Category: Italy

Francesco suggested that we needed to see the village of Asolo not far from Bassano del Grappa but that public transportation wasn’t available. His solution was to drive us there himself! In spite of the threat of rain, we headed out. On the way, we passed the home where Ernest Hemingway lived while recovering from war injuries. He wrote A Farewell to Arms while there.

It was only a 30-minute scenic drive around curving, narrow roads. The upscale village, visited by many celebrities, is on a hilltop with excellent views of the surrounding countryside.

Our first stop was to visit The Church of Sant’Angelo with frescoes that date back to the 14th century and 15th century.

The town with it’s towers,

has lots of history and charm but would be a bit isolated to visit without a car.

On the way out of town, Francesco wanted us to see a palazzo by the the Italian architect Andrea Palladio.

Before we left Asolo, we stopped for a snack and a drink. We are fortunate to have had a delightful local to show us around! Francesco knows much about the history of this region and has been happy to share his knowledge.

Thursday is our last full day in Bassano del Grappa. It’s market day and we’ll probably make a trip to the laundromat and plan for out next stop…Chioggia. All is well!

Ciao!

 

 

 

Francesco, the owner of the building where we are staying, offered to resume our tour of the city where we left off yesterday, when it started to rain. He grew up in Bassano and he has shared many stories and showed us some of the city’s treasures. It takes some time to become familiar with a city and we always remind ourselves that first impressions aren’t always accurate. At first look, Bassano might have looked a little sleepy, but it turns out that is has much to offer.

We made a stop at Libreria Palazzo Roberti… a fantastic bookstore with a complicated history. The short version is that it was a 17th century palace where Napoleon lived for six months.  Many years later, a local photographer became very wealthy from his design of the camera tripod and he used his wealth to buy the palazzo for his daughters to set up a bookshop. It’s still going strong today and the daughters are still running the shop.

Behind the bookshop is a beautiful garden;

On the top floor of the shop, they were setting up for a book signing event. It’s an incredible store.

The tour continued and we stopped to see Carteria Tassotti, a paper shop with cards, prints, and gift wrap in beautiful Italian designs. The shop also houses  Giorgio Tassotti’s collection of decorated papers, popular prints, and books.

Francesco walked us by the castle (closed on Tuesday) and down a steep hill to Bassano del Grappa’s own Ponte Vecchio. The bridge spans the old town and a newly renovated part of town with hip restaurants and shops. The bridge has been rebuilt a few times due to flooding but with modern reinforcements, it’s holding strong today.

Our tour today ended with a pre-lunch aperitivo of Mezzoemezzo, described on the website as “Smooth, bittersweet and herbal, Mezzoemezzo is the original aperitivo from the house of Nardini in Bassano del Grappa. To best enjoy its rhubarb notes and citrus and bitter overtones serve cold with soda water in equal parts and a lemon peel.” It’s good!

We like this low-key city very much. There was a torrential rain storm this afternoon but we were inside when it began. Many shops are closed on Tuesday so with that and the rainy weather, it’s very quiet here this evening.

We have two more full days here. It’s a great place! Francesco has introduced us to some of Bassano del Grappa’s treasures and we’re grateful.

Today there are strikes and marches across Italy to protest the situation in Gaza. Local public transportation, ports, schools and public services have been affected.

We are fortunate that the travel goddesses are with us today. When we emailed the owner of the apartment in Bassano del Grappa to say that we were unsure of the reliability of the train schedule due to the strike, he told us that he would come to Treviso and pick us up for a fee of €50. That seemed reasonable to us considering the uncertainty of schedules and the likelihood of rain today. We set a pickup location and time and on the dot, Francesco drove up and with commentary about local sites, he brought us to Bassano del Grappa. We learned that the town is named for the Mt. Grappa rather than the popular Italian brandy. We are grateful for his kindness. In addition to a tour around the city, he bought us an aperitivo (all before noon!)

When we arrived in Bassano, we saw people dispersing from a public demonstration to protest the situation in Gaza. These events are happening all over Italy today.

