Soave - Soave

Disambiguation - For toponyms of identical name, see Soave (disambiguation).

Soave is a city of Veneto, was awarded the orange flag by the Italian Touring Club.

To know

The town appears enchanting to those who take the Serenissima motorway from Verona to Vicenza; the Scaliger castle that stands on the hill next to it stretches the turreted walls towards the plain almost like arms that wrap around the city in a gesture of affectionate protection. However, its name is certainly known to most people not so much for its vestiges as for its wine.

Geographical notes

In the Venetian plain, Soave develops in an agricultural area famous for the cultivation of the vine from which the famous wine of the same name is obtained. It is 25 km from Verona, 33 from Vicenza, 24 from Montecchio Maggiore, 14 from Lonigo, 12 from Illasi.

Background

The origin of its name is uncertain: some say it comes from Suaves, cited by Paolo Diacono in the famous Historia Langobardorum, or the Swabians who in medieval Italian are written as Soavi. This population that during the barbarian invasions settled in northern Italy and was subdued by the Lombards. A bull of Pope Eugene III of 1145 calls the town Suavium or the land of the Soavi, in turn readable as the land of the Swabians.

From the previous Roman period we have as evidence the burial grounds of the Castelletto hamlet, that of the Cernìga district, the one near the Bassanella church and others. In addition, some tombstones were studied by Mommsen. Probably given its proximity, Soave was a pagus of a certain importance, determined by its proximity to Via Postumia. In 932 the town was named in a will, while a document from 934 certifies the existence of the castle for the first time, in a century in which the Hungarians entered Western Europe. In reality it is likely that the castle stands on an ancient Roman fort.

In 1029 we have the Pieve di San Lorenzo listed among the 48 Vicars Foranee of the Diocese of Verona. It is likely that the church was located in Borgo San Lorenzo, on the road to Monteforte d'Alpone.

With the treaty of Campoformio (1797) the Serenissima fell and the Austrian domination began which, in 1805, became French again; Soave became the center of the Tramigna District which also included Caldiero, Colognola ai Colli and Illasi.

In 1809 there were clashes between the Austrians and the French in an area between Cazzano di Tramigna and Soave. With the Congress of Vienna (1815), Veneto passed into the Lombard-Veneto Kingdom until, in 1866, Soave also became part of the Kingdom of Italy.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

In its municipal territory there are the villages of Castelcerino, Castelletto, Costeggiola and Fittà.

The ancient city is entirely enclosed within the rectangular plan of the turreted walls; Two long curtains detach from the walls that rise to the top of the small hill on the side of the city on which stands the Castle, a fortified bulwark and privileged place of control over the flat Venetian Po valley, from which the gaze sweeps for kilometers and kilometers.

Parking areas for campers

• 45.423411.245411 Equipped municipal camper parking area, Via Mere (near the Carabinieri station), ☎ 39 045 7680427, @[email protected]. Daily rate € 5. Services Provided: Water, cockpit, lighting, electricity. There are 16 marked out pitches. 

Camper stop allowed in the two car parks close to the medieval walls in the northern area, Porta Aquila car park and Borgo Covergnino car park.

• Camper park area, Via Libertà, 55 (at the Filippi Visco farm in Castelcerino di Soave), ☎ 39 045 7675005, @[email protected]. 15 € per crew per night for 2 people. For each additional person € 5.. Possibility of stopping for n. 15 crews after contacting the company. Services provided: electricity, drinking water, waste water, bathrooms. 
• Camper park area, Viale della Vittoria, 45 (at Corte Mainente Farm), ☎ 39 045 7675005, @[email protected]. Possibility of stopping for n. 3 crews, after contacting the company. 

How to get

By plane

• 45.39666710.8877782 Verona Airport (Catullus), Boxes of Sommacampagna, ☎ 39 045 8095666, @[email protected]. 

By car

• It has its own motorway exit - Soave / San Bonifacio - on the motorway Serenissima.

On the train

• Railway station (to San Bonifacio - 4 km). On the railway line Milan - Venice, has races that make the stop there. 

