Bassano del Grappa - an obscure Italian treasure
Written: Mar 09 '04 (Updated Jun 13 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Simply gorgeous and relatively undiscovered
Cons: You really need a car to explore this area.
The Bottom Line: Great base for touring northern Veneto. I'm going to try to get back there some springtime.
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| lyagushka's Full Review: Bassano del Grappa |
Bassano del Grappa is a small fortified town situated at the foot of the Dolomite Mountains in the Veneto region of Italy. This charming medieval town can serve as perfect base for touring the region, which boasts many natural and cultural attractions. Not least among those attractions is its relative obscurity. With the city of Venice as the main draw of Veneto, few foreigners bother to explore the more rural parts of this region. Some Italians and other dedicated skiers use Bassano del Grappa as their stopover point on the way to the Dolomite slopes, but it is otherwise mostly ignored by outsiders.
Because Bassano del Grappa lies near, but not in, the Dolomites these mountains loom large over the town. The glimpses we caught of the snow-capped peaks of Mount Grappa as we turned through the narrow cobblestone lanes of the town never failed to surprise us and sometimes took our breath away. It also lies fairly close to the Austrian border. And since this area has at times come within the purview of that nation, there is a noticeably Germanic appearance to the people here. While the natives of most parts of Italy are uniformly dark haired, there are many dark blondes here and lighter eyes.
The town's architecture ranges from quite medieval in feeling, to exceptionally beautiful examples of the baroque. Since it is a river town, most of the old town is built on a fairly steep slope. The old town itself can be traversed in about half an hour of brisk walking, but much development has spread beyond the old city walls and indeed, across the river. The cobblestone streets of the old town give way in a few places to stairs, and all the streets of the old town are pleasingly narrow. Americans and those unaccustomed to cities that grew up before the advent of the automobile will need to learn to trust the drivers in these tight spaces. Don't place too much trust in them however. When there are no sidewalks, hug the buildings and always stay alert.
Bassano del Grappa is one point of the newly recognized Esagono, or "hexagon" of six ancient fortified towns in north-central Veneto. These six towns have joined together in order to promote the rich cultural heritage of this area. The tourist information offices in each town offer the Esagano card free of charge to visitors. The card secures discounts for the many civic museums and some restaurants and other businesses. Along with Bassano del Grappa, the towns of Asolo, Cittadella, Castelfranco Veneto, Marostica and Possagno complete the hexagon.
Attractions
Bassano del Grappa boasts a lively mixed market on Saturday mornings. This is a good opportunity to drink in the local color and pick up some souvenirs, culinary or otherwise. We bought an entire sopressa salami and some Asiago staggionatto to bring home to Belgium with us.
During our visit, the Museo Civico had an exhibit of Antonio Canova's exquisite neo-classical marble sculptures and numerous sketches and drawings. This renowned artist was born in the neighboring town of Possagno and many of the artist's works have remained in this region since his death in 1822. The exhibit, which runs through April, 2004, features statues by the master that have traveled from as far away as Kiev and St. Petersburg to be part of this show, the first major retrospective of Canova's work. Even without the loan of artworks from world class museums such as the Hermitage, the Museo Civico has an impressive collection in its own right, including Canova's magnificent Italic Venus. The museum is easy to find, just off the Piazza Garibaldi and is well worth a visit.
That picture at the top of this page features the iconic bridge of Bassano, first built in 1209 and known either as the Ponte Vecchio or the Ponte degli Alpini. (Click on it for a larger view of the bridge and town.) In years gone by, traders bringing their goods along the Brenta River would pull up their boats at the foot of this bridge and partake of the local grappa at a bar on the eastern side of the river. To this day a bar nestles up to the city wall at the entrance to this pedestrian bridge. The perpetually busy Bar Nardini has atmosphere to spare and still serves grappa to its customers, including a special grappa rossa, available only locally. They've even developed an eponymous house drink made from seltzer, grappa rossa and a squeeze of lemon juice. You should try one!
Even if you're not interested in tasting the grappa that put this town on the map, at least one visit to this bridge should be on your list of things to do. During the day you will have a magnificent view of the mountains from the center of the pedestrian bridge. And at night, the lights of the town reflect beautifully off the placid surface of the river. The evening promenade from 5 to 7pm is another lovely time to visit the bridge. You will find people running errands, romantic couples leaning on the banister over the river and elderly gentlemen gathering to chew the fat over a grappa or two. It's a lively and very beautiful spot without seeming too touristy.
During our winter trip the Piazza Garibaldi was decked out quite festively for the holidays and there was a lovely old wooden carousel in the square. As in most Italian towns of this age, many of the cobblestone streets are entirely pedestrian or nearly so. And as Bassano is a river town, some of the streets are steep enough to turn into staircases, but we didn't mind - it helped us burn off our meals. Just wandering the beautiful old streets of this town would be a lovely way to spend an hour or so. If you want to wander in a greener area, the Parco Ragazzi del '99 is on the northwest edge of the town and would probably make a nice setting for a picnic lunch during summer months.
Shopping
Although Bassano del Grappa is a small town, there are plenty of shopping opportunities for those so inclined. There are ceramics made from a local white clay that closely resembles porcelain. You will find several shops selling these ceramics along the streets that lead to the central bridge.
