The fortified borough of Asolo - The city of hundred horizons.

Dear friends of Hive and Pinmapple, today I want to bring you with me to one of the most beautiful borough in Italy. I'm talking about Asolo, a small town of 9000 inhabitants in the province of Treviso in Italy, located on Monte Ricco (310m), which is part of a hilly complex that precedes the Belluno Alps. Originating well before the Roman Empire, today it mostly shown the characteristics of a medieval borough, with the remains of the walls that protected the village, with its palaces and historic villas that are located among the small stone streets of the borough, dominated by the Rocca which is located on the top of the mountain.

In the past, the poet Giosuè Carducci called it "the city of a hundred horizons", due to the 360° view that can be enjoyed walking through the borough of Asolo, on the surrounding hills and plains, mostly made up of vineyards and olive groves.

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My partner @giovi86 and I visited Asolo this year on January 4, the first visit or discovery of 2023. We had never been to this splendid borough, but we had often heard of it, famous for its beauty and typical gastronomic products . Expectations were high due to the rumors we had heard and I tell you that it didn't disappoint us at all, on the contrary, as we left we agreed that we would surely have had to go back, also because although is a small borough is rich in historical and artistic importance, so much so that a single day was not enough to visit it completely.

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We arrived in Asolo late in the morning, so we decided to take a walk, while we were looking for a place to eat something typical and local. Once in Piazza Garibaldi, the heart of the borough, we saw in the distance at the opposite end a typical tavern with the pleasant name "Porchetta a Manetta da Franco", which offered typical dishes of the area, simple, like those of the past, but with products of the highest quality. So much so that we stopped there to eat, we had take some good Asolo wine and two sandwiches with soppressa and fresh cheese, which were huge and delicious, they filled us up for the whole day. Happy with the lunch, simple but very good, we started making friends with the owner of the tavern, a very nice gentleman named Franco, to whom I asked to be able to take some photos and he replied that he would be happy, so after taking some photos and talking a bit, he offered me and @giovi86 a good glass of Vin Brulè, for those who don't know what it is, it is a typical drink that is drunk in Italy during the winter, composed mainly from red wine, apple and cinnamon cooked together. At the end of the day we went back again to find Franco, to buy some typical cheese, which I really like, it's called the "Bastardo del Grappa" and an Asolana grappa.

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After lunch, on a beautiful sunny day, we immediately go exploring the place, starting from the Rocca which overlooks the entire borough. To reach it, go north from Piazza Garibaldi, where we can admire the majestic Scotti-Pasini villa.

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Continuing north-west we walk on via Dante, which will go alongside the entrance to the villa, where next to it is the ancient 5-star hotel "Albergo al Sole" and the "house of the Befana". I renamed it this way because of all those epiphanesque decorations that it had on its walls.

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Going up the mountain, the streets become narrower and more characteristic, walking along these historic streets, we reach the Convent of Saints Peter and Paul, where the city street ends and passing under Porta Colmarion, an arch of the walls that protected the borough, you begin to walk the very long staircase that leads to the Rocca.

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I haven't counted the steps, but I think they were a some hundreds, there was a little girl halfway through the path who jumped from one step to another and counted them, she had reached about 300... However, at every curve steps and after more steps... But although the ascent never ended, we did not feel tired because the landscape that surrounded us was spectacular, trought the borough walls and olive trees.

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Until we climbed the whole hill and reached its top, in front of the high walls of the Rocca, which unfortunately was closed that day... We couldn't visit it, because it is only open to the public during the weekend. I found it a bit strange during the festive period and with all the visitors who were there but it will mean that we will come back to visit it. The Rocca dates back to the 12th century, but there is talk of defensive settlements dating back to earlier times than the Roman one, in the beginning it did not belong to the borough of Asolo, but it was a separate fortress, but in the following centuries during the dominion of the Serenissima (Venice), it became the fortress of Asolo and symbol of the fortified town.

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After descending from the Rocca, we returned along the same path that brought us back to Piazza Garibaldi, where the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta stands. Is the Duomo of the borough, an ancient church whose foundations date back to Roman times and rebuilt during the sixteenth century. The church preserve a Nativity scene which is a work by the artist Goffredo Moroder, created in 1926. A truly enchanting work, with very accurate details and refined workmanship. The photos unfortunately have some reflections, because it was rightly kept behind a thick arched glass. Moreover in the church there is the centenary organ that stands above the entrance, very nice to see, with a certain grandeur.

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Just outside the Duomo, we saw something that intrigued us on a panoramic terrace, it looked like a statue sitting on a bench. And it was just like that, a bronze artwork by Severino Morlin, created in 2018 and donated to Asolo in 2021. Very particular and especially in that position and context it expressed great passion, we stayed a few minutes to observe and admire it.

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Continuing through the streets of Asolo, the characteristic houses of the Middle Ages, with architectures of artistic importance were around every corner, it was very nice and relaxing to discover this splendid little town. Each street was a discovery of art and history, a city that has called many artists and writers to itself over the centuries.

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Among various famous people who lived in Asolo, such as Gabriele D'Annunzio, romantically close to Eleonora Duse, the diva of the Italian Theater, nicknamed "La Divina", we see the Important English writer and photographer Freya Stark, who lived until age of 100 to then be buried in Asolo, where her historic villa still stands. A revolutionary woman, who in the 30s and 40s of the last century traveled to the Middle East, to countries such as Syria, Iran and Iraq, to write reports that would later be published all over the world.

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Just beyond the villa, we find a small fountain that dates back to 1571, La Fontanella Zen, wanted precisely by the will of the aristocratic Zen family.

Walking and walking through the magical and evocative streets of Asolo, among a thousand amazements that accompanied this splendid day, we arrived in the evening and it was time to go back, as I mentioned before, we passed by our new friend Franco, of the "Porchetta a Manetta" tavern to buy some of its special gastronomic products typical of Asolo, and then head home, accompanied by the sunset that broke the sun's rays on the walls of Asolo.

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Dear friends, that's all for today, I strongly recommend you to visit Asolo if one day you will be in northern Italy for a holiday, it really deserves to be seen, one of the most beautiful borough in Italy, where you can breathe historicity, art and gastronomic passion. @giovi86 and I spent a day to remember, we had a lot of fun but at the same time we discovered many new historical hints, new artists that we didn't know and that attracted our curiosity, a series of new acquaintances that we carry with us and they let us discover a little more of our beautiful world.

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Friends always keep curiosity alive! It makes us grow, discover and dream.

Thank you for the precious time you have dedicated to me, a greeting and a hug from @stea90, stay tuned for the next experience.

All texts, photos, videos and images in this post are property of the author @stea90 - For CCO images that may be used, the source is always declared.

Camera	Sony Alpha 6000
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Image processing: GIMP and Inkscape
Photo processing and development: Photoshop Express

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