Asolo - "The Pearl of the Province of Treviso"

Along the Architectural Highway you find the town of Asolo. For centuries it has been a perfect place to live because of it's mild climate. It has been inhabited since per historic times. The Romans had it as a Municipium in the 1st century BC.

We took the bus from Treviso and passed through the town of Montebelluna before arriving at our transfer point in modern Asolo. After a short wait a shuttle bus arrived and ten minutes later we were in the ancient town of Asolo. First impression...WOW and Even better once we walked around the town.

Our arrival point was Piazza Garibaldi. Of course there is a waterfountain in the centre of the piazza. The fountain is feed from an old Roman aqueduct. More about the fountain a bit later on.

Entering and leaving the town is through a narrow one way road. A traffic light at each end controls the flow of traffic. Drivers waiting can look at the light which counts down the number of seconds until they can race down the hill.

Terracotta for roof tiles and bricks have been used for centuries as building materials. On top of the hill is the symbol of Asolo "The Rocca". It was built in the 12th and 13th century. We were debating about hiking up the hill for 20 minutes under the blazing sun but the decision was made for us, it is only open on Sundays.

Recycling at it's best. This old Palazzo was in need of restoration but who was going to pay for it. Good solution was to keep the exterior and remodel the interior into condos with a fantastic view.

On our walk we saw a Palazzo on the hillside. Wonder what the insides are like?

Further down the road we came to the local cemetery. Here are buried common folks along with composers and explorers.

Those lions keep showing up in our travels. After taking one bite he let go of Danna and we posed for another picture.

We were too tough so he did not bite our hands!

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Here we have a beautiful garden with perfectly manicured lawn. This is where the old world meets new technology. Who takes care of the lawn? None other than a "Lawn Robot" a battery operated mower that moves along trimming the grass. The name of the mower goes along with it's shape, La Tartaruga or The Turtle. When the battery gets low it goes to a charging unit and plugs itself in. After watching for a few minutes we saw that there were at least 3 of these units trimming the grass.

One of the many statues we saw on our walk.

Danna got quite excited when she met up with a fellow that had a hat like hers. He is the only person in Italy that we have come across that has less of a tan than Danna!

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While waiting for the shuttle bus we sat on the edge of the fountain. Cool, clear water from a Roman aqueduct, makes you want to take a drink until you read the sign. NON POTABILE. Then we found out why.

With the temperatures being so hot the local pigeons have made this their watering place. They were very good at sitting on the spout and drinking when they were upside down. While waiting their turn they leave a deposit in the pool of water. Make sure you read the signs before taking that drink.

Asolo is the town I had in my vision when we were planning our trip. The architecture, views of the vineyards and warmth of the sun, this is Italy at it's finest.