ASOLA

Asola stands on the banks of the River Chiese in an area inhabited since prehistoric times. In 1440, it voluntarily submitted to the Republic of Venice, becoming a crucial border fortress for controlling the mainland until 1797.

 

OURIST ITINERARIES

CIVIC MUSEUM “GOFFREDO BELLINI” – Palazzo Monte Pegni

Across from the cathedral’s façade is Palazzo Monte Pegni, home to the local museum; the central pediment with a tympanum bears the inscription “Congregazione di Carità. Founded in 1614 by the will of Antonio Priuli, Provveditore Generale di Terraferma, and the abbot Antonio degli Antoni.”

The museum was established in the early 1920s by Goffredo Bellini, a collector and enthusiast of local history. Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, Bellini gathered archaeological finds, war relics, graphic and pictorial works, antique books, documents, autographs, and sacred art objects, creating a diverse collection. The museum houses sections spanning archaeology, anthropology, art, military history, and natural sciences. Following the archaeological section is the Anthropological section, then a historical section devoted to events from the Venetian period through the Risorgimento and the Great War. The historic-artistic room exhibits works by Asolan artists such as Luigi Impaccianti, Marino Parenti, and Otello Bernardi. The Topographic Room synthesizes the history of the museum and territory with significant objects representing the city, contextualized by a walkable aerial photogrammetry.

PARISH MUSEUM “GIOVANNI BATTISTA TOSIO”

This museum displays sacred furniture, wooden statues, paintings, sacred goldsmith objects, and liturgical vestments. Noteworthy are the sixteenth-century wooden sculptures, such as Zamara’s “Deposed Christ,” and a sixteenth-century silver processional cross.

MUNICIPAL HISTORICAL ARCHIVE

The archive preserves numerous parchments (1401–1719) and a series of records from the Venetian period, including registries of provisions, privileges, municipal statutes, records of the provveditore, expense reports, credits, and estimates. Also housed are the Napoleonic section, documents from the Austrian period beginning in 1815, and the modern post-unification section (1860–1958), as well as the archives of the ECA, the hospital, the suppressed welfare institutions of the Antonio Schiantarelli Bequest, and the School Board.

Town Hall: The Palazzo overlooks Piazza XX Settembre. In the northern corner of the building is an elegant Venetian loggia constructed in 1610 by architect Lantana, originally adorned with eight paintings by Moretto, later transferred to the Cathedral.

Palazzo Terzi and Palazzo Beffa Negrini: Palazzo Terzi is distinguished by an expansive English-style garden with a cylindrical icehouse capped by a brick dome. Built by Cavaliere Andrea Terzi (1819–1897), mayor of Asola in the post-unification era, it hosted General Garibaldi in 1862 and Crown Prince Umberto in 1866. Farther along the same street stands Palazzo Beffa Negrini, an eighteenth-century building with a baroque façade, wide portal with a pediment, and white marble coat of arms.

Schiantarelli College: Count Paolo Tosio commissioned architect Vantini in 1829 to construct a building meant to house his art collection, now in Brescia. In 1863, the building became a boarding school, with its inscription still recalling its history.

Social Theatre: Built in the late 19th century on the remains of the ancient church of St. Erasmus, of which a side chapel remains. Inaugurated in 1891, it features a late neoclassical façade and statues representing characters from the Commedia dell’Arte.

Hercules Fountain: Designed by Pietro Marai Bagnadore (1593–1595) and sculpted by Antonio Carra to replace a public well, the marble group depicts Hercules crushing the nine-headed Hydra. Damaged by vandalism, it has been replaced with a replica.

RELIGIOUS ITINERARIES Cathedral of St. Andrew: Rebuilt starting in 1472 over a smaller Gothic church from 1300, of which only the bell tower and apse remain. The architect Guglielmo Cremonese completed it in 1514. Among its treasures are Antegnati’s sixteenth-century organ, the pulpit painted by Romanino (1485–1559), Palma the Younger’s altarpiece (1628) depicting the Madonna of the Rose, and the Madonna altar, a masterful carving by Zamara (early 1500s). The chapel of John Chrysostom (patron of Asola, born in Antioch and Patriarch of Constantinople), built at the end of the 1600s with stuccoes and a painting by Francesco Paglia, also houses a silver reliquary bust of the saint. To the right from the entrance is a San Giuseppe altarpiece by Giovanni and Bernardino da Asola. Also noteworthy are the Santa Barbara altar with a painting by Gandino and the colorful Immaculate Conception altar with a painting by L. Gambara. Other religious buildings include the Church of the Red Penitents and the Church of the White Penitents, both associated with medieval flagellant orders, and the Church of San Rocco, consecrated in 1506, rebuilt in 1539 by Cristoforo Mantuano from Leno, and frescoed by Giovan Antonio De Fedeli.

NATURALISTIC ITINERARIES The River Chiese, a left tributary of the Oglio, has shaped the landscape of Asola, as indicated by the Latin name “ansula,” meaning bend. Proceeding from the river’s bridge along the left bank, one reaches the Camporegio Lock, where water flows into the Seriola di Acquanegra via a system of hydraulic thresholds. The riverbanks serve as cycling routes northwards toward the Parco del Moro in the municipality of Casalmoro. Nearby lie the hamlets of Castelnuovo, Barchi, Gazzuoli, San Pietro, Seriole, and Sorbara.

TRADITION AND FOLKLORE Antica Fiera dei Morti: This fair, dating back to the early 1900s, was originally dedicated to livestock and commercial trade. In November, following the grape harvest and field sowing, the agricultural year began with the solemn rural festivity of the fair of saints and the dead. Today, on November 1st and 2nd, Asola hosts this fair, now more recreational and cultural in focus, with traditional market stalls, local products in the historic center, and a fairground in Piazzale Mangeri, along with cultural events and exhibitions.

St. Anthony’s Day: On January 17th, the popular veneration of St. Anthony is marked by lighting the traditional buriel in the locality of San Pietro and consuming traditional foods such as torta dura, focaccia (el chisol), grepule, and pipaçener.

Feast of St. John Chrysostom: St. John Chrysostom has been the patron saint of Asola since 1788 when the city received permission from the Venetian Senate to replace Saints Faustino and Giovita. The saint’s relic is housed in the cathedral in a silver bust in his dedicated chapel. On January 27th, the bust is displayed on the main altar for the devotion of the faithful along with four other saints (the five mitres). The appearance of the bust is carefully observed as a sign for the agricultural year: if shiny, it indicates a good year (dry, with an abundant harvest); if dull, the opposite (wet year, poor harvest).