Asolo
The walled medieval town of ASOLO, zwane the City of a hundred horizons (a city with a hundred horizons), reigns over a tightly knit group 27 low hills at the foot of the Dolomites. W 1234 r. Ezzelino da Romano snatched the city from the hands of the Bishop of Treviso; after Ezzelin's death, w 1259 r., the townspeople decided to put an end to the whole dynasty and murdered all members of his family, who were then in nearby San Zenone.
At the end of the 15th century. came to the city of Caterina Comaro - at her famous court there were people like Cardinal Bembo, one of the most eminent writers of his time, who coined the word asolare for pleasant, 1 but spending time pointlessly. Later writers and artists found the local atmosphere equally friendly; wrote about the city of Gabriele d'Annunzio; here the last published work of Robert Browning was born, Ravaging.
City
The bus from Bassano stops at the foot of the hill, from where the minibus runs to the city itself. Mementoes of the famous inhabitants of Asolo are collected in the Museo Civico in Piazza Maggiore (wt.-nd. 8.00-12.00 i 16.00-20.00; 1500 L). The portraits are of particular interest, photographs and personal belongings of Elenora Duse. This actress of the likes of Sarah Bernhardt was equally famous for her passionate loves, what about the roles in Shakespeare's plays, Hugo i Ibsen, and came to Asolo in search of refuge from rumors. She died in Pittsburgh during the St. 1924 r., but she wanted to be buried in Asolo, so her body was brought to the local church of Sant'Anna.
Of the museum's art collection, the two attributed works are the most interesting (rather dubiously) Bellinim, portrait Ezzelina, painted a few centuries after his death, and several large sculptures by Canova.
Teatro Duse occupies part of the Castello, which is currently mostly under renovation.
From 1489 do 1509 r. Caterina Cornaro lived here, one of the few women, which played a significant role in the history of Venice. She was born in one of the most powerful Venetian families, and later married James II, king of Cyprus. A year after the wedding, Jacob died and Caterina was subjected to pressure from the Venetian rulers for almost ten years, who wanted to take over this strategically important island. W 1489 r. Katarzyna abdicated, to obtain weapons and ships necessary for defense against the Turks. Brought to Venice to sign the act of "donation" of Cyprus to the republic, Asolo was given as a token of gratitude to Venice. Eventually, Asolo was also taken from her, which was taken by Emperor Maximilian, and returned to seek refuge in Venice, where she died soon (1510).
Practical information
Tourist information is provided by Pro Loco in via Regina Cornaro, near the museum; the city maps they give away are useful, even if not very legible. Overnight stay is out of the question, because there are only two luxury hotels here. However, you can find several bars and restaurants here. Enoteca Marcello Agnoletto is an excellent wine bar in via Browning (pn. close), in La Papessa przy via Pietro Bembo (Wed. close) offers a great selection of pizzas and some other interesting dishes.
Villa Barbaro w Maser
Of all the villas in Veneto, a villa, for which it is most worth making the effort of the expedition, is Villa Barbaro in MASER, a few kilometers northeast of Asolo (VI-IX wt., sb. i nd. 15.00-18.00; X-XII and III-V wt., sb. i nd. 14.00-17.00; I i II sb. i nd. 14.00-17.00; 5000 L). When traveling from villa to inland villa, a person gets used to the discrepancy between the quality of the architecture and the quality of the ornamentation, but in Maser you can admire two outstanding figures of the 16th century Italian civilization - Palladia and Paola Veronese, whose creative paths have only met here.
The villa was built between 50. XVIw. by Daniel and Marcantonia Barbaro, whose wide interests and education in the humanities made, that the design of the building was for Palladio an endeavor that required more collaboration than the others.
The entire ground floor was put into use by a farm - dovecotes in the outer pavilions, stables and granaries under the arcades, administrative offices in the central building. The sophistication of the brothers was reflected in the living quarters of the piano nobile, covered with a series of Verones frescoes, which is unmatched in all of northern Italy. The more convoluted scenes are explained in the perfect guide, which can be purchased at the villa, but most of the paintings require no commentary. The walls of the villa are covered with frescoes, which are one of the greatest achievements of trompe-l'oeil - the servants look at the painted door of the hall, the dog sniffs along the low railing in front of the landscape with ruins, the hunter (probably Veronese himself) enters the house through a solid wall. (There is speculation, that the woman looking at the hunter from across the house was Verones' lover.)
The Tempietto rises on the land in front of the villa, the only church, which Palladio designed outside of Venice and one of his last works; Marcantonio ordered it ten years after his brother's death, and was built in 1580, when Palladio himself also died.