatre (17), the arch and on which a commemorative stone was which was once the throne and reception room. affixed, written by Gabriele D’Annunzio, that recalls Walking in the outdoor area from a small terrace un- when the “Divine” lived in Asolo. The room in which der the archway of the medieval walls that protect the Eleonora Duse used to live is the room just above the Castle the roofs of Asolo can be admired, which re- arch. We go back up Via Canova passing under the ally resemble Venice; climbing the steep steps of the arcades on whose beams swallows generally nest to Reata Tower, the observation point for the Queen’s give birth to their little ones that will then leave in the guards and prison for her enemies, other beautiful autumn. Along the road we can also see one of the views of the city of a hundred horizons can be seen, most prestigious handicraft products of Asolo: the just as they can from the short scenic walk that looks School of Ancient Embroidery, which, with its refined toward the south or from the Belvedere della Specola products, has decorated the homes of noble Italian (observatory viewpoint) to the north which offers the and foreign families. Leaving Piazza D’Annunzio on eye a view over the palaces that wind along Via Santa the right we go straight along Via Dante, that just at Caterina and in the distance gives the best view of the beginning of it on the left, has the ancient sixte- the massif of Monte Grappa. On the hill to the left rise enth century gate of the Colbertaldo family residence. the outlines of the fresco of Villa Contarini said of At the end of the road we look up to the right to the the Armenians (23) and the particular cupola of the old Gothic House (15) where a striking Venetian go- oratory. We continue our walk and at the end of the thic three-mullioned-window has alchemical symbols

98 99 Itineraries in the capitals of the columns, part of the mystical by the Benedictine monks, then the location of the atmosphere of the town. We leave behind the Gothic council school, named after San Luigi by the popu- House to go along the ascent of Via Collegio that le- lation. We go down toward the central square along ads us to the historic hotel Albergo al Sole, refined the stretch of Via Collegio that runs along the other place of hospitality and haven for illustrious guests side of the Albergo al Sole and which gives us a be- that enlivened Asolo in in the twentieth century, whe- autiful view of Villa Scotti Pasini (14) and its hanging re it is still possible to stay in the blue room with view garden. Going down the short stairway we reach the over the centre of the town, which was occupied for square and in the shade of the horse chestnut trees a long time by the Divine Eleonora Duse. We con- in Piazza Brugnoli (12) we can stop once more to tinue to go up along Via Collegio, which runs along admire the wonderful Villa Pasini, dominated on the the left side of the hotel: at the end of the climb we summit of Monte Ricco by one of the faces of the find thePorta del Colmarion, which has maintained Rocca (10). We go down along Via Roma, imagining its medieval character more than the other gates; the the splendour of the Roman baths whose remains lie grooves where the portcullis slid are still visible on the beneath the porphyry surface of Piazza Brugnoli and monument along with some elements of the conse- whose waters were provided by natural springs of the cutive closure with a hinged door. Going up a little on hills channelled into the Bot (13). In front of us we can the right of the gate, we find the seventeenth centu- see once again the Fontana Maggiore, the departure ry complex of the Monastery of Saints Peter and and arrival point of our itinerary. Paul (11), occupied until the early nineteenth century

