| Asolo | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Veneto | |
| Territory | Treviso area | |
| Altitude | 190 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 25.37 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 9.104 (year 2013) | |
| Name inhabitants | Asolani or Acelani | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0423 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 31011 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | San Prosdocimo of Padua (7 November) | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Asolo is a city of Veneto.
To know
The name of the city is linked to that of two women: the Queen of Cyprus Caterina Cornaro who held her own court there and the actress Eleonora Duse who lived there and ended her existence there due to a tragic accident and wanted to be buried here. It is part of the most beautiful villages in Italy and has been awarded the orange flag by the Italian Touring Club.
Geographical notes
It is located between the Veneto plain and the first corrugations of the Belluno Prealps (Asolo hills). It is 17 km from Bassano del Grappa, 15 from Castelfranco Veneto, 12 from Montebelluna, 22 from Valdobbiadene, 38 from Treviso.
Background
Acelum it was the Roman name of Asolo, which had a notable development between the first century BC and the first century later, becoming Municipium and boasting a Tetaro, a Forum, the Baths, the Aqueduct, witnessed by remains and finds. Its importance did not diminish after the fall of the Empire, so much so that from the 6th century it was the Episcopal See until 969, when it fell into the orbit of Treviso. Between the thirteenth and thirteenth centuries it was dominated from time to time by the Tempesta, Ezzelini, Camino, Scaligeri and Carraresi families until at the end of the fourteenth century it became a possession of the Republic of Venice.
Its period of greatest splendor began with the Serenissima; in 1489 Venice gave it as a reward in Signoria to Caterina Cornaro, queen of Cyprus who had ceded the island to the republic. Asolo became the seat of a refined court that attracted scholars, poets, artists, writers among the greatest of the time. Urban planning also took advantage of it, since the patrician families of Venice built some splendid palaces in the city and its surroundings.
The death of Cornaro put the city a little in the shade, no longer in the limelight of the beautiful world, as well as the end of the Republic of Venice. However, his charm did not fail to continue to seduce and tie famous people to him, as he had done in every age. Carducci defined it city of a hundred horizons, to signify the wide range of ever-changing panoramas that can be enjoyed from its position; Giorgione represented it as a landscape background in some of his paintings; Eleonora Duse and the English writer and traveler Freya Stark lived in the city and are buried here; the composer Gian Francesco Malipiero and the English poet Robert Browning sought inspiration there.
How to orient yourself
Asolo: full screen map.
Parking areas
- 1 Historic Center Parking, Brugnoli Square (main square of the historic center.).
System with "scratch and park" ticket
System with "scratch and park" ticketavailable for purchase at the newsstand and the bars in the Center .. 
Always open with access restrictions related to the Limited Traffic Zone -ZTL..
- 2 Ca 'Vescovo car park (along the Schiavonesca Marosticana state road (Montebelluna - Bassano del Grappa)). Free.
Always open. About 2 km from the historic center (for the climb it is recommended to use the shuttle bus, which runs every 30 minutes. - 3 Forestuzzo car park. Free on weekdays from Monday to Saturday; Sunday and holidays for a fee.. Always open. It is about 400 meters uphill from the historic center (with a moderate slope). Present shuttle bus stop
- 4 Cipressina covered parking. Always open with parking meter. It is about 150 meters uphill from the historic center (sidewalk along the access road).
Camper
- 5 Rest area and Camper parking, ☎ 39 331 4149492. Municipal area equipped for a fee, open all year round. Structure equipped with 13/15 paved pitches with grills, water, well, lighting, electricity, barbecue and picnic area, shaded. Located inside the Forestuzzo car park (P2), about 400 meters from the historic center, with a shuttle bus stop.
Neighborhoods
Its municipal territory also includes the villages of Pagnano, Sant'Apollinare and Villa d'Asolo.
