Vineyards near Garda Lake in the Bardolino wine production area

The Castle of Soave (Verona)

The Soave zone, where one of the most famous white wines of the Veneto region is produced, is characterized by a landscape of hills and vineyards. The town of Soave is the heart of this area, with a medieval castle overlooking the plain from the top of Monte Tenda, while the most beautiful view is the one from the tiny village of Castelcerino, perched on a hill. The province of Treviso, from Conegliano Veneto to Valdobbiadene, is the kingdom of Prosecco, the famous sparkling wine, which can also be found in the semi-sparkling and in the still versions. Here many wineries welcome visitors to offer them a glass of bubbles and to show them the production methods of Prosecco and the premises where the wine is kept for aging.

The church of St. Vigil at sunset, among the hills where Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene wine is produced

Rolle, under the snow, at sunset reveals all the beauty and charm of the hills of Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene wine

The Montello and Colli Asolani Doc zone stretches between Monte Grappa and the Piave River. There are a lot of places of great cultural interest: the remains of the Abbazia di Sant’Eustachio, the monuments and the trenches of World War I; the medieval town of Asolo; Possagno, the birthplace of famous sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822). Recently, the sixteenth-century Villa di Maser, a masterpiece by Palladio, with frescoes by Paolo Veronese, has been declared one of Unesco World Heritage sites. In the province of Vicenza, a number of Doc zones can be interesting destinations for wine tourists. The Gambellara Doc zone produces white wine and stretches along the foothills near Vicenza. The Wine Route winding through the vineyards and the wineries of the Breganze Doc zone, a land of red and white wines, touches Breganze and Molvena, Marostica and Bassano del Grappa, also stopping at some wineries where distillates are produced. Another destination for wine tourism is the Colli Berici Doc zone, a band of hills with vineyards and cultivated fields, extending south of Vicenza, where the plain and the hills meet.

In the plain of the Po River, quality wines are produced in the Colli Euganei Doc zone, a cluster of volcanic hills a few miles southwest of Padua, a land of red and white wines, that you can taste in one of the 40 wineries associated in the Wine Route. The first Veneto Regional Park was established in 1989, in this area. The Lison Pramaggiore Doc zone, where white and red wines are produced, encompasses a number of communes in Veneto, reaching western Friuli, south of Pordenone. The wine tourist can visit the historic center of Portogruaro, a unique little town in Veneto, with its arcades and crenellated City Hall. Equally interesting is the Wildlife Reserve of the Lemene-Reghena river area, near Cinto Caomaggiore, and the fishing valleys and lodges, near Caorle, where the famous American writer, Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), used to hunt.

The Temple of Canova in Possagno (photo by Fondazione Canova)

Among the places not to be missed is Possagno, a small town in the province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa, which became famous as the birthplace of sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822), the great representative of Italian Neoclassicism. In the higher section of the town, tourists can admire the Tempio, designed by Canova in the early nineteenth century. It is a solemn, white building, in which three motives of Neoclassical inspiration are evident: the golden colonnade, reminding of the Parthenon in Athens, the central body, similar to the Pantheon in Rome and the apse in a high position, typical of the ancient Christian basilicas. Plaster casts, marble statues, paintings and sketches by Canova can be seen in the Plaster Cast Gallery, near the house where the artist was born. Open every day (9,30 – 18), tel 0423.544323

Events

The villa of San Salvatore Castle, where every year in mid-May, in a weekend, Vino in Villa takes place. It’s an event, open to the public, to let people know and taste Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene wine