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ITINERARY 3 organized a plan down to the minimum detail to make Asolare for a whole day an attempt on the life of Napoleon, exactly in the old café that is still present at the side of the fountain to- Long itinerary day named Caffè Centrale. The subversive action was never put into practice because informers reported Fontana Maggiore (8), Cathedral (5), Cappella del the assailants that were soon imprisoned, convicted Cristo, Civic Museum (7), Palazzo della Ragione (6), and executed. But let’s go back to the fountain and Castle (16), Duse Theatre (17), Villa Contarini said of follow the gaze of the lion to start to asolare through the Armenians (23), Palazzo Beltramini (18), Porta di the streets of the centre. We turn down via Robert Santo Spirito, the Duse house (19), Hanseatic Hou- Browning, English poet of the late nineteenth centu- ses (20), Church Santa Caterina d’Alessandria (21), ry, who with the term “asolando” wanted to describe Palazzo Pasquali, Villa De Mattia, Casa Longobar- the habit which he also had of walking aimlessly with da (22), Oasis of Sant’Anna (24), Gothic House (15), equanimity, taking in the beauty of the town. We will Piazza Brugnoli (12), Villa Scotti Pasini (14), Bot (13), resist the temptation to carry on to the end of the Porta del Colmarion, Monastery of Saints Peter and road, protected by arcades, and cross over the road Paul (11), Town walls (9), Rocca (10), Church of San to walk along the side of the Cathedral (5). If we just Gottardo (1), Casa Malipiero (2), Villa Freya (4), Por- turn toward the arcades we can admire the wonderful tello di Castelfranco, La Mura house, Fontanella Zen facades of the Cesana, Polo and Martinelli palaces, (3). whose frescoes are now just a pale impression. On the base of one of the pillars, a plaque recalls the ter- The first steps of the walk in the town of Asolo must rible Santa Costanza earthquake that devastated the have the monument, the symbol of the square, as Asolan territory on 25 February in 1695. We carry on the starting point: so we will start from the centre of and immediately find on our left the entrance to a mi- the old town centre, from the Fontana Maggiore (8). nute chapel, called the Cappella del Cristo, a place Until a few years ago still powered by the ancient of intimate devotion for the people of Asola. Here an Roman aqueduct, the fountain has always been a eighteenth century wooden crucifix of strong emotio- meeting point in the daily lives of the people of Asolo nal impact is preserved, a work by Giuseppe Bernardi and reminder of the history of the town: the central known as Torretto, the first teacher of Antonio Cano- part has its origin in a column of who knows which va. Right in front we can enter into the Cathedral by majestic palace of the ancient Roman municipium of the ancient fifteenth century porch that has an Agnus Aceleum and the lion of St. Mark, which, sitting as a Dei medallion, perhaps in memory of bishop Agnello, sign of peace, protects the coat of arms of Asolo, is a who in the late sixth century administered the Dioce- reconstruction of the 1800 work of Antonio del Zotto se of Asolo, then dismissed in969 even if today Asolo to reintegrate the original one destroyed in 1797 on has a bishop, only in a titular manner. The Cathedral, the arrival of the French troops of Napoleon. dedicated to St Mary of the Assumption, preserves This date, 1797, put an end to the Podesteria (admi- works of great historical and artistic importance such nistrative organization) of Asolo, cutting the umbilical as the altar pieces of Lorenzo Lotto and Jacopo da cord that had tied the town for more than four hundred Ponte in the left aisle or the sixteenth century bapti- years, since 1388, to the Republic of Venice. This de- smal font in the Cappella del Santissimo in the right tachment was unbearable for many Asolans and they aisle, a gift from Caterina Cornaro to the town. Co-

102 103 Itineraries ming out of the main entrances the building which crests of the Podesta surrounding the one of Caterina stands in front of us was once the Bishop’s Palace Cornaro; downstairs the Loggia del Capitano opens and now houses the sections of the Civic Museum out, part of it covering the piazza of Asolo to protect (7), a place that room after room revives the centuri- the citizens from the sun and bad weather and that es-old history of Asolo from archaeological findings to has commemorative stones, frescoes, memories of exquisite paintings, to the memory of the women that ancient buildings and places of Asolo, abandoned or made the name of the town international: Caterina destroyed over the centuries, among which to tom- Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, Armenia and Jerusalem, bstones with Hebrew writing from the ancient ceme- the Divine Eleonora Duse and the eccentric English tery of the Jewish community. traveller Freya Stark. The Museum can be reached Going up along Via Cornaro we get closer to the rock by going up the short stairway that leads to Piazza spur that supports the castle but let’s first enjoy the Garibaldi. On the corner is IAT (Tourist Information few steps, looking up and admiring the surviving tra- Office) where we can find material to find out more ces of frescoes on the facades and near the end of about Asolo and all the area. Coming out of the of- the road we recognize the rayed holy wafer, symbol fice we find the Palazzo della Ragione on the left of the Blessed Bernardino da Feltre, founder of the (6), place of public administration during the Vene- Monte di Pieta of Asolo. tian Podesteria, recognizable also from a distance for After the short climb, we take the cobblestone road the large fresco of the Defeat of Crassus against the that goes up to the left and we enter through the big Parthians. The building is divided with the Sala della main door into the area of the Castle of Caterina Ragione upstairs where a precious marble of Canova Cornaro (16). Inside the building, evidently modified is preserved representing Paris and a Canovian scho- during the last century is the Duse Theatre (17), ol cenotaph, besides the frame frescoed with all the which was once the throne and reception room. Walking in the outdoor area from a small terrace un- der the archway of the medieval walls that protect the Castle the roofs of Asolo can be admired, which re- ally resemble Venice; climbing the steep steps of the Reata Tower, the observation point for the Queen’s guards and prison for her enemies, other beautiful views of the city of a hundred horizons can be seen, just as they can from the short scenic walk that looks toward the south or from the Belvedere della Specola (observatory viewpoint) to the north which offers the eye a view over the palaces that wind along Via Santa Caterina and in the distance gives the best view of the massif of Monte Grappa. On the hill to the left rise the outlines of the fresco of Villa Contarini said of the Armenians (23) and the particular cupola of the oratory. We continue our walk and at the end of the cobblestone road of the Castle we are facing Piazza D’Annunzio, once used as a seed market. The buil-