By bus

• Bus stop, via San Matteo. It has connections with Verona, from the bus station in front of the Verona Porta Nuova railway station; the stop in Soave is in via San Matteo in front of the Hotel Plaza 

How to get around

What see

• 45.4235811.250621 Scaliger Castle, ☎ 39 045 7680036. Summer 9: 00-12: 00/15: 00-18.30 Winter 9: 00-12: 00/14: 00-16: 00. The Scaliger castle of Soave, formerly belonging to the Della Scala family, is a fortification that has marked the history of the city. Having fallen into a state of neglect, after being reduced to a farm, it was restored in 1890 by the senator of the Kingdom Giulio Camuzzoni who became its owner. It can be reached on foot from Piazza Antenna or along the paved road that climbs to the north of the town. A diploma from Federico Barbarossa attests that the castle was once in the hands of the counts of Sambonifacio of Verona. The rise of Ezzelino da Romano as mayor of the Municipality of Verona (1226) led to the possession of the manor by the Counts Greppi, who in 1270 ceded it to the Municipality of Verona who installed one of its captains. The contemporary rise of the Della Scala family led to a new phase in the life of the town (which became the seat of the captaincy with 22 countries under this jurisdiction) and its most important symbol. The castle was restored and renovated while in 1379 Cansignorio endowed the town with a wall still visible today.

The end of the Scaligeri dynasty brought new masters to the castle: first the Milanese Visconti and then the Paduan Carraresi. The latter will lose it in 1405 due to the arrival of the troops of the Republic of Venice, supported by the inhabitants of Soavesi. In 1439, the Visconti troops of the leader Niccolò Piccinino took possession of Soave but the victory of Giovanni Pompei on Mount Bastia allowed the Venetian army to regain possession of the area. There was a major danger when Venice found itself against the League of Cambrai (1508): the castle and the town of Soave were set on fire; also on this occasion the Serenissima managed to prevail (1516). Due to the heroism of Captain Rangone and the Soavesi who, in 1511, freed the castle, Venice donated the Antenna (a large flagpole) and the banner of San Marco.

A period of peace began but the castle was now outdated due to the advent of firearms; the Venetian Republic, which needed money to support the war against the Turks, ceded the castle first to rent and then to property to the noble Gritti family (who in turn sublet it to private individuals who transformed the castle into a farm).

The castle is a typical military artifact of the Middle Ages that stands on Mount Tenda dominating the plain below. It consists of a keep and three courtyards with different sizes. The first courtyard, onto which a door with a drawbridge opens, was the last in order of construction, the work of the Republic of Venice in the 15th century. In the courtyard you can see the remains of a small church with three apses probably dating back to the 10th century, the time of the Hungarian raids, and therefore a probable place of refuge for the population even if outside the walls of the original castle.

Through a portcullis door you pass to the second courtyard (the first of the ancient castle), the largest, known as the Madonna for the fresco Virgin who protects the kneeling faithful of 1321 present above the entrance door to the west. In the same courtyard there is an emergency door as it is intended to supply the occupants of the castle in case of difficulty. Furthermore, traces of buildings (housing for soldiers) can be seen on the west and south sides. The third and last courtyard, the smallest and highest, is reached via a wooden ladder: the threshold of the door is so high to hinder enemies in case of an attack. Beyond the door you can glimpse a 1340 fresco depicting a Scaliger soldier (fresco that documents how a Scaligeri soldier was armed at that time); the inscription Cicogna (or Cigogna) if it refers to the painter recalls frescoes of the same present in San Pietro in Briano and in San Felice di Cazzano di Tramigna.

The large keep is accessed through an opening in the base; it was the place of extreme defense but the pile of bones found in this place suggests that it was also a place of torture and prison. At the center of the court there is an ancient wellhead (you can see the signs of wear on the ropes) while a little to the right we have the room for the guardhouse where we find offensive and defensive weapons used by the Scaligeri soldiers. The remains of barracks are also found in the inner courtyard. An external staircase allows you to enter what was the home of the lord or his representative (the Captain, in the Scaligera era).

The central room is called Caminata due to the large fireplace present. On the table there are objects found in the restoration of the castle such as Roman coins, fragments of weapons but also war instruments from other castles and coins and medals found in various times in Soave. From the Caminata you enter a small courtyard opened in the Venetian era. The central room then communicates with the bedroom (where the thirteenth-century fresco of the crucifix between the Madonna and the Magdalene is to be noted) and with the dining room with table set with crockery reproducing those of the time.

