Bassano del Grappa
Encyclopedia
Bassano del Grappa is a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

 in the province of Vicenza
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

, region Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

, in northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It bounds the communes of Cassola
Cassola
Cassola is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is south of SP90. As of 2007 Cassola had an estimated population of 13,997.-Sources:*...

, Marostica
Marostica
Marostica , is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It is mostly famous for its living chess event and for the local cherry variety.-History:...

, Solagna
Solagna
Solagna is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is east of SS47. As of 2007 Solagna had an estimated population of 1,923.-Sources:*...

, Pove del Grappa
Pove del Grappa
Pove del Grappa is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is east of SS47.-Sources:*...

, Romano d'Ezzelino
Romano d'Ezzelino
Romano d'Ezzelino is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. SP74 goes through it.-Sources:*...

, Campolongo sul Brenta
Campolongo sul Brenta
Campolongo sul Brenta is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is west of SS47.-Sources:*...

, Conco
Conco, Italy
Conco is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is west of SP72. As of 2007 Conco had an estimated population of 2,272.-Sources:*...

, Rosà
Rosà
Rosà is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. SS47 goes through it, and it was named for Rosa Vercellana.-Sources:*...

, Cartigliano
Cartigliano
Cartigliano is a small town and comune in the Italian province of Vicenza in the Veneto region. It is located northeast of Vicenza, near the river Brenta.-External links:****...

 and Nove
Nove
Nove is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza in the region of Veneto, north-eastern Italy, with just over 5,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Brenta river, near Marostica and Bassano del Grappa....

. Some neighbourhoods of these communes have become in practice a part of the urban area of Bassano, so that the population of the whole urban area is higher than the population of Bassano proper.

The artist Jacopo Bassano
Jacopo Bassano
Jacopo Bassano , known also as Jacopo dal Ponte, was an Italian painter who was born and died in Bassano del Grappa near Venice, from which he adopted the name.- Life :...

 was born, worked, and died in Bassano and took it as his surname. Bassano Del Grappa is also famous for inventing the spirit Grappa
Grappa
Grappa is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume...

, traditionally an after-dinner drink made from pomace (discarded grape seeds, stalks, and stems).

History

The city was founded in the 2nd century BC by a Roman called Bassianus, whence the name, as an agricultural estate.
The first news of the existence of the medieval city dates from 998, while the Castle is mentioned first in 1150. In 1175 Bassano was conquered by Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

, but the city maintained a semi-autonomous status as a free commune in the 13th century also, when it was under the family of the Ezzelinos
Ezzelino da Romano
Ezzelino da Romano was the name of various seignors of fiefs and cities in northern Italy starting from the 12th century AD.*The family was founded by Ecelo , who received the fiefs of Romano, including Romano d'Ezzelino and Onara, near Cittadella, Veneto*Ezzelino II il Balbo*Ezzelino II da Romano,...

.

In 1368 it was acquired by the Visconti
House of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...

 of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 and, in 1404, by the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

: the latter did not alter the citadine magistratures, limiting to impose a Captain chosen by the Venetian Senate. The city became home to a flourishing industry producing wool, silk, iron and copper, and mainly for ceramics; in the 18th became especially famous in all Europe for the presence of the Remondini printers.

During the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...

 the city was the site of the Battle of Bassano
Battle of Bassano
The Battle of Bassano was fought on 8 September 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, in the territory of the Republic of Venice, between a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces led by Count Dagobert von Wurmser. The battle ended in a French victory...

. In 1815 it was included in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1866. Napoleon Bonaparte
remained in Bassano del Grappa for many months.

The original name of the town was Bassano Veneto. After the terrible battles on Mount Grappa in WWI , where thousands of soldiers lost their lives, a decision was made to change the name of the town. In 1928, the name was changed to Bassano del Grappa, meaning Bassano of Mount Grappa, as a memorial to the soldiers killed.
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...

 during his days as an ambulance driver in the war spent many days in Bassano and eventually settled there as part of A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway concerning events during the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The book, which was first published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant in the ambulance...