How to get
By plane
- 6 Treviso Airport (Canova). To reach Asolo, the ACTT company - line n. 6, makes continuous connections with the train station and the bus station of Treviso. From the Treviso bus station, take the bus to Asolo, Ca 'Vescovo stop. For timetables consult this site. Lines 161 and 162 Treviso- Montebelluna-Bassano
- 7 Venice airport (Marco Polo), ☎ 39 041 2606111. =. To reach Asolo, the MOM company makes continuous connections with the Treviso train station and bus station. For timetables consult this site. From the Treviso bus station, take the bus to Asolo, Ca 'Vescovo stop. For timetables consult this site. Lines 161 and 162 Treviso- Montebelluna-Bassano
By car
- Tollbooth of Treviso north, away Montebelluna
- Treviso Sud motorway exit, via Castelfranco Veneto
- Tollbooth of Padua, Street Castelfranco Veneto
- Tollbooth of Vicenza north, away Valdastico-Citadel-Castelfranco
- Dueville motorway exit, via Bassano del Grappa
On the train
Railway stations to:
- Montebelluna, km 15
- Castelfranco Veneto, km 16
- Bassano del Grappa, km. 16
- Cornuda, km 8
By bus
- It has bus connections with Treviso, Montebelluna, Castelfranco Veneto, Bassano del Grappa.
How to get around
By public transport
- A shuttle bus connects the center with the hospital area and Ca 'Vescovo (parking, also for campers). Up this site you can consult the timetables of the shuttles.
By taxi
- Autoservizi De Zen, Via del Capitello 4, ☎ 39 368 282232, @[email protected].
- Pegasus Tours, Via Foresto di Pagnano 19, ☎ 39 0423 952086, fax: 39 0423 529388, @[email protected].
What see
Gathered within its ancient walls, the city offers a historic center full of fascinating views and precious architecture.
Duomo - facade
Plan of the Cathedral
1 - Altarpiece of the Assumption
2 - St. Francis of Assisi
3 - Assumption
4 - San Prosdocimo
5 - Polyptych of St. Jerome
6 - Altarpiece of the Assumption
7 - Madonna with Jesus and saints and deposition
8 - Our Lady of the Rosary and Valentine's Day
9 - Agony of St. Joseph
10 - Our Lady of the Rosary
11 - St. Lawrence martyr
12 - Sant'Anna
13 - High altar
14 - Choir and organ
15 - Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
16 - Baptismal font
1 - Altarpiece of the Assumption
2 - St. Francis of Assisi
3 - Assumption
4 - San Prosdocimo
5 - Polyptych of St. Jerome
6 - Altarpiece of the Assumption
7 - Madonna with Jesus and saints and deposition
8 - Our Lady of the Rosary and Valentine's Day
9 - Agony of St. Joseph
10 - Our Lady of the Rosary
11 - St. Lawrence martyr
12 - Sant'Anna
13 - High altar
14 - Choir and organ
15 - Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
16 - Baptismal font
- 1 Duomo. It is probable that the current Cathedral was built on the site of the ancient Cathedral. Asolo was in fact a bishopric at least since 590, when an Agnellus de Acilio (Asolo) also participated in the synod of Marano. In 969 a diploma from Emperor Otto I suppressed the diocese to aggregate it to that of Treviso. The document contains the first reference to the former cathedral Beatae Virginis Mariae constructa. No archaeological investigations have yet been carried out to reconstruct the conformation of the old church. On the west side of the cathedral some wall remains have been identified in which a baptistery can be recognized, consisting of a basin covered with cocciopesto.
- From the descriptions given to us by the pastoral visits, it seems that the building took on its current structure only in 1584, having then undergone major alterations both in 1606 and in 1747, by the Venetian architect Giorgio Massari. The façade, on the other hand, only juxtaposed to the previous one, owes its current appearance to the intervention of Pietro Saccardo in 1889. While retaining the original Romanesque-Gothic tract, it also has some Renaissance elements, such as the three portals. In the center you can see the mosaic representing the Assumption, which replaces the rose window eliminated to make room for the organ of the counter-façade. On the south side, the 16th-century chapel of the Sacrament stands out, while the elegant 15th-century porch is noteworthy.
Asolo altarpiece by Lorenzo Lotto
- The interior, with three naves and very bright, owes its appearance to the idea of Giorgio Massari. In the main altar stands the Pala dell'Assunta, a nineteenth-century copy by Lattanzio Querena of the famous masterpiece by Titian housed in the Basilica dei Frari. Next to it, two precious angels by Giuseppe Bernardi adorn the main altar, in Carrara marble, the work of Pasino Canova, Antonio Canova's grandfather.
