The city of Asolo

Unanimously considered “the pearl of Treviso Province”, Asolo is one of the most appreciated tourist destinations in the Veneto region, and certainly one of the most reminiscent in all of Italy. The beautiful villas, well-maintained and skilfully-restored, the gardens, abundant with Mediterranean plants and flowers, the landscape, so spectucular in its natural setting, are the essence of Asolo's magical atmosphere. Walking through the narrow streets of Asolo that suddently open into dreaming horizons, breathing the perfume of flowers blossoming in every season and feeling involved in this magic is really a pleasant and rare privilege.
During the “Serenissima Repubblica di San Marco”, and in particular, under the rule of Caterina Cornaro (Queen of Cyprus, who received the dominion of Asolo from Venice exchanging it with Cyprus), this “town of a hundred horizons” became one of the most refined desitinations in Italy, visited by the most famous artists, among them Pietro Bembo, the great Venetian humanist author of the “Asolani”. In the middle of the XVIIth century Asolo was discovered by the English, by the poet Robert Browning, who bought a house here and here wrote the famous “Asolando”, and next by the American Eugene Benson, and then by the mythical Freya Stark at the beginning of the last century. The divine Eleonora Duse lived here for many years and asked to be buried in the Sant'Anna cemetery. Gianfrancesco Malipiero also choose Asolo as his shelter in life and death.
Ideal for walks and shopping in the old elegant workshops, Asolo has for many years been the Italian capital of the antique market. Italian and foreign antique dealers come to Asolo the second Sunday of every month (except July and August) for this cultural event. †Various other cultural events in the town include the “Asolo Musica” concerts, held in the old San Gottardo Church. The famous old embroidery school incorporates traditions dating back to the XVIth century.
A miniature town of untouched beauty, Asolo is dominated by the Rocca that crowns the hill, centered around the market square embellished by a XVth-century fountain, and filled with porticos and arches along the streets.
Historical buildings include one of the Queen Cornaro's XVth-century castle towers and the beautiful “Loggia del Capitanio”, the most important palace in Asolo. There is a long series of gorgeous Villas consisting of the Contarini Mocenigo, the Freya Stark, the Pasini, the Falier and the Villa degli Armeni.