Now fully redesigned, this new edition contains the most up-to-the-minute practical information and listings, along with color photographs and maps. In a country full of treasures, Cadogan leads you through the region that lays claim to many of Italy’s jewels. This sumptuous, sensuous area is full of world-renowned beauty, both man-made and natural, from the awesome peaks of the Dolomites and the lush flatlands of the southern Veneto to the World Heritage city of Vicenza and, of course, Venice, the dreamy city of romance, canals and gondolas. Take in the idyllic views of Lake Garda, the medieval castles of Trento and the volcanic clusters of the Po. This is the region that gave us Bellini, Giorgione, Titian and Tiepolo and when you experience the land in all its glory, it’s not hard to see from where they got their inspiration.
Excerpt: Asolo
The old walled town of Asolo was the consolation prize given by Venice in 1489 to Queen Caterina Cornaro after demanding her abdication from the throne of Cyprus. It could have been worse. Asolo, with its lush microclimate, just happens to be one of the most enchanting spots in Italy, and Caterina's Renaissance court lent it a high degree of refinement and art. The handsome young Giorgione strolled through its rose gardens strumming his lute, and the enforced idleness that prevailed in Asolo may have inspired his invention of art for pleasure. The Queen’s friend, Cardinal Pietro Bembo, used her court as the setting for his sophisticated dialogues on love, Gli Asolani (1512), and created the verb asolare to describe the pleasant but meaningless method of passing time that prevailed here. ...click here to read the rest
Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls can be reached at: michel.pauls@wanadoo.fr