Altavilla Vicentina: Culture and History

Altavilla Vicentina is considered a cultural landscape where millennia of history meet the natural surroundings of the Colli Berici. Several themes give your stay a cultural context: the Romea Strata in Tavernelle, Villa Valmarana Morosini, archaeological traces of settlements at La Rocca e il Brolo, and Laghetto Comunale. They differ in time and scale—from a network of routes to the transformation of a former quarry.

The Romea Strata in Tavernelle

In Tavernelle, the Romea Strata is part of a centuries-old network of routes that connected Northern Europe, the Po Valley, Rome and the ports of the Adriatic. These connections give the route a historical scope extending across regions. At the same time, the Romea Strata is a rediscovered cultural and spiritual walking route. When planning your trip, you can therefore distinguish between two interests: the history of the connections between the regions mentioned and the character of the Romea Strata as a walking route. Those who want to combine cultural history with physical activity will find a clearly defined theme here. If you are more interested in a building or archaeological evidence, you can consider those as separate areas of focus.

Villa Valmarana Morosini and La Rocca e il Brolo

Villa Valmarana Morosini was built from 1724 onwards to a design by architect Francesco Muttoni. Its architecture is defined by a central building, side wings and a semicircular barchessa. The layout can be understood from the centre outwards, from the side sections to the semicircular barchessa. For travellers interested in architectural history, this offers a specific architectural focus, clearly distinct from the history of routes associated with the Romea Strata.

Archaeological research at La Rocca e il Brolo has brought to light traces of settlements from the Bronze Age. This offers a different historical perspective from that of the villa, built from 1724 onwards: here, the focus is on Bronze Age settlement traces, while there it is an 18th-century building. If you are choosing between archaeology and architecture, both the themes and their time periods are clearly distinct. The Bronze Age traces add a perspective to the history of the area that is not limited to architecture or the history of routes.

Laghetto Comunale

Laghetto Comunale was created through the ecological restoration of a former disused basalt quarry and returned to the public in 2003. Its story runs from the former quarry, through ecological restoration, to its return. This sets Laghetto apart from the villa and the Bronze Age settlement traces: the focus is on the transformation of a former extraction site. Its return in 2003 provides a more recent point of reference and complements the archaeological and architectural themes with another kind of local history.

The different time periods allow for a direct comparison: the Bronze Age settlement traces and the villa, built from 1724 onwards, represent different historical periods; the return of Laghetto in 2003 marks a more recent point of reference. The Romea Strata offers a different perspective, since its focus is on connections between regions and its cultural and spiritual character as a walking route. You can therefore choose your trip’s focus by period or type of theme, rather than viewing all aspects of Altavilla Vicentina as a single story.

Discover more destinations: Pedemonte, Foza, Cagnano, Albettone, Carré, Montecchio Precalcino, Tresché Conca, Bertesina.

View the wider travel overview: Vicenza.