- Also noteworthy are the side chapels, among which the one of the Santissimo Sacramento, of sixteenth-century origin but rebuilt by Massari, hosting, in addition to several sculptures by the Torretto, also the baptismal font, commissioned by Queen Cornaro to the architect Francesco Graziolo in 1491 and originally placed in the baptistery, where the restorations of the same will return.
- Other notable works of art are housed in the Collegiate Church: a Saint Francis of Assisi of the fifteenth century, attributed to Mantegna school (some suggest the name of Dario di Giovanni), the famous Assunta by Lorenzo Lotto (1506), the final masterpiece of the artist's youthful Treviso phase, the other splendid Altarpiece of the Assumption by Jacopo da Ponte, the Altarpiece of San Prosdocimo by Pietro Damini, as well as the rest of the polyptych of San Girolamo, attributed to Lazzaro Bastioni (1488).
- Organ - Located in the counter façade, the grandiose Malvestio-Tamburini organ, dating back to the early twentieth century, was restored in 2010 by Alessio Lucato. With mechanical transmission, it is equipped with 31 real stops, 2 keyboards of 58 keys and pedalboard of 30.
- Bell tower - The bell tower, 55 meters high, was completed in 1480. Today's bell concert was inaugurated for the 1925 Jubilee.
- Church of Santa Caterina. The small church dedicated to Santa Caterina d'Alessandria has a simple gabled façade on the outside. The temple is decorated internally by a cycle of frescoes, depicting scenes from the life of the saint and the Passion of Jesus. Built in 1346 by the Battuti brotherhood, it was enlarged during the 16th century, when the pre-existing building was incorporated into the walls. : on the back wall the original shape of the interior is clearly visible. In 1573 the church was completed, both in the furnishings and in the murals, with the placement of three altars. The entire cycle of frescoes was covered with a whitewash during the 18th century, and was brought to light only at the end of the 19th century.
VillaScottiPasini
- Palace of the Reason (Civic Museum of Asolo), Via Regina Cornaro 74, ☎ 39 0423 952313, @[email protected]. Full: € 5, Reduced: € 4. Saturday and Sunday from 9.30 to 12.30 and from 15.00 to 18.00. Built in the 15th century, it has a frescoed loggia with battle scenes attached to it. Seat of the Civic Museum, it preserves archaeological material, but also works of art from various periods and relics related to Eleonora Duse.
- In 2018 the Museum opened a new permanent section "Freya's room", dedicated to the traveler and writer of English origin Freya Stark, who made Asolo her home of choice.
- Beltramini Palace (city Hall). donated to the violinist Wilma Neruda, now the town hall
- Eleonora Duse's house. On the façade some verses by Gabriele d'Annunzio dedicated to the actress's home.
- Villa Freya. In the garden there are foundations of a Roman theater.
- Malipiero House.
- Villa Scotti Pasini. where Robert Browning lived.
- Villa Contarini degli Armeni. 16th century.
- Villa of the Armenians (The Fresco). From the 18th century. It is located in Sant'Anna, a pleasant hillside town to the west of the historic center. The nickname derives from its position close to Mount Messano and its north-facing orientation. The building was built in the eighteenth century as an annex of the more imposing Villa Contarini (which rises a little further south) and has followed its historical events. Passed to various noble families, in 1895 the whole complex came, thanks to a donation from Abbot Gurekian, to the Armenian Mechitarist fathers of Venice. In recent times it has been sold to private individuals.
- Located in a dominant and isolated position, with the facade framed by two centuries-old cypresses, Villa degli Armeni is one of the best-known views of Asolo. It does not have a driveway entrance since, as it belongs to Villa Contarini, accesses were from this through a tunnel that crossed the hill. Today it can only be reached by foot.
- The building is small in size and compact. It is spread over three levels and shows the classic symmetrical and tripartite organization, with the central band accentuated by a gabled elevation, joined to the roof by two volutes.