. Also other American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 writers spent some days in Bassano during WWI such as Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald may refer to:*F. Scott Fitzgerald , American author*Scott L. Fitzgerald , member of the Wisconsin State Senate*Scott Fitzgerald , former Wimbledon defender, former manager of Brentford...

 and Dos Passos.

During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 Bassano was in the front area, and all industrial activities were halted. In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, after the Armistice with Italy
Armistice with Italy
The Armistice with Italy was an armistice signed on September 3 and publicly declared on September 8, 1943, during World War II, between Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were then occupying the southern end of the country, entailing the capitulation of Italy...

, the city was invaded by German troops, which killed or deported numerous inhabitants.

The symbol of the town is the covered wooden pontoon bridge
Ponte Vecchio of Bassano
The Ponte Vecchio or Ponte degli Alpini is the covered wooden pontoon bridge designed by the architect Andrea Palladio in 1569. The bridge is located in Bassano del Grappa and was destroyed many times, the last time in World War II...

 , which was designed by the architect Andrea Palladio in 1569. The bridge was destroyed many times, the last time during WWII. The Alpine soldiers, or Alpini
Alpini
The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....

 have always revered the wooden bridge and Bassano del Grappa. After the destruction of the bridge, they took up a private collection and had the bridge completely rebuilt. Often soldiers flock to the bridge to remember and sing songs from their days as alpine soldiers. The grappa shop of Nardini Distillery is located on the bridge, known as Ponte degli Alpini.

Bassano del Grappa is also the hometown of Renzo Rosso
Renzo Rosso
Renzo Rosso is an Italian fashion entrepreneur. Referred to as the "Jeans Genius" by Suzy Menkes, he is the founder and President of fashion brand Diesel...

, the founder and President of Diesel. Since Diesel began to expand in the mid 1980’s, the company has become an important source of business for the city and its surrounding region. As thanks for the support that Rosso has received locally, he has invested personally in the city's professional soccer team, Bassano Virtus 55 S.T.
Bassano Virtus 55 S.T.
Bassano Virtus 55 Soccer Team is an Italian association football club, based in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto.The club currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione...

, initiated various reconstructions by the town centre, and recently launched a large wi-fi hotspot that provides free internet to the city's inhabitants.

Main sights

  • The Cathedral (Duomo
    Duomo
    Duomo is a term for a cathedral church. The formal word for a church that is presently a cathedral is cattedrale; a Duomo may be either a present or a former cathedral . Some, like the Duomo of Monza, have never been cathedrals, although old and important...

    ), built around the year 1000 but renovated in 1417. It has works by Leandro da Bassano, Ottavio Marinali and others
  • The Castello Superiore (Upper Castle)
  • The church of St. John the Baptist, built in the 14th century and restored in the 18th century.
  • The church of St. Francis, with a Crucifix by Guariento
    Guariento
    Guariento , sometimes incorrectly named Guerriero, was the first Paduan painter of distinction.The only date distinctly known in his career is 1355, when, having already acquired high renown in his native city, he was invited by the Venetian authorities to paint a Paradise, and some incidents of...

     (14th century) and remains of contemporary frescoes. Next to the church is the Town Museum, with ancient archaeological remains, works by Antonio Canova
    Antonio Canova
    Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...

     and the Tiepolos, and drawings by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
    Gian Lorenzo Bernini
    Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...

    , Spagnoletto, Albrecht Dürer
    Albrecht Dürer
    Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...

     and Rembrandt
  • The wooden covered Bridge, or Ponte degli Alpini
    Alpini
    The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....

    , on the Brenta River
    Brenta River
    The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region.During Roman era, it was called Medoacus and near Padua it divided in two branches, Medoacus Maior and Medoacus Minor ; the river changed its course in early Middle...

