Veneto · Vicenza
Bassano del Grappa
The Brenta River town where Palladio drew the covered bridge in 1569 and Nardini has been distilling grappa since 1779.
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 1 h from Padua
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 42,395
Known for
PONTE DEGLI ALPINI
Palladio's 1569 covered wooden bridge across the Brenta, adopted as the symbol of the Alpini in 1918 and rebuilt seven times.
GRAPPA NARDINI
The oldest grappa distillery in Italy, founded on the bridge in 1779, still distilling and pouring at the same address.
CERAMICS
Bassano-Nove production tradition from the sixteenth century, documented at Palazzo Sturm and still made by Veneto studios.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- J8°
- F11°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- S24°
- O19°
- N13°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Bassano sits on the Brenta, where the river breaks out of the Alpine foothills onto the Veneto plain forty-five kilometers north of Padova. A Roman estate gave the town its name in the second century BC; a pre-Roman bronze sword found here in 2009 dates to the seventh century BC. The medieval city is first mentioned in 998.
Andrea Palladio designed the covered wooden bridge across the Brenta in 1569, replacing an older bridge documented since 1209. Floods and wars destroyed it repeatedly; the current version, inaugurated 3 October 1948 with Alcide De Gasperi present, was the seventh build. The Alpini, the Italian mountain troops, adopted the bridge as their symbol in the First World War.
Nardini opened its distillery on the bridge in 1779, the oldest grappa house in Italy; Poli is its main local competitor. The city also kept the ceramics trade that flourished here from the sixteenth century, sharing the tradition with neighboring Nove. Piazza della Libertà, with its fifteenth-century loggia and clock, holds the historic center together.
The Sunday letter
Bassano del Grappa is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Bassano del Grappa comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Bassano del Grappa in our articles
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The best towns you can reach by train that have a serious restaurant in Veneto10 towns, Bassano del Grappa among them.
Every town in our catalogue you can reach by train, all of them, by region452 towns, Bassano del Grappa among them.
How to get there
From Venice (TSF), about 1 hour by car.
Verona (VRN) is about 1h 32m away.
By car from the centre of Padua 1 hour.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Verona, Venice or Bologna?
Coming by train into Vicenza? Bassano del Grappa is about 45 minutes away by road.
What to see
Ponte degli Alpini
Covered wooden bridge designed by Andrea Palladio in 1569, rebuilt seven times after floods and wars, current version inaugurated 1948.
Piazza della Libertà
Main square of the centro storico, overlooked by the Palazzo Municipale with its fifteenth-century loggia and clock tower.
Grapperia Nardini
Founded 1779, the oldest grappa distillery in Italy; the tasting room on the Ponte degli Alpini still operates daily.
Museo Civico
Civic museum on Piazza Garibaldi with works by Jacopo Bassano and the painter dynasty that took the city's name as their own.
Museo della Ceramica
Ceramics museum at Palazzo Sturm, documenting the Bassano-Nove tradition from the sixteenth century to contemporary studios.
Duomo di Santa Maria in Colle
Cathedral on the hill above the bridge, with a Romanesque core, Renaissance restructuring and a campanile of the eleventh century.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Bassano del Grappa fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Ca' 7Ristorante
Ca' 7 carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Distilleria NardiniDistilleria
Distilleria Nardini holds a place on Italy's historic-locali register.
Ristorante Birraria OttoneRistorante
Ristorante Birraria Ottone carries a place on Italy's historic-locali register.
Living here
- Population 42,395
- A local hubi
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Venice, 1 h 4 min drive
- Regional capital Venezia, 1 h 19 min drive
Common questions
- What is Bassano del Grappa known for?
- Bassano del Grappa is the Brenta River town at 129 meters where Palladio drew the covered bridge in 1569 and Nardini has been distilling grappa since 1779.
- Where is Bassano del Grappa?
- Bassano del Grappa is a comune in the province of Vicenza, in Veneto.
- What is the nearest airport to Bassano del Grappa?
- Venice (TSF), about 1 hour by car.
- Can you get to Bassano del Grappa without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Padua to Bassano del Grappa?
- About 1 hour by car.
- When is the best time to visit Bassano del Grappa?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Bassano del Grappa?
- Conegliano, Treviso and Casale Monferrato.
- How many people live in Bassano del Grappa?
- 42,395 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 129 m
- Population: 42,395
- Surface area: 47.06 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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