Asolo, Italy (Veneto): What to See, Eat & Stay

Carducci called it the town of a hundred horizons, and the name has stuck: Asolo sits perched on a hill, with the medieval fortress above and the plain below. In 1489 Venice granted it as a fief to Caterina Cornaro, who had just lost the throne of Cyprus: the queen without a kingdom held a court of artists and poets there, and Pietro Bembo set Gli Asolani, his dialogue on love printed in 1505, in this very place.

After Italian unification the foreigners arrived: Robert Browning, Henry James, the explorer Freya Stark, and with them Eleonora Duse. Before them all had come Napoleon, who on 11 March 1797 slept here for one night and climbed Monte San Martino to watch the Austrians beyond the Piave. The earthquake of 1695, the one known as Santa Costanza, had meanwhile left its mark.

The Asolo guide

Where to stay

Compare hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes on Booking.com for your dates.

Events & festivals 1

Next up: Saint Prosdocimus of Padua, patron of the Palio of Queen Caterina Corner, Saturday 7 November

Getting there

Nearest airport: Treviso, 27 km away

🎉 Festivals and feasts in Asolo 1

Patron saint festival In 24 days

Saint Prosdocimus of Padua, patron of the Palio of Queen Caterina Corner

📅 Every year, on 7 November; since 1992 the Palio recalls Queen Caterina Corner's 1489 arrival

Asolo celebrates Saint Prosdocimus of Padua on 7 November. The Palio di Asolo has been held annually since 1992 and commemorates the arrival of Queen Caterina Corner, who in October 1489 reached the centre of Asolo climbing the 1,800 metres of the Foresto vecchio. Since 1976, on every second Sunday of the month, a well-attended antiques market has also been held.

What's around

Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.