104 105 Itineraries ding with massive white columns is Palazzo Beltra- ment here, together with the “Casa dei Tre Oci” (hou- mini (18), the Town Hall, refined by Giorgio Massari se with three eyes) to the Giudecca of Venezia, his in the eighteenth century with a strange asymmetri- enigmatic pictorial architecture, in the case of Asolo, cal cut of the facade to make the perspective of the erected in honour of Holland. A little further on, the square larger than it is. eccentricity of the Nordic homes, immortalized by the Above an arch of the palace in front of us there is still verses of his friend D’Annunzio, make the graceful a plaque of the Monte di Pietà, established at the end simplicity of a home in characteristic Asolan style, of the fifteenth century to compete against the mo- adorned with the typical balcony and mullioned win- neylending business of the Jewish families, who had dow of the lagoon city stand out. Once we turn the their homes along Via Belvedere and in Contrada Ca- corner, the town of Santa Caterina welcomes us, ful- nova, exactly to the north and east of where we are crum in the sixteenth century of the diffusion of here- now. On the facade of the palace, north of the square tical ideas from Northern Europe, hosting the fourte- and at the intersection of four balconies the faded enth-century Church of Santa Caterina image of the face of the Duce, covered by a helmet d’Alessandria (21), erected by the Confraternity of brings back less glorious moments in the history of the Flagellants, and decorated inside with frescoes Asolo and of Italy. We go down along the silent Via depicting the life of the saint, on the right wall, and the Canova as far as the Porta di Santo Spirito or San- passion of Christ, on the left wall. Going out, protec- ta Caterina (Gate of Holy Spirit or of St. Catherine), ted by the mantle of Our Lady of Mercy on the facade fourteenth century access to the town walls. Casa of the old hospital, we continue our walk along the Duse (19) the two-tone red and white building that is road, flanked on the left by the white Palazzo Pa- against the arch and on which a commemorative sto- squali, restored by Massari and where a commemo- ne was affixed, written by Gabriele D’Annunzio, that rative stone recalls the arrival and brief stay in Asolo, recalls when the “Divine” lived in Asolo. The room in of perhaps one night, of Napoleon. Our view sudden- which Eleonora Duse used to live is the room just ly widens pleasantly by the well maintained statues above the arch. This “little village of lace and poetry”, and plants of the Italian style monumental garden of as praised by the Divine, shows an intriguing mystical the sixteenth century Villa De Mattia that elegantly side, beyond the Porta di Santa Caterina, by the ima- reigns on the right of the road. From here, the view of ge of the Saint who once decorated the capital, or the Villa Contarini said of the Armenians (23), Gate of the Holy Spirit, for the bas-relief dove that embraced by the tall cypresses on Colle Messano, is dominates the window of the room of the actress. really incredible and invites us to continue the walk to Along the road that goes down outside the walls, af- see it close up. It is inevitable, before going up Via S. ter a curious glance at the splendid garden of the six- Anna, to be struck by the unexpected tufa facade of teenth century Villa Cipriani, period residence that for Casa Longobarda (22), artistically “sculpted” house some time was the property of Lord Guinness and that belonged to Francesco Graziolo, considered by hosted the Queen Mother of England, the Greek ty- many to be the personal architect and sculptor of Ca- coon Onassis and stars of music and the theatre, terina Cornaro, who wished to decorate it with parti- such as Maria Callas, Mastroianni and Catherine De- cular scenes and symbolic elements. Taking the road neuve, our attention will be captured by the vertical that goes up to the crossroads, we go towards the “Rembrandt’s Dream”, those Hanseatic Houses Oasis of Sant’Anna (24), still the refuge of a few (20) of the artist Marius Pictor who wanted to experi- Capuchin friars. The cemetery houses the simple