- The façade is plastered with marmorino and has architraved windows with stone profiles, corresponding to the five round arches that make up the portico on the ground floor. At the center of the first floor there is a single-lancet window with a balcony, larger and richer than the surrounding openings and surmounted by a blind wall: it testifies to the existence of a large double-height central hall. The whole is crowned by a cornice that develops on all sides, and on which the pavilion roof is set. The corners of the roof and the vertices of the gable are highlighted by acroterial elements.
- The two side walls have a single window, a single lancet window with a balcony, above the span of the ground floor portico. The south facade, as mentioned, overlooks the hillside, partially excavated to make room for the villa.
- The access to the tunnel opens at the wall under the portico, hidden by a square recess. To the right of the entrance to the tunnel begins the staircase that leads to the upper floor, ending in the double-height hall.
- On the back is a second volume lower than a floor, corresponding to the service areas.
- Longobard house, Contrada of Santa Caterina. The name Longobard house it derives from the misunderstanding of the inscription in Latin which attests the region of origin of its builder, Francesco Graziolo, who built it with the help of his son Bartolomeo and resided there for some years. Graziolo, a Lombard sculptor who arrived in Asolo to work at the court of Caterina Cornaro, designed, among other things, the Altivole palace, of which today only a barchessa remains, better known as Barco della Regina Cornaro, and created the baptismal font, also commissioned by queen of Cyprus, for the Asolo cathedral.
- The small building is considered to be one of the first examples of the "rustic" order, which was widespread only after 1537 thanks to the publication of Sebastiano Serlio's Treatise on architecture. In addition to the influence of the Bolognese essayist, scholars also approach the building with Palazzo Te designed by Giulio Romano. The façade is covered with tufaceous stone carved according to the mannerist taste with caricatured faces, scenes from Genesis, zodiac signs and Virtues inserted in a rich architectural framework. The complex iconographic program, rich in references to the Christian and Platonic Kabbalah, was perhaps suggested by the scholar Dominican friar Francesco Zorzi, prior of the convent of San Girolamo in Asolo since 1521.
- Between the first and second floors there is an elegant string course frieze decorated with triglyphs and metopes with representations of paterae, bucrania and the heads of other animals. Both on the ground floor and on the first floor the architraves of the rectangular windows are supported by Caryatids and columns (Doric in the first, Ionic in the second). While the bas-reliefs of classical subjects are sculpted with deliberately antiquing ways, those of a Christian subject instead have an archaic taste, with references to medieval Padan reliefs.
- 2 Rocca. It is the symbol of the city, located at the top of Mount Ricco. The structure, with an irregular polygon, dates back to the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century.
Queen Cornaro Castle
The Fortress of Asolo
- Castle. It was the palace of Caterina Cornaro, today it houses the Eleonora Duse theater.
- The first mention of the castrum of Asolo is found in an act of Emperor Otto I of 969, but the name of the fortress itself indicates that it probably dates back to the Roman era (not far away was the Via Aurelia which connected Patavium to the via Claudia Augusta Altinate). Certainly the castle, located in a strategic position in the upper Venetian plain, at the entrance to the Piave and Brenta valleys, had notable events during the barbarian dominations, with alternating destruction and reconstruction: the Lombards already encircled the castle and the town with moats, palisades and dry stone walls.
- In the thirteenth century the building was the residence of Ezzelino III da Romano; when he fell it passed to the Carraresi, lords of Padua, and from 1261 to the municipal city of Treviso. The Venetian domination, from 1393 until the fall of the Serenissima in 1797, was the period of maximum splendor of the castle and the village itself: the Venetians made it an important bulwark, improving the defensive structure of the fortress, strengthening the surrounding walls of the entire complex and renovating the castle.
- From 1489, the fort was entrusted to Caterina Cornaro, former queen of Cyprus, who together with the lordship of the village received from the doge Agostino Barbarigo, as "compensation" for having abdicated in favor of the Republic of San Marco, several residences (famous is the complex of Altivole, of which today only a barchessa remains, better known as Barco della Regina Cornaro). The castle thus became the official seat of the court and hosted the queen's illustrious guests (among others the humanist Pietro Bembo who set Gli Asolani here).