From this room you reach a small room in which five portraits are kept which respectively depict Mastino I della Scala, the founder of the fortune and power of La Scala; Dante Alighieri (whose stay in the castle is presumed to be); Cangrande, the most important of the Scaligeri; Cansignorio della Scala, who restored and enlarged the castle, had Soave surrounded by the city walls and built the Palazzo di Giustizia and the Scaligero one; Taddea da Carrara, wife of Mastino II. 

• 45.4211.24782 Walls. They were built in 1369 by the will of Cansignorio della Scala and contain the historic core of Soave. In ancient times only three doors opened in the walls: Porta Aquila (now Porta Bassano) to the north, Porta Vicentina to the east and Porta Verona to the south, recently restored. On the two west and south sides the walls are accompanied by the natural moat formed by the Tramigna. 
• 45.4261511.248163 Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Bassanella (11th century). The temple was consecrated in 1098 and is linked to a Marian apparition that took place in the Ponsara Valley, the place where the statue of the Virgin and Child venerated in the sanctuary was found. The church was subject first to the Benedictines of the monastery of Saints Nazaro and Celso of Verona and then to the Olivetans of Santa Giustina of Padua; upon the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 the jurisdiction of the church passed to the Bishop of Verona. In the nineteenth century the building was stylistically renovated with the shift of the facade from west to north, facing a square with a view over the lower Val Tramigna. Inside the church there are valuable frescoes of the fourteenth century depicting San Benedetto and Santa Scolastica (sign of Benedictine jurisdiction) but also other saints including San Cristoforo, a typical subject of the iconography of the Tramigna Valley as it is linked to water, and the patron of Soave, San Lorenzo. In the twentieth century, the Soavese painter Mattielli decorated the interior of the small church with canvases and frescoes. Every year from 15 August an octave is organized in honor of the Madonna which includes a torchlight procession between the various celebrations to the place of the apparition, in the Ponsara Valley; on the sanctuary - Ponsara route, the 15 stations of the Via Crucis (stone stele with bas-reliefs) were erected on the occasion of the 9th centenary (1998). 

• 45.421811.24854 Parish church of San Lorenzo martyr, Via Roma (13th century). When the parish church of Borgo San Lorenzo was demolished in the fourteenth century, the parish church was built which carried out its function until 1744 when, by now becoming too narrow, it was demolished to make way for the new construction of 1758. The new temple was then further enlarged in 1884, when the Renaissance façade tending towards the Baroque was also rearranged.

The church has a single nave with baroque altars and valuable paintings such as the altarpiece by San Rocco, work of 1529 by Francesco Morone, coming from the church of San Rocco and located in the presbytery on the left; the sixteenth-century painting of the Saints Bovo, Francesco and Antonio Abate, the work of Farinati; a canvas by Cignaroli dei Saints Gaetano and Quirino with the Madonna del Buon Consiglio. A valuable work is a wooden statue of the Redeemer by Paolo Cahansa from 1553. Do not forget the great organ in the apse, rearranged at the end of the 20th century, by the English William George Trice (1889) and the bell tower, in classical style with three-light windows. 

• 45.41917611.2511175 Church of San Giorgio (13th century). Located in Borgo Covergnino (on the road to Monteforte d'Alpone you can see the signs), it almost certainly gave its name to the village as Covergnino is nothing more than the linguistic deformation of conventino (or small convent, the one that existed next to the church) . It was built in the thirteenth century by the will of the Franciscans. On the facade there is a bas-relief with St. George on horseback killing the dragon. The simple style with which the church was built is confirmed by the rough bell tower. The internal frescoes have been irretrievably lost as they were destroyed at the time of the plague of 1630; some traces remain which can be attributed to Giolfino (between the end of the fifteenth and mid-sixteenth centuries). The tail of a prehistoric animal hangs from the center of the church ceiling. 

