Leave the shimmer of the lagoon behind and journey into the tranquil embrace of the Venetian countryside, where vine-covered hills roll gently beneath the sky and Renaissance dreams still live in stone! This excursion from Venice to Asolo and the Venetian Villas is a passage into refinement and repose—a day shaped by soft landscapes, whispered histories, and the quiet grandeur of a world once built for poets, princes, and patricians.
Tucked into the green folds of the Colli Asolani, the hill town of Asolo rises like a poem—graceful, golden, and serene. Known as the “Pearl of the Veneto,” Asolo has long drawn artists, writers, and queens seeking beauty and retreat. Here, you’ll wander through vine-draped arcades, past delicate balconies and blooming window boxes, where silence is punctuated only by birdsong and the occasional toll of a bell.
Stroll the peaceful streets once walked by Queen Caterina Cornaro, who ruled this town as her refuge after a life in Cyprus. Gaze out from the old fortress at the panorama of rolling hills, cypress groves, and terracotta rooftops stretching to the Alps. It is a view so lovely, it has inspired the likes of Robert Browning, Eleonora Duse, and countless dreamers in search of stillness.
Enjoy a quiet moment in a sun-drenched piazza with a glass of prosecco, made from grapes grown just beyond the walls. Asolo invites not sightseeing, but savoring—a gentle pause in a world too often in motion.
From Asolo, the journey continues along winding country roads to visit one or more of the Venetian Villa*—elegant rural estates where Venice’s noble families once retreated in summer, bringing with them architects, artists, and poets to create havens of cultivated leisure.
Step inside the harmonious world of Villa Barbaro in Maser, designed by Andrea Palladio and adorned with exquisite frescoes by Paolo Veronese. Here, classical columns frame pastoral scenes, and painted figures blur the line between art and reality. Every space sings of balance, beauty, and the humanist ideals of the Renaissance!
Perhaps you’ll visit Villa Emo, a masterpiece of simplicity and symmetry set among endless rows of vines, or admire the theatrical grandeur of Villa Pisani, where echoes of Venice’s fading republic still linger in ornate salons and mirrored halls.
Each villa is a portal into a life of cultivated stillness—where art, architecture, and nature were woven together with purpose and poetry.
This excursion from Venice to Asolo and the Venetian Villas is not merely a change of scenery—it is a journey into the soul of the Veneto, where elegance is not showy, but whispered, and beauty lives in proportion, silence, and soft light.
By the time you return to Venice—your thoughts still drifting through porticoes and painted ceilings—you’ll carry with you not only memories of a quieter world, but the lingering sense that true luxury lies in simplicity, serenity, and space to breathe.
