Focus on Italy - Asolo, ‘The Town With a Hundred Horizons’

By A Venturing Nomad.

I have been a 'returning pilgrim' to Asolo for almost 20 years. Nestled in the foothills of the Dolomites, the town can be referred to as 'The town with a hundred horizons' and the 'Pearl in the Province of Treviso.' It is undoubtedly worthy of its label of one of 'I Borghi piu belli d'Italia', the most beautiful villages in Italy. For me, it is simply a haven.

Freya Stark, one of the town's more famous 'daughters,' led me here even after her passing at 100 in 1993. A legendary explorer and travel writer, Asolo was her home. Her house, Casa Freia, still has the stone-carved sign on the gatepost. It is one of the more striking buildings attached to the Roman arch that you pass through on entering the town from the southern approach.

During the WWII German occupation, her house was taken by the commander of the German forces stationed there, and the stories of her household hiding the silver, lines and lace in neighbours' cottages before escaping have always brought a smile.

Freya based herself here as she, too, seemed to find a 'safe haven'. Every morning, she would walk from Casa Freia along the porticoed pavements the couple of hundred meters to Café Centrale, where she would order repeated cappuccinos and write until the day's heat became too oppressive.

Whenever I visit, I pay homage to the house and walk that same path, attempting to gain whatever inspiration I can from following in the footsteps of my heroine.

Café Centrale is still there, serving cappuccino and later in the day, cocktails. With numerous writers' names now adorning the back of the outside chairs, you feel like the director on a film set, albeit without the annoying noise of the clapperboard and megaphone "action".

Asolo does indeed feel like it has 100 horizons: a walk up to the town walls gives a fantastic vista of the Dolomites, the mountains of coral and a natural fiesta for the panoramico. The knarled pomegranate tree supporting the city walls grows ever-twisting each year I visit and still provides the wonderous awe of seeing pomegranates on a tree rather than in a basket in the greengrocers.

The hilly cobbled paths don't take long to wander, and little artisan shops are snuggled away under porticos and awnings, not for the tourists but for the people who still live and work here and call Asolo home.

For me, a day spent here is like a system reboot or recharge. The human equivalent of the ubiquitous computer 'turn it off and on again' even a few hours of wander, a coffee/cocktail at Centrale, some delicious food at one of the many teeny restaurants and a visit to one of the many Arteliers including the little shirt shop, hand made shirts of no particular design, except the bottom button is always the Italian flag.

Just like Asolo itself, it is understated, proudly Italian, yet super stylish.

Not travelling overseas until age 19, this Venturing Nomad's work and life have taken her to just under 70 countries, with more adventures always planned. Twelve years as a Diplomat led to excitement and adventures across the globe, and she is now enjoying travelling with her young daughter and seeing the world afresh through her eyes.

A published author in fact and fiction, she firmly believes in the mantra "take only photos - leave only footprints". More of a feeder than a foodie, she has cooked her way around the globe, from the hill tribes in Thailand, Nonna's kitchen in Italy to the beachfront hotel in Morocco. There is always a story and, more importantly, a recipe.

You can contact her at [email protected]