E14: An epic bridge and two walled cities 28/29 April

The Sosta last night in Feltre was nice and quiet set in amongst the trees….

Then the following morning we continued our journey towards venice.  On the way we stumbled across a few interesting places, here are a few highlights…..

BASSANO DEL GRAPPA

This town is situated on the Southern edge of the Dolomite mountains and is famous for this bridge, the Ponte degli Alpini.  It was originally built in 1568 and was destroyed in WW2 by the retreating German army and rebuilt by the Italian Alpine soldiers in 1948 in accordance with the original design by Palladio.  It is entirely constructed of wood in order to be as flexible as possible so that it can withstand torrential meltwaters….

On the entrance to the bridge is a fresco of an Alpine soldier in uniform….

 

CITTADELLA

Built in the 13th century by the Paduans in response to Treviso turning Castelfranco into a garrison.  The old city is entirely enclosed within the defensive wall which has been extensively and sympathetically restored in recent times.  A moat also rings the outer wall….

One of the four gateways to the old city is Porta Padova which is joined to the Torre di Malta, a tower utilised as a prison and torture chamber by the monstrous Ezzelino da Romano who terrorised this region in the mid 13th century and was known as ‘the Son of Satan’.  Such were his atrocities, he earned a place in Dante’s Inferno in the 7th circle of hell where he is condemned to boil eternally in a river of blood!

From inside the old city almost every road has a view of the wall or gates….

The Torre di Malta from inside the city….

even the Sosta has a view of the city wall (outside)….

 

CASTELFRANCO

This was the city that the Trevisans turned into a garrison in 1199 to protect it against the previously mentioned Paduans!  The wall is perhaps more original but as such not as complete as Cittadella, however the city’s additional claim to fame is that it was the birth place of Giorgione who is considered as an equal to Leonardo da Vinci with regards to Venetian Art

Inside the Duomo hangs Giorgione’s magnificent ‘Madonna and Child with Saints’ 

and here is the painting.  It alone is worth the visit to Castelfraco….

Finally we stopped (Wed 29) in the Sosta in Treviso and started to plan and prepare for a blitz on Venice!  Treviso is about 30 kilometres North of Venice so we will be letting the 'train take the strain’….