Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A TRIP
BASSANO DEL GRAPPA, ASOLO & PALLADIO'S VILLA MASER
A road trip north from Vicenza takes you through one of Italy's most sophisticated stretches of coun-
tryside. You can visit all the key sites, even with a latish start and leisurely lunch.
Head first to Bassano del Grappa, which sits with charming simplicity on the banks of the Brenta
river as it winds its way free from Alpine foothills. Located 35km northeast of Vicenza, the town is
famous above all for its namesake spirit, a fiery distillation of winemaking leftovers: skins, pulp, seeds
and stems. The town's most important structure is the
Ponte degli Alpini
(aka Ponte Vecchio), the
covered bridge designed by Palladio. At the
Poli Museo della Grappa
( 0424 52 44 26;
www.poligrappa.com
;
Via Gamba 6; 9am-7.30pm) , you can drink in four centuries' his-
tory of Bassano's signature grappa (including a free tasting). Before heading out of town, have lunch
at the brightly contemporary
Ristorante Al Ponte
(
0424 21 92 74;
www.alpontedibassano.com
;
Via Volpato 60; meals €35-50;
lunch Wed-Sun, dinner Tue-Sun) , with its garden seating and per-
fect river views.
About 17km east of Bassano rises
Asolo
, known as the 'town of 100 vistas' for its panoramic hill-
side location, once the haunt of Romans and Veneti and a personal gift from Venice to Caterina, 15th-
century queen of Cyprus, in exchange for her abdication. A historical hit with writers, including Pietro
Bembo, Gabriele d'Annunzio and Robert Browning, its highbrow heritage outstrips its small size.
Another 5km east lies
Villa Maser
( 423 92 30 04;
www.villadimaser.it
; adult/reduced €6/5;
10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Jun & Sep-Oct, 10.30am-6pm Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun Mar, Jul & Aug,
11am-5pm Sat & Sun Nov-Feb) , where Palladio and Paolo Veronese conspired to create the Veneto
countryside's finest monument to
la bella vita
(the beautiful life). Palladio set the arcaded yellow villa
into a verdant hillside with a fanciful grotto out the back. Inside Paolo Veronese nearly upstages his
collaborator with wildly imaginative trompe l'œil architecture of his own. Vines climb the walls of the
Stanza di Baccho; an alert watchdog keeps one eye on the painted door of the Stanza di Canuccio
(Little Dog Room); and in a corner of the frescoed grand salon, the painter has apparently forgotten
his spattered shoes and broom.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Verona
POP 263,950
Shakespeare placed star-crossed lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet in Verona for
good reason: romance, drama and fatal family feuding have been the city's hallmark for
centuries. From the 3rd century BC Verona was a Roman trade centre with ancient gates, a
forum (now Piazza delle Erbe) and a grand Roman arena, which still serves as one of the
world's great opera venues. In the Middle Ages the city flourished under the wrathful Sca-