106 107 Itineraries tombs of Eleonora Duse and Freya Stark, buried to- gether with the English photographer friend Herbert Young, and allows us to admire Monte Grappa to the north, a mountain, sacred to the homeland, battle site during the First World War. We go back along the road towards the old town centre and go back up Via Canova passing under the arcades on whose beams swallows generally nest to give birth to their little ones that will then leave in the autumn. Along the road we can also see one of the most prestigious handicraft products of Asolo: the School of Ancient Embroidery, which, with its refined products, has decorated the homes of noble Italian and foreign families. Leaving Piazza D’Annunzio on the right we go straight along Via Dante, that just at the beginning of it on the left, has the ancient sixteenth century gate of the Colber- taldo family residence. At the end of the road we look up to the right to the old Gothic House (15) where a striking Venetian gothic three-mullioned-window has alchemical symbols in the capitals of the columns, part of the mystical atmosphere of the town. Let’s za Brugnoli (12) to admire the wonderful Villa Scot- stop in the shade of the horse chestnut trees in Piaz- ti Pasini (14) and imagining the splendour of the Ro- man baths whose remains lie beneath the porphyry surface of the square, whose waters were provided by natural springs of the hills channelled into the Bot (13). Taking the clearly visible steps in front of us we continue the walk along the ascent of Via Collegio that leads us to the historic hotel Albergo al Sole, re- fined place of hospitality and haven for illustrious guests that enlivened Asolo in in the twentieth centu- ry, where it is still possible to stay in the blue room with view over the centre of the town, which was oc- cupied for a long time by the Divine Eleonora Duse. We continue to go up along Via Collegio, which runs along the left side of the hotel: at the end of the climb we find the Porta del Colmarion, which has main- tained its medieval character more than the other ga- tes; the grooves where the portcullis slid are still visi- ble on the monument along with some elements of the consecutive closure with a hinged door. Going up

108 109 Itineraries

the Stations of the Cross. Olive groves and vineyards cover the rolling Asolan hills, that from the Rocca of Asolo go as far as the Rocca of Cornuda, producing the renowned Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG and the DOP Veneto Extra-virgin olive oil, products that absolutely deserve to be tasted in the welcoming ta- verns and restaurants in the old town centre or direct- ly in the cellars spread around nearby. Let’s enjoy the view from the walls of the Rocca (10) and, if you are staying for a few days more in the town, remember to venture along the various nature trails that from here cross the Asolan woods. We now continue our itine- rary again towards the centre, no more along the steps but choosing a slightly longer path, Via Rocca, a pathway that goes down to the San Martino one, turning right. We skirt the wall of Villa De Lord, called the Galero, established in the seventeenth century by the noble Rubini family and which offers a view of its little oratory. Once we arrive at Foresto Nuovo, we get a glimpse on the left the steps that go down in the direction of the bell tower of the Franciscan Church of San Gottardo (1), where every 5 May, day of the miracle worker, the oil brought by families to cure joint pain is still blessed. Once out of the churchyard, ano- ther stairway takes us down, this time to the most ancient road in Asolo, the Foresto Vecchio: a road that covers the millennial layers of the history of the town, an access to the wooden Paleoveneti houses for the Roman monuments, medieval buildings and a little on the right of the gate, we find the sevente- for the Venetian splendour. An irreverent phrase on enth century complex of the Monastery of Saints the facade of one of the houses along the road ma- Peter and Paul (11), occupied until the early ninete- kes us smile and reminds us how the soul of the town, enth century by the Benedictine monks, then the lo- hidden in the ancient atmosphere of the roads and cation of the council school, named after San Luigi by arcades, is still vital today, with the characters that live the population. Just past the Porta del Colmarion, there. So imagine how life must be in the Villa Zen, going up the first of about 280 steps that flank the built in the sixteenth century and restored by Massari town walls (9), before coming out among the olive two centuries later, very often enlivened by the co- branches, on our left we can glimpse the Monte dei lours and the call of the enchanting peacocks. Now Frati, where the Monastery of San Girolamo once sto- let’s go back, called by the notes of the musician and od and where now only remain the white capitals of composer Gian Francesco Malipiero, who chose

