The town is a hidden gem with excellent restaurants, lots of history and very kind people. Our host Francesco at Marinali Rooms was a font of historical knowledge about the city and he made our time there even more interesting. Every Thursday, there is a huge market that covers the main piazzas and spills into the side streets.
In addition to clothing and kitchen goods, merchants sell fruits, vegetables and some prepared foods. We bought a roasted chicken, potato cakes, and added cooked carrots, fennel, and zucchini for a really nice evening meal.
For lunch, Francesco made a reservation for us at Osteria all’ Amicizia. On market day, the fresh seafood market truck is parked near their restaurant and they use the day’s catch to make a delicious fritto misto (mixed fried fish). With a salad of fresh greens it was an excellent lunch.
Osteria all’ Amicizia is an atmospheric, traditional osteria.
There are several museums in town and we had time to visit just one…the Museo Civico di Bassano, with an interesting exhibition on printmaking. We saw sample of prints from Dutch artist Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt. There is a large collection of ancient and contemporary ceramics. This large vase was made in Bassano around 1890.
This morning we packed up and walked to the train station for our trip to Chioggia. Trains are clean, comfortable and offer options for ticketing. The first leg of our trip was a one hour ride to the bustling Venice Mestre Station. From there we transferred to a very crowded bus. The entire trip took about 2 hours. Chioggia is located just south of Venice and one guide describes it this way:
“Chioggia is a gem of the Venetian Lagoon — less crowded than Venice but full of character, history, sea, and charm.”
We got to the hotel before the rain started but once here, there was a downpour so we haven’t had a chance to see the town. A view from our room shows a tower and lots of water pouring from the gutters of the building next door.
We might miss being in Bassano del Grappa but we’re looking forward to a nice seafood dinner this evening and time to explore Chioggia the next two days. Hoping for blue skies!
