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Bassano del Grappa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bassano del Grappa (Venetian simply: Basan, italianized: Bassan or Bassān) is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosā, Cartigliano and Nove. Some neighbourhoods of these communes have become in practice a part of the urban area of Bassano, so that the population of the whole urban area is higher than the population of Bassano proper.
The artist Jacopo Bassano was born, worked, and died in Bassano and took it as his surname. Bassano Del Grappa is also famous for inventing the spirit Grappa, traditionally an after-dinner drink made from pomace (discarded grape seeds, stalks, and stems).
The city was founded in the 2nd century BC by a Roman called Bassianus, whence the name, as an agricultural estate.
The first news of the existence of the medieval city dates from 998, while the Castle is mentioned first in 1150. In 1175 Bassano was conquered by Vicenza, but the city maintained a semi-autonomous status as a free commune in the 13th century also, when it was under the family of the Ezzelinos.
In 1368 it was acquired by the Visconti of Milan and, in 1404, by the Republic of Venice: the latter did not alter the citadine magistratures, limiting to impose a Captain chosen by the Venetian Senate. The city became home to a flourishing industry producing wool, silk, iron and copper, and mainly for ceramics; in the 18th became especially famous in all Europe for the presence of the Remondini printers.
During the French Revolutionary Wars the city was the site of the Battle of Bassano. In 1815 it was included in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1866. Napoleon Bonaparte remained in Bassano del Grappa for many months.
The original name of the town was Bassano Veneto. After the terrible battles on Mount Grappa in WWI , where thousands of soldiers lost their lives, a decision was made to change the name of the town. In 1928, the name was changed to Bassano del Grappa, meaning Bassano of Mount Grappa, as a memorial to the soldiers killed. Ernest Hemingway during his days as an ambulance driver in the war spent many days in Bassano and eventually settled there as part of A Farewell to Arms. Also other American writers spent some days in Bassano during WWI such as Scott Fitzgerald and Dos Passos.
During World War I Bassano was in the front area, and all industrial activities were halted. In World War II, after the Armistice with Italy, the city was invaded by German troops, which killed or deported numerous inhabitants.
The symbol of the town is the covered wooden pontoon bridge , which was designed by the architect Andrea Palladio in 1569. The bridge was destroyed many times, the last time during WWII. The Alpine soldiers, or Alpini have always revered the wooden bridge and Bassano del Grappa. After the destruction of the bridge, they took up a private collection and had the bridge completely rebuilt. Often soldiers flock to the bridge to remember and sing songs from their days as alpine soldiers. The grappa shop of Nardini Distillery is located on the bridge, known as Ponte degli Alpini.