The city of a hundred horizons
On a hill at the foot of Monte Grappa, Asolo is one of the most elegant and romantic villages of the Veneto, and one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia". The poet Giosuè Carducci called it "the city of a hundred horizons", for the views that open from its streets over the hills, the plain and the mountains. Its history is linked to Caterina Cornaro, the Venetian noblewoman who had been Queen of Cyprus: in 1489 the Republic forced her to abdicate and gave her the lordship of Asolo in exchange, where she held a refined Renaissance court of poets and artists, including Pietro Bembo, who set his dialogue on love, Gli Asolani, here.
Asolo has always attracted writers and artists: the English poet Robert Browning, who dedicated his last collection to it, the actress Eleonora Duse, who is buried in the cemetery of Sant'Anna, and the explorer and travel writer Freya Stark, who lived here for many years. The centre, with its arcaded streets, palaces and fountains, is dominated by the Rocca, a medieval fortress on the top of the hill with a magnificent view, and by the Castello della Regina Cornaro, now a theatre. The Museo Civico has memorabilia of Duse and Canova.
Tip: on the second Sunday of each month there is an antiques market; nearby are Villa Barbaro at Maser and the Gipsoteca of Canova at Possagno.
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