The Carteria Tassotti shop, located at Via Ferracina, is something very special. A revival of an ancient press started by the Remondini family in Bassano del Grappa around 1660, this fascinating vendor of art prints, cards, wrapping paper, stationery sets, address books, diaries and other decorative items is worth a visit even if you don't plan to buy. Prices are somewhat steep, even for those not contending with a lousy dollar-euro exchange rate. But the prints here are truly wonderful to browse through. It's almost like visiting a museum; such is the chronological and thematic range of the prints. I especially liked the color prints of game birds and prize hens. The room upstairs holds examples of every print the shop sells and also offers a great view of the river and bridge from the window.
If you should need to pick up a road map while you're in Bassano del Grappa, I recommend the Libreria Palazzo Roberti, a great bookstore with gorgeous art books and a plenty of tourist guides for the area. There are even a few English language books, mostly bestselling fiction.
Venzo is a large gastronomia on via Jacapo da Ponte, and a glutton's vision of heaven. This gourmet wonderland would be top choice for anyone self-catering in the area. They offer not just a beautiful array of cheeses, meats, desserts, fresh pasta and prepared dishes, but a very impressive selection of wines. Here you can purchase local products typical of the region and some from other regions of Italy as well. Venzo and many other stores sell the dried mushrooms that the region is known for.
Restaurants and Dining
Like everywhere else in Italy, lunch and dinner take place at specific times in Bassano del Grappa. Almost all restaurants close for some hours during the afternoon, and will turn away prospective guests who show up too close to closing time. Lunch can generally be had if you show up between noon and 2pm, and dinner starts around 8pm at the very earliest. It is always a good idea to make a reservation for your meals in Italy, though this is much less important for lunch than for dinner. Making a reservation is considered a sign of respect, even if it's made only a half hour beforehand. This is especially true in smaller towns, where restaurants are less likely to get casual walk-in business. Calling ahead gives the restaurant a chance to plan their evening, or to turn you down politely if they are already full, without having to embarrass you in front of other guests. In general there is no thought of turning over the tables for later guests. If you secure a table for dinner, it is yours for the evening. Be sure to make a reservation whenever you can.
Bar Breda is a tiny enoiteca (sic) located at one end of the old town, on Vicolo Jacopo da Ponte. It's difficult to describe what a cool place this is. Most customers show up here almost as if by chance, and remain standing around the counter which takes up about half the length of the cozy single room. We saw a few people pop in with their dogs, clearly out for the evening walk with man's best friend. Off to the other end of the small room are three tiny tables with benches and chairs. The idea is basically to have a glass of wine and some of the small, cheap eats displayed in the cold case. It is said that Italians don't like to drink without eating something and that seemed to hold true here. The offerings were very simple: a range of bite-sized, delicious sandwiches - nothing more complicated than that. We loved the wonderful, casual atmosphere here, the gracious hospitality of the proprietor and the impressive selection of excellent wines. We quickly decided that Bar Breda was our favorite haunt in Bassano.
Cardellino is a venerable restaurant in the center of the old town. Its menu concentrates on very traditional dishes of the region such as bigoli d'anatra, pasta e fagioli and grilled house-made sopressa sausages. There is a small non-smoking room, but it nothing substantial separates it from the larger smoking room. We found the food very well prepared and good to eat, but not awe inspiring.
Osteria alla Riviera lies not far outside of the old town. Formerly noted for the exquisite dishes created by previous owners, we again found the food good but not fantastic. Still, we didn't complain. The restaurant is mostly non-smoking and the food very reasonably priced. Our dinner for two cost us less than 30 euros.
Melograno is a little establishment just up the hill in the neighboring village of Valrovina, a favorite of the locals who directed us there. We also enjoyed the view of town below and we imagined that the drive up would be gorgeous during daylight hours. Our dinner here was probably the best meal we had while staying in Bassano and for a tab of 46 euros, certainly a good deal.
Ristorante Trevisani is a romantic restaurant situated along the old city wall, not far from Bar Breda. We had a nice lunch there and enjoyed the way they served the food: from serving dishes right onto our plates. We had to indicate when we thought we'd been served enough, otherwise they just kept piling more food on our plates. Their fettuccine d'anatra was especially good.
In general, Bassano and the surrounding area is a good destination for foodies. Bassano is obviously known for its grappa, and nearby Asiago for its cheese. In the spring the entire area celebrates the asparagus crop and in the winter several varieties of radicchio peculiar to this region make their appearance. I think on the whole the cuisine of Veneto pales in comparison with that of Umbria. But it's good to get a sense of the range of regional cuisines in Italy.
Etc.
Bassano lies about 70 kilometers northwest of Venice. It took us less than an hour to drive there from the car rental area at the Treviso airport.
Around Bassano, we had time enough only to see a bit of Marostica, which hosts an antique market the first Sunday of each month in its central square. Attending that market in January, we found that the town had converted part of the piazza to an ice skating rink, which was in no danger of melting. The town also hosts a cherry festival in the spring, as well as a chess tournament played with live pieces decked in medieval garb on the giant chess board in the center of town.
Final Thoughts
I would highly recommend a visit to Bassano del Grappa and the surrounding area as an alternative or a supplement to the major tourist cities of this country. Although most who consider vacations or honeymoons in Italy focus on the triumvirate of Florence, Venice and Rome, I have found that time spent in the smaller and less known towns of this country to be very rewarding and delightful.
Related reviews you might find useful:
• Villa Brocchi Colonna - a fantastic, family-run place to stay in Bassano
• Venice - the reason you're in this area in the first place?
• Eating In Italy - still the most reliable English-language guide I know of for dining in northern Italy
• Cuisine of Veneto - a good introduction to what you'll eat here
My reviews on other parts of Italy:
• Florence - One of Italy's Gems
• Glorious Umbria
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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