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Asolo as his long abode, secluded and quiet corner stan and here we are in front of the Dieda Tower, for his artistic inspiration. A philosophical motto fatal place of imprisonment of the Blessed Arnaldo da and a friendly owl walled into the facade welcome us Limena who, in the mid thirteenth century dared to in Casa Malipiero (2), whose park houses, besides oppose the tyranny of Ezzelino da Romano. Where the grave of the imaginative artist, even those of his there was once the entrance gate to the little town, beloved cats. We continue along the road, a glance at we see some steps: we follow them through the an- the fresco under the porch of the house of the sacri- cient hamlet of Via Bembo until we reach the restored medieval walls and then return back to reach the ac- cess road to the town which will lead us to the English Villa Freya (4), Asolan home of the English explorer and writer Freya Stark; in the lush garden of the villa, in opening hours or on reservation, it is possible to admire the remains of the Roman theatre of Asolo (I century A.D.) Beyond the gate of Villa Freya, the short descent to the left leads us to the Portello di Castel- franco, the most recent of the access gates to the walled town, opened toward the end of the fifteenth century to allow access into Asolo from the south. The ancient La Mura house is built into the wall here, where at the end of the nineteenth century, the poet Robert Browning, cup of tea in his hand, wrote Aso- lando, from the verb asolare, that is, “have fun outdo- ors”. Close to La Mura, the sixteenth century Fonta- nella Zen (3)) indeed marks the beginning of Via Browning, with its frescoes and shaded arcades that give shelter to taverns, small shops and stores, har- bingers of irresistible scents and colours of the culi- nary and craft tradition. Going along the arcades loo- king upwards, we can come across fragments of ancient frescoes and, when the season is right, a multitude of lively and populous swallow nests. At the end of the road we return to the midpoint of the old town centre of Asolo and find once more the Fontana Maggiore, departure and arrival point of our itinerary.

112 113 THE Paths Itineraries

114 115 THE Paths Itineraries

SENTIERO DELLA ROCCA robe with the Lantana and the Balloon May. Following ACCESS: public car park via Foresto Nuovo or from the boundary wall of the park, you will come across underground car park via Cipressina. the entrance to the street of San Martino, which is the DIFFICULTY: Easy classic walk of Asolo. The course, always flat, in 2.5 TOTAL ASCENT:about 50 meters km leads to the Fornét fork, where the road climbs LENGTH: about 3 km a bit looking out on the landscape of the hills and TIME: 1.30 minutes valleys of Monfumo, Castles and the Alpine foothills. MOUNTAIN BIKE: Yes During the walk, all in the sun, so pleasant in the win- ter, you pass the church of San Carlo, which is part The path originates from the church of San Martino, of Villa Rubini, you meet the road that goes to the among rows of Scots Pine, Spruce, Olives, Poplars Fortress, and later the Church of San Martino with blacks, blacks Carpini and manna-ash. The man’s its bell tower. From here, wanting to do a variant, you hand blends the natural environment still intact, which can go down the road that leads under the Church is supporting the scenario of these sites charm. Each to meet the Foresto Nuovo in Breda Valleyfrom which house is well maintained and manicured gardens in a you can go back in the city. Continuing our walk over wise, gratify the look of the hiker. The trail leads to the San Martino, after the old inn of Bersagliere, you enter east and then, immediately, in continuous curve, first the Valley of FORNET towards the fork, passing close north and then west. These forested areas are still to the source of the Water of Regina. The water of this well preserved. The vegetation is intricate, lush, en- spring, which now provides a part of the aqueduct of hanced at every step of interesting species. In spring Maser and Asolo, was collected and channeled at the blooms follow each other and are quite showy. A bro- time of Caterina Cornaro to feed the fountains of Bar- om intensely colors of yellow-orange color the bor- co. The Bembo speaks of a source that flows from ders of the path, while the Hawthorn gives his white the mountains.

116 117 sport

Golf Club Asolo 31034 - Treviso Via dei Borghi, 1 390423942211 [email protected] http://golf.ictmail.it/ Asolo Golf Club is located in the municipality of Cava- so del Tomba, about 12 km from the center of Asolo. Set at the foot of the hills of Asolo the course covers three routes: red (3.136 metres), green (3.137 metres) and yellow (3.077 metres). The routes that differ in conformation and difficulty ensure a serious challenge for each golfer.