    , designed in 1569 by the architect Andrea Palladio
    Andrea Palladio
    Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...

     to replace a pre-existing construction existing at least from 1209. The bridge was destroyed in 1748, and was rebuilt three years later. The Nardini
    Nardini (grappa)
    Aquavite Nardini has been produced and bottled in Bassano del Grappa, in the northeastern part of Italy, since 1779. The founder of Italy’s most traditional distillery was Bortolo Nardini who purchased in April of that year, an Inn at the eastern entrance of the famous wooden covered Bassano...

     tavern on the bridge, unchanged since 1779.
  • Palazzo Michieli-Bonato, with a façade frescoed by Jacopo da Bassano.
  • The Palazzo del Municipio (Town Hall), erected from 1404. It has a noteworthy loggia and a fresco attributed to Jacopo da Bassano.
  • The Monte di Pietà, a Renaissance edifice with 15th century coats of arms.
  • The Palazzo Sturm, home to the Ceramics Museum


In the neighbourhood are the Villa Rezzonico, designed by Baldassarre Longhena
Baldassarre Longhena
thumb|250px|Tower of the church [[Santa Maria del Soccorso]], [[Rovigo]].Baldassarre Longhena was an Italian architect, who worked mainly in Venice, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period....

, and the 17th century Villa Bianchi-Michiel
Villa Angarano
The Villa Angarano or Villa Angarano Bianchi Michiel is a villa in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto, northern Italy. It was originally conceived by Andrea Palladio who published a plan in his book I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura.-History:...

, with a garden decorated by statues.

Administrative subdivisions

The municipal statute (art.6, par.2) of Bassano, recognizes only Rubbio as frazione
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

 and defines Campese, Marchesane, San Michele, Sant'Eusebio and Valrovina as contrade
Contrada
Contrada is a generic name given to various types of Italian city subdivisions, now unofficial. Depending on the case, a contrada will be a località, a rione, a quartiere , a borgo, or even a suburb.The best-known contrade are the 17 Contrade of Siena, since they form the teams in the Palio...

. The other existing neighbourhoods of Bassano are not mentioned in the statute. However, in practice, all the administrative subdivisions have the same prerogatives and are named quartieri.

Frazioni

Rubbio is a frazione and quartiere located at an altitude of 1057 m on the Asiago
Asiago
Asiago is the name of both a minor township and the surrounding plateau region in the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of Northeastern Italy...

 plateau. This hamlet is contiguous with another hamlet, also named Rubbio, which is part of the commune of Conco
Conco
Conco Companies is an American company based in Springfield, Missouri.It was founded as Concrete Company of Springfield in the years after World War II, when the ready mix concrete industry was coming into the mainstream. Founded by Ralph Reed and his stepson, Tom Baird in 1947, They both did...

. Thus, in practice, the two hamlets form one village (named Rubbio), even though they belong to two different communes from the administrative pont of view.

Contrade

Officially, the contrade (in ven. contrae) are Campese, Marchesane, San Michele, Sant'Eusebio and Valrovina. However, in practice, some of these neighbourhoods themselves contain smaller inhabited areas (as streets, groups of houses) also called contrade. Besides, some places known as contrade exist also within other neighbourhoods which are simply defined as quartieri.

Quartieri

All the administrative subdivision (quartieri) of Bassano are: Centro Storico, Margnan-Conca d'oro, San Vito, San Marco, Ca'Baroncello, Quartiere Firenze, Nuovo Ospedale, San Lazzaro, San Fortunato, Borgo Zucco, Marchesane, Rondò Brenta, Angarano, Quartiere XXV Aprile, Sant'Eusebio, San Michele, Valrovina, Rubbio, Campese, Merlo, Quartiere Pré, Santa Croce.

Rubbio, with an area of 6.835 km2, is the largest quartiere of Bassano, but also the least populated (86 inhabitants in 2009).

Quartiere Prè (an old venetian plural meaning meadows, the modern ven. plural is prai), located in the southern lowland of Bassano, is the second least populated quartiere (299 inhabitants in 2009). Part of it hosts an industrial zone that also falls in the nearby San Lazzaro, but it also contains a considerable rural area which falls within the Parco rurale sovracomunale “Civiltà delle Rogge” regional park
Regional park
Regional park is a term used for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.-Definition:...

