Caterina Cornaro, Eleonora Duse, Freya Stark have made the town world-famous
Three great women have made Asolo famous throughout the world.
The first personality to make the town a cultural centre of great interest was the Queen of Cyprus Caterina Cornaro, remembered for having resisted 16 years of pressure from the Venetian Republic, which wanted to take over the island.
She abdicated in 1489 only after obtaining lordship over Asolo and maintaining the rank of queen with the title of rejna Jerusalem Cypri et Armeniae. During her exile, she gave life to a literary court, welcoming the most illustrious exponents of Humanism, including Pietro Bembo and Giorgione, with great pomp in her Asolo Castle and at the Barco di Altivole.
Three towers remain of Asolo Castle today (Torre Civica, Torre Reata and Torre del Carro, known as La Torricella), from which one can admire the entire ‘city of a hundred horizons’ (quoting Carducci) and take wonderful panoramic photos!
The other figure of international echo is Eleonora Duse. Considered the greatest Italian actress of the Belle époque and a symbol of modern theatre, Duse had a lifelong love affair with Gabriele D’Annunzio that marked her deeply.
Duse brought D’Annunzio’s texts to the theatrical stage, often financing his productions, despite a troubled and fluctuating ten-year relationship.
D’Annunzio used to exploit her to pay his debts and boost his fame, but in 1907 he wrote in his Taccuini (Notebooks) that “no woman has ever loved me like Ghisola [Eleonora], neither before nor after. This is the truth, lacerated by remorse and sweetened by regret'”.
The actress was the poet vate’s muse of inspiration, so much so that during their relationship D’Annunzio composed 6000 verses a month. He dedicated the poem Alla divina Eleonora Duse (Elegie romane) to her, and his house-museum at the Vittoriale still houses the bust depicting his beloved’s face.
The actress loved Asolo so much that she was buried at the S. Anna cemetery in a tomb facing the Grappa; to commemorate her, the people of Asolo eventually dedicated the spectacular Duse Theatre to her.
As soon as you enter the historical centre of Asolo along Via Forestuzzo, on the right you can find Villa Freya, home of the icon of femininity and solitary explorer, Freya Stark, the last great woman who made Asolo illustrious.
The indomitable traveller, strengthened by the fact that she knows a dozen languages, begins to explore the Middle East alone. She thus enters the Valley of the Assassins with a camp bed, a mosquito net and a local guide, mapping the region that had remained unexplored until 1930.
She even decided to climb the Himalayas at the age of 88, but despite having travelled the world she chose Asolo as her true home where she died at the age of 100.
In the park of the villa are the remains of an ancient Roman theatre and the numerous flower species cultivated by Freya in her last years of life.
Tip: In August, during the Calici di Stelle (Goblets of Stars) event, try the best local products and taste delicious wines on one of the most magical evenings of summer, the night of St Lawrence.
Translated by Dr Giada Gubert
Intern at the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso – Belluno|Dolomiti
