Andrea Palladio, the architect who revolutionized the way villa architecture was conceived in the 16th century, will be the “pathfinder” of the tour. First stop is Maser where stands Villa Barbaro, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, surrounded by beautiful vineyards in a verdant area at the foot of the Colli Asolani. Also famous for the priceless fresco decorations executed by Paolo Veronese, the collection of carriages and the historic wine cellar. A few kilometers away is the second stop, Fanzolo di Vedelago, where the Villa Emo designed by Palladio for the family of the same name; a country residence of great simplicity and absolute harmony. The interior is richly decorated with striking 16th-century frescoes inspired by mythology and agricultural life.

From the Palladian villas the tour takes us to Possagno, on the slopes of Monte Grappa, world famous as the birthplace of the illustrious sculptor Antonio Canova. The town is dominated by the grandiose Temple, which brings together architectural elements taken from universal monuments and donated to the community by the sculptor shortly before his death. Possagno is also home to the Canova Museum, which will give us the opportunity to visit the artist’s birthplace and the extraordinary Gipsoteca, a unique museum in the world that preserves the plaster models used for the marble sculptures, preserved in the most important international museums.

To conclude the tour I will take you to Castelfranco Veneto, a very pretty walled city. In Giorgione ‘s hometown I will tell you what mystery hovers around the artist in his homeland, admiring some of his masterpieces such as the altarpiece preserved in the town’s cathedral. A stone’s throw away, the Teatro Accademico will drop us into the atmosphere of the Enlightenment circles of the 1700s, when Castelfranco was the seat of one of them: theAccademia dei Riccati.

The itinerary can be enriched with food and wine elements: from the DOC wines of the Strada del Vino del Montello e Colli Asolani (Montello and Colli Asolani Wine Road), to the tasty and flavorful mushrooms scattered among the forests and meadows of Montello.

Upon request, the itinerary “In the Footsteps of Palladio, Canova and Giorgione” offers additional stops to choose from:

• The village of Asolo, city of a hundred horizons
• Museum of Giorgione House
• Altivole, Brion tomb designed by Carlo Scarpa
• Bassano del Grappa