Veneto · Vicenza
Marostica
The walled chess town below Vicenza, where two castles linked by a hill rampart stage a costumed reenactment of a 1454 match every two years.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Marostica is on our list
It holds Bandiera Arancione and Città dell'Olio.
Subscribe and you get Marostica's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 2 min from Padua
- Population
- 14,052
- J7°
- F10°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J28°
- A28°
- S23°
- O18°
- N12°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Marostica sits at the foot of the Asolan hills, forty-five kilometers northwest of Padova. Cangrande della Scala took the town in 1311, building his lower fortress on the plain and a second stronghold on the hill above it, then joining the two with a wall long enough to carry two dozen towers and four gates between them. The arrangement is unusual: most walled towns fortify a single point, but here the defense runs uphill, turning the slope itself into the connecting structure between plain and ridge.
The upper stronghold did not survive the artillery of the War of the League of Cambrai in 1510 and has stood as a ruin since, while the lower one remained inhabited and working, which is why the town's public life, its square, its church, its chess board, still gathers at the base of the hill rather than at its summit. The cherries grown on the slopes to the north, since given IGP status, are the one product of the surrounding land that made it into the local kitchen as the crostata. What the town amounts to is a fortification that never stopped being a town: the walls did not seal Marostica off from its hillside, they organized it, and the square where the chess is played every two years sits exactly where the two castles' lines of sight once met.
How to get there
From Treviso (TSF), about 1 h 9 min by car.
Verona (VRN) is about 1 h 28 min away.
By car from the center of Padua 1 h 2 min.
Coming by train into Vicenza? Marostica is about 44 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Treviso airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Inferiore
Built from 1311 on Piazza Castello, its keep rising 44 meters over the square, with a museum inside on the chess match traditions.
Castello Superiore
Ruined by Venetian artillery in 1510, standing on Monte Pausolino and reached by a footpath through the walls, with views over the Brenta valley.
Mura di Marostica
Fourteenth-century walls running two kilometers between the two castles, with twenty-four towers and four gates; the parapet walk is open to the public.
Piazza Castello
Main square between the lower castle and the parish church, paved with a permanent chess board where the biennial match is staged the second weekend of September.
Partita a Scacchi
Costumed reenactment of a 1454 chess match between Vieri da Vallonara and Rinaldo d'Angarano, staged with five hundred performers in Renaissance dress on even-numbered years.
From the guides
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.
MadonnettaRistorante
A Michelin Bib Gourmand for Madonnetta, and a Slow Food snail.
La RosinaRistorante
La Rosina holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Marostica meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 14,052 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Vicenza, a city of 110,468, is 42 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 14,052, up 0.9% since 2015
- Nearest city Vicenza, 42 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Bassano del Grappa, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,100 to €1,400 per m² to buy
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 40% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE), 1 h 8 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Venice, 1 h 19 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, China and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 28 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom and Belgium. There are 221 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 21% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Vicenza province ranks 18th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Bassano del Grappa, 5 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Vicenza, 24 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Padua, 42 km away. The nearest IB school is H-Farm International School Vicenza, 23 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is H-Farm International School Rosà, 9 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €12,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Veneto spends about €2,310 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €490 a year for water, on the Veneto average. In Vicenza, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.37, a meal in a pizzeria €13.86 and a man's haircut €27.50.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
LIVING CHESS
The Partita a Scacchi, played on the square between the two castles every even-numbered September, reenacts the 1454 duel-by-chess for Lionora Parisio.
TWO CASTLES
Cangrande della Scala's lower fortress on the plain and the upper ruin on Monte Pausolino, linked by two kilometers of wall and twenty-four towers.
CILIEGIA IGP
Ciliegia di Marostica, first Italian cherry granted IGP status in 2002, grown on the slopes north of the walls and used in the local cherry crostata.
Common questions
- What is Marostica known for?
- Marostica is the walled chess town below Vicenza, where two castles linked by a hill rampart stage a costumed reenactment of a 1454 match every two years.
- Where is Marostica?
- Marostica is a comune in the province of Vicenza, in Veneto, at 103 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Marostica?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Venice Marco Polo (VCE), about 1 h 8 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Padua to Marostica?
- About 1 h 2 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Marostica?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Marostica?
- Pieve di Soligo, Vittorio Veneto and Spilimbergo.
- How many people live in Marostica?
- 14,052 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Marostica a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Marostica is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Vicenza, is 42 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Bassano del Grappa, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 40% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 103 m
- Population: 14,052
- Surface area: 36.53 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Marostica appears in
- The best towns known for what they grow within 75 minutes of PaduaNear Paduawithin 75 minproduce zone6 towns · smallest 8,911 residents · closest 52 min away
- The best hill towns within 75 minutes of VeronaNear Veronahill townwithin 75 min7 towns · smallest 250 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best hill towns with a serious restaurant in VenetoVenetohill townserious restaurant8 towns · smallest 3,607 residents
- The best olive oil towns in VenetoVenetoolive oil8 towns · smallest 1,779 residents
- The 9 best hidden hill towns in VenetoVenetohill townhidden9 towns · smallest 1,779 residents
- The best hill towns within 90 minutes of PaduaNear Paduahill townwithin 90 min10 towns · smallest 250 residents · closest 28 min away
Similar
Towns like Marostica
What all six share with Marostica: inland, away from the coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level
The letter
Marostica 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: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Marostica comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 76 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.