Free flight Free flight: Hang gliding – Paragliding in the municipal district of Borso del Grappa (15 km from the old town centre of Asolo) International Free Flight Centre. One of the most popular places in Europe for those who practice these sports. Launch area: Campo Croce. Landing area: Semonzo.

118 119 OLD TOWN sHOPPING

Toffolo DONNA Clothing Via G. Marconi, 135 - 31011 Asolo +390423952748 Boutique 181 Bambini 0/16 anni Toffolo Uomo Via R. Browning - 310011 Asolo Via R. Browning, 169 - 31011 Asolo +390423951163 +390423951024 www.boutique181.it YORICK Boutique Boutique 181 Uomo - Donna Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, 73 - 31011 Asolo Via R. Browning, 181 - 310011 Asolo +390423950678 +390423950270 www.boutique181.it Zabeo Cashmere Piazza Garibaldi, 59 - 31011 Asolo Eleonora Asolo +393462202876 Via Pietro Bembo, 81 - 31011 Asolo [email protected] +393356823310, +393487944913 [email protected]

LA FEMME Accessories Via R. Browning 161 - 31011 Asolo +390423529632 LA BOTTEGA Piazza Garibaldi - 31011 Asolo La Rocca Asolana +390499336505 Via Regina Cornaro, 218 - 31011 Asolo www.giannisegata.it +390423952255 Leatherwear

Le Damini 1980 LA BUFANDA Piazza G. D’Annunzio, 6 - 31011 Asolo Via R. Browning, 176 - 310011 Asolo +390423520234, +390423951355 +39042355311 Accessories Marta Stradiotto Via Dante, 21 - 31011 Asolo La Stanza s.n.c. +390423529490 Via G. D’Annunzio - 31011 Asolo www.martastradiotto.it Footwear

Pot Pourrì Moda’s srl Via Regina Cornaro, 223B - 31011 Asolo Via R. Browning, 187 - 310011 Asolo +390423529374 +390423529562 Leatherwear

120 121 OLD TOWN sHOPPING

Minimarket Florist

Delizie Asolane Fioreria La Rocca Via Dante - 31011 Asolo Via Marconi - 31011 Asolo +390423952016 -39042355538 Minimarket

PANAZZOLO DI FELTRACCO LUCIO Via R. Browning, 171 - 31011 Asolo Jewellery +390423952160 Fruits & Vegetables Canova 325 SPECIALITà GASTRONOMICHE ENNIO Via G. Garibaldi, 75 - 31011 Asolo Via R. Browning,151 - 31011 Asolo +39042355428 +390423529109 Minimarket Damini Orafi in Asolo Via R. Browning, 180 - 31011 Asolo +39042355723 Antiques Rosso s.a.s. Via Giorgione, 58 - 31011 Asolo Asolo Kilim +39042355544 Via Marconi, 132 - 31011 Asolo +39042355435 Tabacco shop Cecchetto Prior Via R. Browning, 155 - 31011 Asolo +390423952654 Tabaccheria Asolo Via Regina Cornaro, 212 - 31011 Asolo Galleria Asolana +390423529811 Via R. Browning, 163 - 31011 Asolo +39042355320

Il Pozzo Antichità VARie Via Roma, 58 - 31011 Asolo +39042355251 Anima e Cuore di Panizzolo Ilenia La Grange Via Dante, 13A - 31011 Asolo Via Belvedere, 231 - 31011 Asolo Herbalist’s +390423952139

122 123 OLD TOWN sHOPPING

ATELIER F. RAZ Via R. Browning, 175 - 31011 Asolo Ceramist

Berdusco Daniele Sartoria Via Regina Cornaro - 31011 Asolo -390423952303 Couture

CERAMICHE LA BÒT Via R. Browning, 166 - 31011 Asolo +39042355430 www.ceramichelabot.it Handicrafts

DE LAZZARI ERNESTO Via R. Browning, 179 - 31011 Asolo +390423952073 Fixtures

FRANCESCHINI FRANCA Via Regina Cornaro, 211 - 31011 Asolo +390423950060 Haberdashery

Irma Paulon - Atelier Via Pietro Bembo, 89 - 31011 Asolo +393406402443 www.irmapaulon.com Artist

