• Discover an unexplored part of the Veneto amidst stunning scenery in the Valdobbiadene

• In-depth analysis of Palladio & Canova in northern Veneto

• Visits to two vineyards & private Palladian & Palladian-style villas

• Many private visits including a lunch with the owning family

• Visits to handsome Asolo & Bassano del Grappa

• Comfortable 4* hotel in the delightful historic town of Conegliano

For the first time since the fall of Imperial Rome in the West in 476AD, the Franks brought sole rule to the central and northern Italian peninsula following two centuries of Longobard rule. Charlemagne established the border March of Treviso lying between the emerging city of Venice and the foothills of the Alps. The March’s towns later flourished under semi-autonomous communal government and Holy Imperial overlordship from north of the Alps. These well-connected, fertile and forested lands were attractive to Venice who made Treviso and its surrounds its first terrafirma possession in the early fourteenth century.

Ambitious Venetians and their families both in Venice and its Stato da Terra raised their social, economic and political status through the creation of magnificent works of architecture and art. The architectural heritage of the Veneto is dominated by one man, Andrea Palladio (1508 – 1580) who perfected his style into a sophisticated blend of architectural theory, modular planning and a mastery of the classical language of architecture. Two pairs of brothers – the Barbaro and Foscari – would commission Palladio to build their magnificent villas at Maser and Malcontenta. The ‘lightness of air’ from the summer heat also attracted Venetian nobles to the splendid towns of the prealpi. Queen Caterina Cornaro (1454 – 1510) was gifted Asolo in exchange for her dominions in Cyprus creating as sophisticated a courtly retreat as the villas that dotted the hills and plains around it.

Many renaissance artists emerged from Venice’s hinterland before establishing themselves in the city such as Veronese, the Bassano family, Giorgione, Giovanni Battista Cima from Conegliano and of course Titian. Titian, the sculptor and the architect Antonio Canova (1757 – 1822) were the most successful artists in Venetian history. Born in Possagno, Canova was hailed as the New Phidias becoming a dominant figure in the European art world in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He left an indelible mark on Possagno, across the Veneto and beyond.   

Our week in late May will explore all of this and more in wonderful pre-Alpine countryside around Conegliano, beautiful Asolo and the verdant Valdobbiadene valley. Vine-covered hills surround us and indeed the sparkling wines and non for which this area is internationally renowned will not be omitted! We stay in the historic town of Conegliano to the north of Treviso at the charming 4* Hotel Canon d’Oro. A former sixteenth century charitable banking institution, it was transformed into a hostel in the nineteenth century. Today, the local owning family has refurbished this very well-located hotel. It is ideally placed to explore Conegliano, the surrounding towns, villas, castles and vineyards of northern Veneto.  

Day 1: Thursday 15 May – On arrival at Venice Airport late-afternoon, we make our way by coach directly to our hotel, the comfortable 4* Canon d’Oro in the historic centre of Conegliano. Later in the evening we have dinner in a nearby local restaurant - wine, water and coffee are included with all group lunches and dinners.

Day 2:  Friday 16 May – We spend the morning in Conegliano. Elegant porticoes, charming piazzas and handsome buildings festoon this pretty town. Its renaissance cathedral features a major altarpiece by its famous son Cima di Conegliano. After coffee, we visit privately Villa Gera, a fine neoclassical villa built for an important local family by one of Canova’s pupils in the early nineteenth century. After a group lunch, we visit privately the nearby Castello di San Salvatore at Susegana. Owned by the Collalto family for over a millennium, this dominant and vine-garlanded medieval castle was softened in the eighteenth century into a princely rural residence still lived in by the family. We end our first day in grounds of the castle for a tasting of the estate's wines. We return the short distance to Conegliano where the evening will be free.  

Day 3: Saturday 17 May – Today, we travel westwards to the handsome town of Bassano del Grappa, known for its distilled grappa! Settled on either side of the Brenta river, we shall cross Palladio’s Ponte Vecchio and visit the town’s Museo Civico, displaying many works by the Da Ponte family, better known as the Bassano family of painters. We continue to the nearby and delightful hill town of Asolo where we pause for lunch (not included). Its unique atmosphere has inspired travellers and residents alike from Queen Cornaro to Cardinal Bembo and from Robert Browning to Freya Stark. Amongst this wall-to-wall loveliness, we shall visit the town’s cathedral which was rebuilt in the eighteenth century and the nearby Museo Civico, displaying a small collection of paintings and sculpture from the fifteenth to the early twentieth century including works by Luca Giordano, Bellotto and Canova. We return to our hotel and later in the evening we will enjoy a group dinner together in Conegliano.

Day 4: Sunday 18 May – This morning we visit Villa Barbaro at Maser, one of Palladio’s most famous compositions. The villa stands apart from all other villas within Palladio’s oeuvre, because of the amazing quality of the fresco decorations, painted between 1560 and 1562 by Veronese, the great Venetian painter. We pause nearby for a group lunch after which we return to Conegliano via a vineyard in the Valdobbiadene to taste the sparkling wines of the area. This evening will be free.

Day 5: Monday 19 May – We drive southwards to visit privately Villa Cornaro at Piombino Dese. Palladio was engaged to design this villa in 1552 and it was inhabited by 1554. The villa interiors have been fully restored which we shall visit. Nearby we also visit Villa Marcello for a private lunch, hosted by Count Jacopo Marcello. This is one of the finest early eighteenth-century villas in the Veneto and was clearly inspired by Palladian prototypes. We return to Conegliano where the remainder of the afternoon and evening will be free.

Day 6: Tuesday 20 May – This morning is entirely devoted to Antonio Canova and his works in this area. We drive through the spectacular vine-covered countryside of the Valdobbiadene to the village of his birth, Possagno. Following a coffee break, we begin at the Pantheonesque sanctuary known as the Canova Temple begun in 1819 which also contains his tomb. This morning’s highlight is the nearby house museum and gypsotech or gallery of plaster works displaying many of Canova’s models and plaster works gathered as a memorial to the master. We pause for lunch, which today is not included, and return to our hotel where the afternoon will be free. In the evening, we shall have our final group dinner in a renowned restaurant in nearby Follina.

Day 7: Wednesday 21 May – We depart for the final time and travel southwards towards Venice to Palladio’s delightfully situated villa next to the Brenta Canal - Villa Foscari known as La Malcontenta, one of the architect’s most accomplished villa commissions, completed for the Venetian Foscari brothers in 1560. Following a fitting finale to our week, we shall enjoy a final, festive group lunch nearby. We continue to Venice Airport for the late afternoon return flight to London Heathrow Airport.

Price £2450 Without Flights £2215 Deposit £400 per person              

Single Supplement £287 (DSU Classic)

Hotel 6 nights with breakfast at the 4* Hotel Canon d’Oro, Conegliano in french doubles (DSU) and superior twin/double rooms for couples/two sharing

Flights British Airways

            Outward:  BA468 Depart London Heathrow (T5) 1420, arrive Venice 1730

            Return:  BA471 Depart Venice 1600 arrive London Heathrow (T5) 1715

Price includes 3 dinners & 4 lunches with wine, water & coffee, all local transfers, entry fees & gratuities, services of James Hill

Not included Travel to/from Heathrow, 3 dinners & 2 lunches