• 45.4222311.249446 Church of Santa Maria dei Domenicani (Santa Maria di Monte Santo) (15th century). The church was commissioned in 1443 by the Dominican fathers, who by appealing to the Holy See obtained the consent from Pope Eugene IV to be able to build a church with an adjoining convent. Suppressed in the mid-seventeenth century by Pope Innocent III, in 1659 the monastic complex became the property of the Community, entrusted to the Confraternities of the Good Death and the Rosary until the Napoleonic suppression. In 1871 the convent was sold by the Municipality and was later destroyed. The church became a public oratory; but it was gradually abandoned. Starting from the 1980s, an authentic saving of its artistic heritage was carried out, recovering its frescoes and saving its fifteenth-century structure; now it is home to art exhibitions, reviews, exhibitions and concerts.

The fifteenth-century building has simple shapes and a schematic plan; its lines represent the moment of transition between two styles: the Gothic and the Renaissance. The shades of green, white and ocher alternate in a particular architectural harmony. The north-facing façade and square apse is characterized by the gracefulness of the hanging porch with a round vault and the contemporary rose window of the porch. Of particular interest are the elaborate eaves cornices in terracotta, typical of the second half of the 15th century. The interior of the church, with a single nave covered with wooden trusses, is illuminated by tall and slender gothic style single and mullioned windows. In the background is the beautiful high altar, marble, flanked by two baroque doors. : In the center it has a large support, for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, while behind it stands a frame of white stone dating back to the sixteenth century, formed by a base at the limits of which rise two Tuscan columns supporting a triangular tympanum. Three other altars are arranged in the chapels located on the left wall of the church.

All the chapels, opened at the end of the 15th century for devotional reasons, are particularly interesting, with their rounded tuff arches, finely carved pilasters, ornaments, frescoes and their polychrome marble altars.

The frescoes visible in the chapel of Saints Lucia and Apollonia depict the titular saints: that of Santa Apollonia is extremely abraded and is unfinished, while the one depicting the other Saint is clearly legible. The pictorial cycle is dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary, frescoed by an unknown in 1502 in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, it is unfortunately now legible only in a fragmentary way. The themes are: Annunciation; Visitation; Nativity; Presentation in the temple; Dispute among doctors; Christ mocked; Ascent to Calvary; Crucifixion; Resurrection; Ascension Day. Other remains of frescoes occupy the walls of the church, including a cycle of San Lazzaro, a Lamentation over the dead Christ, figures of saints. 

• 45.41783711.2450797 Church of Sant'Antonio, Via San Matteo (17th century). It was built in 1677 by Matteo Cusani, from a noble family who had rich possessions in Soave and in other places in the province of Verona. The interior features an altar, in Baroque style, and valuable paintings of the Via Crucis. 
• 45.42587811.2496668 Church of San Rocco (15th century). Leaving Porta Aquila, on the road that goes to Castelcerino, it was built in the 15th century on the site of an ancient Roman cemetery. In the 19th century, the architect Gottardi (the one who also worked on the Soavese parish church) had the facade turned from west to east. Here was the altarpiece of San Rocco del Morone, brought to the parish church for fear that it could be stolen. Currently the church is used for exhibitions and concerts, it is owned by the Municipality of Soavese and has recently been restored. 
• Sambonifacio Palace, Via Adolfo Mattielli / Corte Pittora (13th century). The ground floor has Romanesque style structures. The whole of the facade has sober lines. A legend tells that a tunnel from the cellars leads directly to the castle. 

• 45.4222511.248819 Justice palace, Antenna square (14th century). It overlooks Piazza dell'Antenna, which takes its name from the high plume that is placed there, on which the banner of the Serenissima was hoisted. Built in 1375 at the behest of Cansignorio della Scala who installed it as rector, governor and judge Pietro of the Montagna family (as you can read from an inscription in verse under the balcony). The twenty-two towns subjected to the Soavese Capitaniato contributed to its construction (including Soave, Colognola ai Colli, San Bonifacio, Monteforte d'Alpone and Bolca), listed on a plaque (the largest of the Scaligeri ones) on the façade. It is a building with a four-arched loggia; in the middle of the facade there is a balcony surmounted by a statue of the Virgin with the Child on her knees. Today the building houses a wine shop on the ground floor and on the upper floors the detached section of the Verona court, with the various offices and the large historic courtroom. 
• Scaligero Palace (city ​​Hall) (14th century). Built by the will of Cansignorio della Scala near Porta Aquila, it was the ancient residence of the Praetors and Governors of Soave; later, in the Venetian era, it became the residence of the Captains of the Serenissima. The nearby garden, very suggestive, was donated by the Zanella family to the Municipality of Soave. Restored in the 20th century, the building currently houses the municipal seat. 
• 45.4219611.2487810 Cavalli Palace (15th century). it was built in 1411 by the will of Nicolò Cavalli, captain of Soave, in the Venetian-Gothic style. The facade was once decorated with fifteenth-century frescoes with mythological subjects attributed to Giovanni Maria Falconetto from Verona. Today the building is owned by the Pomini family. 