124 125 Tourism Services

Saturday evenings and Sundays and holidays, when Information Point the ZTL applies. ZTL timetable (Limited Traffic Zone): Access to Piazza Garibaldi 73, 31011 Asolo the old town centre, to non-residents, is forbidden at +390423529046 the following times: [email protected] -from 1 October to 30 April: every Saturday from 9:30 pm to 2:00 am of the fol- Opening time. lowing day – every Sunday and public holiday from Monday: Closed 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Tuesday: 9.30-12.30 -from q May to 30 September: Wednesday: 9.30-12.30 every Saturday from 9:30 pm to 2:00 am of the fol- Thursday: 9.30-12.30 / 15.00-18.00 lowing day – every Sunday and holidays from 10:00 Friday: 9.30-12.30 / 15.00-18.00 am to 10:00 pm. Saturday: 9.30-12.30 / 15.00-18.00 CAR PARKS Sunday: 9.30-12.30 / 15.00-18.00 Piazza Brugnoli car park in the old town centre Bus and car rental with driver How to get there: it Autoservizi De Zen Michele Sas is the main square of Asolo - Via del Capitello 4 - cell. 368 282232 the old town centre. e-mail:[email protected] Times: always open with ZTL- Limited Pegasus Tours Snc di Aroldo Dal Bello Traffic Zone access & C. - Asolo - Via Foresto di Pagnano 19 restrictions. tel +39 0423 952086 fax +39 0423 529388 Price: “scratch and e-mail: [email protected] park” card system purchasable at news- stands and bars in How to get there the centre. BY CAR: From the east: Toll booth Treviso Nord, via Monte- Ca’ Vescovo car park belluna/Toll booth Treviso Sud, via Castelfranco How to get there: along the Schiavonesca Marosti- From the south: Toll booth Padova, via Castelfran- cana highway (Montebelluna – Bassano del Grappa co, Nuova Strada del Santo connection) in front of the “Scarpa” factory. From the west: Toll booth Vicenza Nord, exit Valda- Distance from the old town centre: approximately stico, via Cittadella /Castelfranco and Toll booth Due- 2 km (it is recommended to take the shuttle for the ville, via Bassano ascent, which runs every 30 minutes. Times: Always open The old town centre is accessible by car, except for Price: Free

126 127 Tourism Services

The Forestuzzo car park BY PLANE How to get there: from the Schiavonesca Marosti- MARCO POLO VENEZIA cana highway(Montebelluna – Bassano del Grappa www.veniceairport.it connection) go up towards the old town centre along +390412606111 Via Forestuzzo (reference: coming from Bassano go To reach Asolo, the MOM company has continuous left after the Shell petrol station, coming from Mon- connections with the railway and bus stations of Tre- tebelluna go right after the “Scarpa” factory). After viso. about 1.5 km it is signposted on the right (referen- For the timetable see the following website: ce: service area in front of the entrance of the former http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/aeroporto-bus hospital, now the ULSS 8 – Local Health and social Care Services) From the Treviso bus station, take the bus for Asolo, GPS: TV002 N45,7963667 E11,9137833 Ca’ Vescovo bus stop. Distance from the old town centre: approximately For the timetable see the following website: 400 metres uphill (with moderate incline) with shuttle http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano bus stop Lines 161 and 162 Treviso- Montebelluna-Bassano Times: Always open Price: Free CANOVA TREVISO www.trevisoairport.it the “Cipressina” covered car park +390422315111 How to get there: from the Schiavonesca Marosti- To reach Asolo, the ACTT company – line n. 6, has cana highway(Montebelluna – Bassano del Grappa continuous connections with the railway and bus sta- connection) go up towards the old town centre along tions of Treviso. Via Forestuzzo (reference: coming from Bassano go From the Treviso bus station, take the bus for Asolo, left after the Shell petrol station, coming from Mon- Ca’ Vescovo bus stop. tebelluna go right after the “Scarpa” factory). After For the timetable see the following website: about 2 km it is signposted on the right (reference: http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano after 200 metres from the beginning of the one-way Lines 161 and 162 Treviso- Montebelluna-Bassano road and wide bend to the left). Distance from the old town centre: approximately BY TRAIN 150 metres uphill (pavement along the access road). Nearest railway stations: Times: Always open with parking meter Montebelluna, 15 km Castelfranco Veneto, 16 km Parking area and motorhome parking Bassano del Grappa, 16 km Equipped communal area with fee, open all year. Fa- Cornuda, 8 km cility with 13/15 gridded paved pitches, water, small well, lighting, electricity, barbeque and picnic area, Montebelluna shaded. Located inside the Forestuzzo (P2) car park, from the Montebelluna station, take line 162 (12b.LM) at approximately 400 metres from the old town cen- http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano tre, with shuttle bus stop. Call Mr Attilio Pastro at n. 340 7733042.

