Montegrappa Slow Park – English

An area between the Brenta and Piave river, at the foot of the Mount Grappa, an area heavily marked with the horrors of the World War I. This is the Montegrappa Slow Park. A naturalistic park with 50 itineraries for walkers or Nordic Walking passionates, combining aspects of cultural and gastronomic interest. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that all 50 itineraries can be downloaded from the website and chosen according to difficulties and routes.

Discovering Veneto organized a blogtour to explore this new project. Bloggers from all over Italy and me spent a couple of days in the middle of Montegrappa Slow Park. The blogtour started with a press release, then lunch and eventually some Nordic Walking training. We reached Madonna del Covolo, a shrine designed by Canova, then we carried on walking to the source “Tre Busi”, where Our Lady appeared to heal a deaf and dumb shepherdess.

At the first hint of dusk we head to the Museum of the World War I in Crespano del Grappa. Where Mr. Bruno Xamin leaves us speechless with the stories of how he discovered more than 5,000 artifacts from the First World War later donated to the local community. The meeting with the Mr. Xamin is an emotional moment narrated by a man who dedicated all his life collecting objects as well as keeping alive the memory of what happened during the WWI. Don’t miss a visit! Meanwhile it’s dinner time for us served at the Hotel S. Giacomo in Pagnano. I cannot forget the delicious sea bass proposed by Cuoca Cotta di Cucina and the mouthwatering tiramisù!

The day after I wake up with a warm and lovely smell of croissants, which spread all over the hotel making it easier to get up. Once everybody’s ready, we get on the road to Caniezza, nearby Cavaso del Tomba. We go nordic walking on one of 50 itineraries of Montegrappa Slow Park for a couple of hours between hills and villages, dirt roads and Venetian villas giving us occasional glimpses of the breathtaking hills around Asolo. It’s almost noon and we need to sit around a table and talk, laugh and eat of course! So we head off to Agriturismo S. Giorgio in Caniezza. Housed in a typical rustic Venetian building it offers a fixed menu. If you are a vegetarian it might not be really interesting, but they are really flexible. Just let them know in advance about your food choice.

And finally let’s “meet” my favorite sculptor Antonio Canova. I have been several times to the Temple of Canova over the years. Whereas I’ve been only once before to the Gipsoteca. Among explanations of sculptural techniques and life anecdotes about Canova we spent the last hours in what is the world’s largest collection of plaster casts. Part of which was designed by the great Arch. Carlo Scarpa after being damaged by two grenades during the WWI.

Isn’t it tempting enough for you? So come and explore this land with your own eyes, heart and soul. So far you can start from the photos!