.

San Vito, in the north-eastern part of Bassano, is the most inhabited quartiere (5841 inhabitants in year 2009). It merges with the built-up areas of the bordering comunes Romano d'Ezzelino, San Giuseppe di Cassola and Pove del Grappa.

Territorial variations

Until 1928, the official name of Bassano del Grappa was simply Bassano (as it is still informally called today).
In 1878, the neighboorhood of Campese, previously belonging to the commune of Campolongo sul Brenta
Campolongo sul Brenta
Campolongo sul Brenta is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is west of SS47.-Sources:*...

 is detached from Campolongo and aggregated to Bassano. In 1938, the commune of Valrovina, which also comprised Rubbio, is suppressed and aggregated to Bassano.

Notable people

  • Luigi Agnolin
    Luigi Agnolin
    Luigi Agnolin . Is a former football referee from Italy. He is mostly known for supervising four matches in the FIFA World Cup. One in 1986 and three in 1990. He also refereed the European Cup final in 1988.-References:...

    , football referee
  • Jacopo Bassano
    Jacopo Bassano
    Jacopo Bassano , known also as Jacopo dal Ponte, was an Italian painter who was born and died in Bassano del Grappa near Venice, from which he adopted the name.- Life :...

    , painter
  • Giovanni Battista Brocchi
    Giovanni Battista Brocchi
    Giovanni Battista Brocchi was an Italian naturalist, mineralogist and geologist.He was born in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, and studied jurisprudence at the University of Padova, but his attention was turned to mineralogy and botany...

    , geologist
  • Miki Biasion, World Rally Champion
  • Tito Gobbi
    Tito Gobbi
    Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...

    , opera singer
  • Stefano Rusconi
    Stefano Rusconi
    Stefano Rusconi is an Italian professional basketball player.The 208 cm center was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2nd round of the 1990 NBA Draft, they have traded his NBA rights to the Phoenix Suns in 1991 for the rights to Miloš Babić...

    , professional basketball player, who played also in NBA
  • Renzo Rosso
    Renzo Rosso
    Renzo Rosso is an Italian fashion entrepreneur. Referred to as the "Jeans Genius" by Suzy Menkes, he is the founder and President of fashion brand Diesel...

    , Founder and President of Diesel and the Only The Brave Group
  • Giovanni Volpato
    Giovanni Volpato
    Giovanni Volpato was an Italian engraver of the 18th century.He received his first training from his mother, an embroiderer, and then studied under Giovanni Antonio Remondini...

    , engraver
  • Francesco Fontana
    Francesco Fontana
    Francesco Fontana was an Italian lawyer and astronomer.He created woodcuts showing the Moon and the planets as he saw them through a self-constructed telescope...

    , italian hockeyst
  • Bob Rifo and Tommy Tea of The Bloody Beetroots
    The Bloody Beetroots
    The Bloody Beetroots is an Italian electronica and dance music project. The Bloody Beetroots were formed in late 2006 by producer Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo . In 2008, their EP Cornelius was in the Top 100 International iTunes downloads. This album was a complete art project composed of music, videos,...

    .

Twin towns

Bellegra
Bellegra
Bellegra is a town and comune in the province of Rome....

, Italy Lampedusa
Lampedusa
Lampedusa is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The comune of Lampedusa e Linosa is part of the Sicilian province of Agrigento which also includes the smaller islands of Linosa and Lampione. It is the southernmost part of Italy. Tunisia, which is about ...

, Italy Mühlacker
Mühlacker
Mühlacker is a town in the eastern part of the Enz district in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Mühlacker station has direct rail connections with Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Pforzheim and the Northern Black Forest....

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 Voiron
Voiron
Voiron is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.- History :Voiron long formed part of Savoy, but in 1355 was exchanged by the count with France for Faucigny and Gex.Historical population:* 1901: 12,625- Geography :Voiron stands at a height of 950 ft., on the Morge Voiron...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...



External links

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