Events and parties

• Medieval festival. The third Sunday of May.. Historical re-enactment, banquets of Arts and Crafts, Antico Palio delle Botti, the famous medieval Banquet, shows for children and tastings. 
• Grape festival. The third weekend of September.. Event with food stands and local cultural and folkloric events. On this occasion we remember an ancient legend that tells of a Nordic princess afflicted by a disfigured and wrinkled face who regained her beauty by wetting her face with grape juice garganega, ancient grape variety father of today's sweet. 
• Palio of San Lorenzo. In September. Ancient competition that takes place under the walls of the Castle and sees the 10 city districts compete. 

What to do

Shopping

• The white wine of Soave.

How to have fun

Where to eat

Average prices

• Antica Trattoria Da Amedeo, via Roma, 15, ☎ 39 045 6190234. 
• Osteria - Cantina Alla Scala, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 5, ☎ 39 045 7680010. 
• Pizzeria Trattoria La Torre, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 155, ☎ 39 045 7680235, @[email protected]. 
• Scaligera Pizzeria, via XXV Aprile, 17, ☎ 39 045 7680708. 
• Pizzeria Restaurant Stubai, via Nazionale S.S. 11, ☎ 39 045 6101599. 
• Hamlet restaurant, via Ettore Ruffo, 17, ☎ 39 045 6190830. 
• Lo Scudo Restaurant, via S. Matteo, 46, ☎ 39 045 7680766, @[email protected]. 
• Trattoria Dal Moro, Viale della Vittoria, 3, ☎ 39 045 7680204. 
• Trattoria Zorzi, Via Nazionale, 11, ☎ 39 045 7610571. 

Where stay

Average prices

• ^{[link not working]}Al Gambero Hotel Restaurant, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 5, ☎ 39 045 7680010, @[email protected]. 
• Hotel Cangrande Vitha hotel, viale del Commercio, 20, ☎ 39 045 6102424, @[email protected]. 
• Soave Relais Castelcerino, via Libertà 24 (In Castelcerino), ☎ 39 045 7675260, @[email protected]. Restaurant, pizzeria, hotel located on the Scaligere Hills of Soave at 380 meters above sea level, surrounded by greenery with a view over the valleys. External terrace and porch, large internal room and huge lawn. 
• Hotel Roxy Plaza hotel, Piazza Castagnedi, 1, ☎ 39 045 6190660, @[email protected]. 
• Soave Hotel Restaurant, Viale della Vittoria, 97, ☎ 39 045 7680067. 

Safety

Pharmacies

• Central, Place to the Fighter, 1, ☎ 39 045 7680012. 
• Frassoldati Vaccari, Piazza Castagnedi 9, ☎ 39 045 7680074. 

How to keep in touch

Post office

• 45.41922811.2436353 Italian post, Via Manzoni 12., ☎ 39 045 6190299, fax: 39 045 6190575. 

Around

• Illasi - One castle, one Venetian villa, some churches and the natural environment of the first hills are what this small town in the homonymous valley offers.

• Lonigo - Boasts two villas Pisani: one designed by Palladio has been on the list since 1996 UNESCO World Heritage Sites together with the other Palladian villas of the Veneto; the other is also known as Rocca Pisana and it is from Scamozzi.
• Verona

Itineraries

• Walled cities of Veneto. An itinerary to discover the strongholds and the history of Veneto.

Useful information

• 45.41990111.2472854 Tourist Office IAT Est Veronese, Piazza Foro Boario, 1, ☎ 39 045 6190773, @[email protected]. 
• 45.41924811.2474185 Pro Loco, Via XXV Aprile, 8, ☎ 39 045 7680648. 

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Soave
• Commons contains images or other files on Soave

Usable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).