Before the rain, Francesco gave is a brief tour of the city. There are two major piazzas. Piazza Libertà and Piazza Garabaldi.

Nearby is a statue of Jacopo Bassano (1510), a famous artist who lived his entire life here.  He took the name of the village (Bassano del Grappa) as his surname.

We are staying in a small apartment which is larger than our last accommodation and it has a well-equipped small kitchen.

Francesco tells us that the restaurants in Treviso are better than the restaurants here. We haven’t had a chance to compare but we had some terrific meals in Treviso. Sunday lunch at All’Antico Portico was delicious roast veal and polenta.

And ravioli with eggplant, tomatoes, and bacon.

After lunch we attended an organ concert at the church of Sant’Augustino. The organ was built in 1858.

So we are grateful to be in Bassano del Grappa and the kindness of people along the way – especially Francesco who brought us here. Now, we’re waiting for the rain to stop so we can check out the sights! We will stay here 4 nights total.

Hoping all is well with you!

Sharon and Larry

Treviso is a relaxed city that is easy to enjoy. This is the entrance to our room on the 3rd floor in a renovated apartment building with an elevator.

From our front door, we have a view of a tower and the cafe where we have breakfast each morning is just a few steps away.

We walked to the Saturday market which was buzzy with activity. Shoppers were buying cheap clothes, kitchen supplies, shoes, produce, flowers, meats and cheeses. It is still very warm so we didn’t linger long.

The interior of the Cathedral is not as grand as some we’ve visited in other cities, but it is a calm and welcoming space. I returned to get another look at the painting titled “Annunciation” by the Venetian artist Titian.

Around town, the bookstore is featuring the latest Dan Brown novel;

flower shops are selling bouquets of sunflowers;

And windowsills are decorated with seasonal flowers.

We’ve had some excellent meals in Treviso. The dish that wins the prize for the most unusual was the Vitello Tonnato at Osteria Urbana. It’s a classic Piedmontese dish of thinly sliced veal topped with a sauce of tuna, crunchy capers and mayonnaise.

We are scheduled to leave Treviso tomorrow but our departure may be complicated by a planned transportation strike.  We hope to make it to Bassano del Grappa tomorrow afternoon! Fingers crossed!

We chose Treviso as our first stop because we felt that it was a small city with not so many sights and a good place to recharge after a long flight. But, there is quite a lot to see and do here…it’s a charming place! Some people call Treviso “the little Venice”.

We began our first day with a visit to the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle known as “il Duomo”. It’s origin dates back to the early Christian era (6th century.)  We were fascinated by the crypt, the oldest part of the cathedral.

With some beautiful frescos:

Later in the day, we checked out some of the osterie which serve Italian style tapas called cicchetti. Our favorite was Osteria dalla Gigia, and the specialty there is a delicious deep fried “sandwich” of mozzarella and ham called “Mozzarella in Carozza”. The place is small with standing room only…inside or outside.

Along with our snack, we enjoyed a Campari Spritzer.

There are many fun shops around town…this one sells beautifully curated produce.

The high temperature today is a very warm 84 degrees. We’re off soon to explore the Saturday market!

Cheers!

 

 

The availability  of a direct flight from Atlanta to Venice gives us many options for visiting northern Italy. Our flight was turbulence-free and we arrived in Venice on time today. We arranged transport from the airport to Treviso in a van service called Go-Opti. Our driver, who previously transported people to the hospital via ambulance, is now content to drive passengers to holiday destinations. His driving was rapid, very efficient and we arrived in Treviso in about 20 minutes.

We picked up our room key at a nearby pasticceria. Our room at Residenza Ca’Fe is basic but in a great location in the center of town. After a rest, we ventured out to find dinner but we were disappointed with a not-so-memorable pasta meal. We wandered around town and were excited to find beautiful architecture, piazzas, porticos, many lively dining places, and people enjoying a lovely evening. Treviso is a very atmospheric town – especially at night.

Tomorrow, we will explore further, maybe check out a local museum, and make plans for a better dining experience.

We are looking forward to learning more about the Treviso, the Veneto Region, and beyond! We are in for the day and resting up to prepare for more adventure!