- On the death of Cornaro, the building became the Venetian seat of the Pretoria. Over the centuries the castle lost its importance until it became a deposit: the tower was even used as a body for a windmill. In 1798 the vast interior hall was transformed into a theater, while an entire wing was demolished in 1820. The elegant architectural structure of the theater, dismantled in 1930 to make room for a new cinema, was sold to the Venetian collector Adolph Loewi and is today it was reassembled in Sarasota, Florida. Currently inside the castle there is a new theater named after Eleonora Duse and a restaurant / bar.
- Roman aqueduct. Known as the Bot in the local dialect, it is one of the greatest testimonies of the ancient city of Acelum and is recognized as one of the most interesting aqueducts dug in the rock tunnel. The first section can be visited in Piazza Angelo Brugnoli.
A botanical curiosity
- Monumental holm oak (In the garden of Casa Freia). The garden hosts a large Quercus ilex, whose circumference is 4.8 meters, for a height of 22; it is classified in the list of about 22,000 Italian monumental trees protected by the forest guard and one of the 16 located in the province of Treviso
Events and parties
- Culture Week. The first week of spring.
- Festival of cuchi (terracotta zufoli). May 5th.
- Fantadai. in the month of May of odd years.. Multivision festival
- Asolan meetings. in August and September. International Chamber Music Festival
- Palio. Third Sunday of September
- Exhibition of the book and antique prints. Half October.
- Antiques Fair. Every second Sunday of the month (except July and August).
What to do
Shopping
- The sparkling Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG is an excellence of the Asolo area.
How to have fun
- 1 Wine shop Alle Ore, Via Robert Browning 186, ☎ 39 0423 951022.
Where to eat
Average prices
- 1 Al Bacaro Restaurant, Via Browning, 165, ☎ 39 0423 55150. Closed on Wednesday.
- 2 Bistro, Via Pietro Bembo 85, ☎ 39 0423 529592, @[email protected]. Average price excluding drinks: 30-40 € (2014). Mon-Sat from 18.00.
- 3 Gala restaurant, via Canova 288, ☎ 39 0423 9529968, @[email protected]. about 25 per person (2014).
- 4 Cornaro restaurant pizzeria, via Regina Cornaro 214, ☎ 39 0423 950361.
- 5 Hostaria Ca 'Derton, via D'Annunzio 11, ☎ 39 0423 55218, @[email protected]. Average price excluding drinks: € 45.00 (2014). Closed Monday at noon and Sunday evening..
- 6 Osteria Restaurant La Corte del Re, via Dante 24, ☎ 39 333 5069231. Porchetta, cold cuts, Morlacco cheese, wines and beers. Many products come from the owner's farm.
- 7 Pane, Vino e San Daniele - Restaurant, Via Browning, 183, ☎ 39 0423 951375. Average price excluding drinks: 15-20 € (2014). Closed on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.. Homemade first courses, cold cuts platters, San Daniele ham, Friulian specialties, salads, Friulian wines. Home cooking.
Where stay
Average prices
- 1 Al Sole Hotel, Via Collegio, 33, ☎ 39 0423 951332, @[email protected].
- 2 Hotel Villa Cipriani, Via Canova 298, ☎ 39 0423 523411, @[email protected].
- 3 Duse hotel, Via Robert Browning, 190, ☎ 39 0423 55241, @[email protected].
Safety
Pharmacies
- 8 Bonotto Pharmacy, Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, 79, ☎ 39 0423 55136.
- 9 Tonini Pharmacy, Street of the Tartars 1a (Casella locality), ☎ 39 0423 529382.
Parapharmacies
- 10 Healthcare, Viale Tiziano, 19, ☎ 39 0423 521197.
How to keep in touch
Post office
- 11 Italian post, via Browning 172, ☎ 39 0423 950344, fax: 39 0423 950435.
Around
- Bassano del Grappa - At the foot of the Prealps and Monte Grappa of patriotic memory, with the legendary ponte degli alpini, Bassano is a city of beautiful atmospheres with an important historic center.
- Montebelluna
- Castelfranco Veneto - Walled city, founded about twenty years before Cittadella, opposed it as a defensive bulwark.
- Citadel - Walled city, born as a defensive response to Castelfranco.
- Valdobbiadene
- Treviso
Itineraries
- Walled cities of Veneto. An itinerary to discover the strongholds and the history of Veneto.