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Castelfranco Veneto Bank services From the Castelfranco Veneto railway station go to the via Padgora 1 bus station, take line 204 (4CTM) Unicredit Banca Spa http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano Via Regina Cornaro, 220 - 31011Asolo +3904231850001 Bassano del Grappa From the Bassano del Grappa railway station, take Veneto Banca S.C.P.A. line 162 (12b.LM ) or line 207 (7CTM) Via Dante, 29 - 31011 Asolo http://www.mobilitadimarca.it/extraurbano +390423950450

FOR THE OLD TOWN CENTRE OF ASOLO Banca Popolare di Verona From the Ca’ Vescovo bus stop, in the Montebelluna- Società Cooperativa Bassano direction, a shuttle bus runs approximately Via Dei Tartari, 31 - 31011 Casella d’Asolo every 30 minutes to reach the old town centre. Time- +390423952980 table at the bus stop or on internet at www.asolo.it, in the Plan your trip section. Banca Popolare di Vicenza SCpA Tel. +39368282232 Via Tiziano Ang. Foresto Nuovo, 150 31011 Casella d’Asolo +390423950860

Credito Trevigiano Service Station Banca di Credito Cooperativo Via Manin, 2A - 31011 Casella d’Asolo REPSOL +390423950831 Casella d’Asolo, Via Schiavonesca Marosticana 46 Intesa Sanpaolo Spa IP Viale Tiziano, 1/A - 31011 Casella d’Asolo Casella d’Asolo, Viale Tiziano 34 +390423529244

ESSO Unicredit Banca Spa Casella d’Asolo, Via Montello 25 Via Dei Tartari, 3 - 31011 Casella d’Asolo +3904231850005 OIL ITALIA Pagnano d’Asolo, Via Vallorgana 1 Veneto Banca S.C.P.A. Via Giorgione, 7/A - 31011 Casella d’Asolo IP +390423529855 Asolo, località Casonetto, Via Bassane 2

130 131 SOS Tourism Services

CASTELFRANCO VENETO Hospital Local Police Via Ospedale, 18 - 31033 Castelfranco Veneto Via Cavin Dei Cavai, 27 - 31011 Asolo +39118, +390423497892 +390423950044 [email protected] CIVILE MONTEBELLUNA Hospital Morning opening time: Via Togliatti, 1- 31044 Montebelluna Monday 11.30 - 13.00 / Friday 11.30 - 13.00 +3904236111 Afternoon opening time: Wednesday 16.30 - 18.00 Duty Doctors The Service of continuous assistance on holidays and Carabinieri at night respects the following times: Via Santa Caterina, 280 - 31011 Asolo Weekdays - from 20.00 to 8.00 - +39112, +390423952012 Days before holidays - from 10.00 to 20.00 [email protected] Holidays - from 8.00 to 20.00 Firefighters The Headquarters where you can turn are: Via Giorgione - 31011 Casella D’Asolo - TEL.0423 935777 - +39115, +390423952222 Via Montegrappa 17 - Presso sede Distretto CASTELFRANCO V.TO - TEL. 0423 732753 - Via Post office Ospedale 12 - Presso Centro Anziani Sartor Post office asolo MONTEBELLUNA - TEL. 0423 601570 - Via Ospe- Via Browning, 172 - 31011 Asolo dale,54 - Presso Ospedale Vecchio +390423950334 - TEL. 0423 977301 - Via Roma 38 - Presso sede Distretto Post office casella D’asolo Viale Tiziano, 27 - 31011 Casella D’Asolo Pharmacies +39899022956 Bonotto dr. Massimo Piazza Garibaldi, 79 - 31011 Asolo +39042355136

Farmacia All’Angelo di Dr. Tonini Sergio Via Dei Tartari, 1 - 31010 Casella D’Asolo +390423529382

Veterinary Avanzi Vets Via M. Ricci, 8 - 31011 Asolo +390423950113

132 133 Comune di Asolo Assessorato al Commercio www.asolo.it

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