3 MAY 2016
ARTICLES | RELEASES
Walking between Asolo and Possagno – tourist route
Starting from the marvelous historic centers of Asolo and Possagno, rich in art and history, where you can breathe a magical atmosphere in the Venetian hills, the itinerary will make you discover other gems of the area: from Andrea Palladio’s Villa di Maser, Heritage UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Brion Tomb designed by the architect Carlo Scarpa; up to the Tipoteca Antiga in Cornuda, where you can learn about the development of Italian typography and printing over the centuries.
It is advisable to use the route with its own motorized vehicles. We also recommend taking this itinerary in the spring / summer period, when you can enjoy long and sunny days and admire the wonderful panorama of the Asolo hills. However, the itinerary is feasible in all periods of the year.
The itinerary takes an entire day. Given its length, you can adapt it yourself according to your preferences and time availability, choosing the stages you prefer. It is advisable to check the days and opening hours of the sites of interest before departure.
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THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
ASOLO
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The first stop on the itinerary is the wonderful Asolo: take some time to visit the characteristic historic center with Piazza Garibaldi and the cathedral, the Rocca and the medieval walls, the Palazzo della Ragione and the Civic Museum.
Visit time: 2 h 30 minutes
Driving directions: the historic center of Asolo is the first stop on the itinerary.
How to visit: free visit of the historic center.
Asolo is one of the most fascinating historic centers in Italy, a destination for poets and writers, artists and travelers of all eras and defined by the poet Giosuè Carducci as the “City of a hundred horizons”. In the taverns, restaurants, cafes and wine bars that overlook the characteristic arcades and squares, you can enjoy excellent dishes prepared with the best local products and linked to the Venetian culinary tradition. Inhabited since prehistoric times, Asolo is now one of the “most beautiful villages in Italy” and has been awarded the “Orange Flag of the Touring Club”: it is also a “Slow City” and “City of Wine”. Piazza Garibaldi with the sixteenth-century fountain dominated by the winged lion of St. Mark is the heart of the city: here we find the Cathedral, whose current layout dates back to 1584. In 1606, following the collapse of the roof, the roof was rebuilt, the apse and the main altar. Today the cathedral has three naves with stone columns: inside there are, among other works, two important altarpieces by Lorenzo Lotto and Jacopo Da Ponte; the external façade was remodeled in 1889 to a design by Pietro Saccardo, who juxtaposed the visible face to the old façade. On the top of Monte Ricco overlooking the center of Asolo we see the mighty irregular polygon structure of the Rocca, dating back to the period between the mid – late 12th and 13th centuries: for its construction a part of the residential settlement was demolished and some burials of the pre-existing necropolis. For the entire period between the plant and 1510, the year of the last war episode that involved the fortress, it housed a military garrison. Already from the sixteenth century. the decline of the fortress began: in 1650 an attempt was even made to sell it for 320 ducats, but the Asolan community managed to prevent this from happening.
From the terraces of the fortress it is now possible to enjoy a view that goes from the Po Valley to the entire surrounding Alps, up to the Venice Lagoon. Around the fortress develops the 1360 meter walls of the fourteenth century, built when Asolo became the object of bitter and continuous struggles between the Lords of Verona, Padua and the Serenissima: the circuit includes the settled area, the Castle and the Rocca , which became a strategic sighting point. Also noteworthy is the 10th century Castle, home of Ezzelino Da Romano (1242) and seat of the Venetian podestà (1339), as well as the home of Caterina Cornaro in 1489.
Other elements of particular interest: Pietro Bembo set “The Asolani” in the garden of the Castle of Asolo. The famous theater actress Eleonora Duse, who lived between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, stayed on several occasions and is buried here. In 1798 the Aula Pretoria of the Castle was transformed into a theater.
Now move in the direction of Possagno, but first stop at the Maglio di Pagnano, one of the many water mills in the area. Built in 1474 and recently restored, it still has the original structure with the mallet, the grindstones and the hydroeolic trumpet that blows the air on the forge and bellows.
MAGLIO DI PAGNANO
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Address: locality Pagnano, Asolo (TV)
In the locality of Pagnano several water mills were built over the centuries, given the presence of the two streams Muson and Erega. Among them, one of the most im
, home to a museum dedicated to typography and book art. Here you can learn about the tools of printing, with documents, original objects, films and workshops.
Visit time: 30 min
Driving directions: Via Canapificio 3, Cornuda (TV).
typoteca-characters
Tipoteca Italiana was born from the idea of the Antiga brothers, owners of Grafiche Antiga. It represents a permanent structure of collection, conservation and research on the culture of the typeface and the history of typography. The museum houses various printing tools, documents and original objects from national printing and typographies. The library, which prefers rare and ancient editions, reflecting the Italian excellence of the sector, instead collects about 5,000 volumes, such as technical manuals of machines, historical magazines and samples of Italian foundries and typographies of characters from 1628 to the 1970s; artist and letterpress books and reference texts for the history of typography, book history, graphics and paper. Adjacent to the exhibition path, Tipoteca has set up an internal printing house, which uses perfectly restored original machines. Italian Mortgage is located in the restored buildings of the ancient Canapificio Veneto, while the museum spaces are organized in the premises of the former church of Santa Teresa, of which you have the original entrance keys, and in the adjacent guesthouse. Mortgage also organizes training courses, educational activities and workshops, making use of the collaboration of Italian and international designers.
Other elements of particular interest
The Canapificio Veneto, where Tipoteca is based, dates back to the late nineteenth century and represents an excellent testimony of industrial archeology, where hemp was processed to produce ropes.
Opening hours and days
From Tuesday to Friday: 9: 00-13: 00/14: 00-18: 00 / Saturday: 14: 00-18: 00
Monday and Saturday: 9: 00-13: 00 by appointment. Closed on public holidays
MASER’S VILLA
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