Palladio’s Villa Barbaro to Monte San Giorgio: Hiking from a UNESCO World Heritage Site to a UNESCO World Heritage Mountain.
Villa Maser
Day 5 of our Walking the Prosecco Hills tour starts with a cultural hit. After a short private transfer from Pieve di Soligo, we reach the town of Maser to visit the Villa Barbaro.
Villa Barbaro
Andrea Palladio’s Villa Barbaro is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our guide gets us tickets and we have time to visit the Villa and its impressive gardens on our own.
Villa Barbaro was designed for the noble Venetian Barbaro brothers. What’s unique about the Villa is that Palladio’s design transformed their privately owned medieval estate into a prestigious luxury site. The building was decorated by painter Paolo Veronese and sculptor Alessandro Vittoria.
View of Villa Maser grounds
Inside the Villa we get to see Veronese’s frescoes, but unfortunately we’re not allowed to take photos. This seems silly to me as many of these works are in the public domain, such as the ones below.
Paolo Veronese Fresco – Public Domain
Paolo Veronese fresco, Villa Maser
On a previous trip to Italy, we spent time in Vicenza, and got to enjoy many of Palladio’s creations, including the amazing Teatro Olimpico. There were no restrictions as far as photography is concerned.
Our Walk
The town of Maser is also another gem of the Prosecco area as it is the start point of today’s hike. Yesterday’s walk was one very steep climb up and then down, whereas today’s involves many ups and downs. Our walk starts with a steep climb to Monte San Giorgio, which is a World Heritage site.
Steep climb up Monte San Giorgio
The route veers west, following one of the original frontlines used during the first world war. The war affected most of this area and many other towns around the Prosecco Hills. During the walk we see the evidence and memorials to the heroic deeds here.
Magnificent Monte San Giorgio views
We reach the Chiesetta di Monte San Giorgio, a shrine at the top of Monte San Giorgio.
Our group having lunch in front of Chiesetta di Monte San Giorgio
Here we stop for our sandwich lunch, enjoying the panoramic views. Monte San Giorgio’s geological history dates back to the Triassic period, some 240 million years ago and there are exceptional fossil record of marine life from that period. Hence its UNESCO World Heritage recognition.
Lunch stop at Monte San Giorgio
After lunch we do more up and down climbs before reaching the hilltop town of Asolo, and then climb down into town.
Tony on his way down into Asolo
Asolo town sights
We have time for a drink here and have a nice chat with Beatrice, the charming and informative lady in the Asolo Tourist Information office. We will be coming back to Asolo after our Prosecco Hills tour and she gives us advice on how to get here from Treviso and when best to visit.
Tony with Beatrice
From Asolo we are transfer back to our hotel in Pieve di Soligo, with free time in the evening to dine on our own.
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