Civic Museum of Asolo: findings, paintings and relics of three extraordinary women

The Civic Museum of Asolo is located partly in the Bishop’s Palace and partly in the Loggia della Ragione. The entrance is located opposite the Cathedral facade, to the left of the Tourist Information Office. I tell you this cause I have to admit that I didn’t immediately find it!

Civic Museum of Asolo

Ground floor

• On the ground floor there are archaeological findings (found in the area) from prehistoric times to the Renaissance: a sacred shrine, cute bronze objects, gravegoods, a portion of mosaic pavement, fragments of sarcophagi. In the Mosaic room there’s a beautiful view on the Cathedral (as you can see in one of the photos below).

Second floor

• On the second floor there is a gallery with paintings from 1400 to 1900. The best, in my opinion, are the two Capricci by Bellotto. In the same room you can see some items that belonged to Canova. I also loved the small paintings of Eugene Benson: very delicate and evocative.

Third floor

• On the third floor of the Civic Museum of Asolo there is a mix: upon arrival you see the treasure of the Cathedral, on the right there are the sections dedicated to Freya Stark and to Caternia Cornaro, while on the left there is the an area with various relics (the spinet of Robert Browning, the jacket of a soldier in Garibaldi’s army, the sketches of Natalia Goncharova – gorgeous – for a theatrical play by Ibsen) and then the section dedicated to Eleonora Duse: paintings, photos and the reconstruction of his room with furniture, books, clothes and various objects (there is a truly wonderful necklace!).

The museum is nice, you can visit it within an hour with no hurry. It’s set in a pleasant and intelligent way, it is also accessible with an elevator and ramps.
The only flaw is that the path to follow is not continuous. At each floor you must return to the starting point (stairs or elevator) to continue to the next level.

There is only one bathroom (for women, men and disabled), decorous enough.