Bassano del Grappa sits where the river Brenta leaves the mountains and spreads onto the Venetian plain, and its symbol is a covered wooden bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, designed by Palladio in the sixteenth century and rebuilt several times since after floods and wars. On the right bank of the river, just outside the town, stands Villa Angarano, a country house whose two long colonnaded wings were designed by Palladio, while the central residence was built later, in a different style, by the Venetian architect Baldassare Longhena. The villa is still a working wine estate and belongs to the UNESCO site of the City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto.
Bassano is a town to linger in. Its streets are lined with arcades and painted facades, and by the bridge stands a distillery making grappa since the eighteenth century, where you can taste the strong grape spirit standing at the counter. In spring, Bassano is famous for its white asparagus, served with boiled eggs and a simple dressing. The bridge was also a key point in the First World War, and the alpine troops who fought nearby are honoured throughout the town.
Above Bassano looms Monte Grappa, a massive mountain at the edge of the Alps that was the scene of bitter fighting between Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces in 1917 and 1918. At the summit, over seventeen hundred metres high, stands a huge memorial and ossuary containing the remains of thousands of soldiers. The road up from Romano d'Ezzelino, known as the Cadorna road after the general who built it, climbs in a long series of hairpins with views over the plain, and it is a classic motorcycle ride.
To the north, the Valsugana follows the Brenta into the mountains towards Trento, with a fast main road and quieter roads along the river. The roads around Bassano can be busy, and the climbs to Monte Grappa are popular on weekends with cyclists and riders, so take care on blind bends. Weather in the mountains changes quickly, and the top can be cold and foggy even in summer.
Bassano has fuel, shops and plenty of restaurants. Stand on the old bridge with a glass of grappa or a mezzo e mezzo aperitivo, and watch the river rush by beneath you.