Asiago (;

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

: ''Axiago'',

Cimbrian Cimbrian ( cim, zimbar, links=no, ; german: Zimbrisch; it, cimbro) refers to any of several local Upper German varieties spoken in northeastern Italy. The speakers of the language are known as ''Zimbern'' in German. Cimbrian is a Germanic l ...

: ''Slege'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) in the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Altopiano dei Sette Comuni'', Asiago plateau) in the

Province of Vicenza The Province of Vicenza ( it, Provincia di Vicenza) is a province in the Veneto region in northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza. The province has an area of 2,722.53 km², and a total population of 865,082 (as of 2017). There are 1 ...

in the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

region of Northeastern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is near the border between the

and

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol it, Trentino (man) it, Trentina (woman) or it, Altoatesino (man) it, Altoatesina (woman) or it, Sudtirolesegerman: Südtiroler (man)german: Südtirolerin (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official ...

regions in the foothills of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, approximately equidistant (60 km) from

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

to the west and

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

to the south. The Asiago region is the origin of Asiago cheese. The town was the site of a major battle between Austrian and Italian forces on the

Alpine Front The Italian front or Alpine front ( it, Fronte alpino, "Alpine front"; in german: Gebirgskrieg, "Mountain war") involved a series of battles at the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy, fought between 1915 and 1918 in the course of World W ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It is a major ski resort destination, and the site of the Astrophysical Observatory of Asiago, operated by the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

Geography

Climate

Culture

Until the middle of the nineteenth century many of the people of Asiago spoke

, an ancient

German dialect German dialects are the various traditional local varieties of the German language. Though varied by region, those of the southern half of Germany beneath the Benrath line are dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant s ...

. Asiago is the birthplace of author Mario Rigoni Stern, and features prominently in his stories. It is also described in

Emilio Lussu Emilio Lussu (4 December 1890 – 5 March 1975) was an Italian soldier, politician, anti-fascist and writer. Biography The soldier Lussu was born in Armungia, province of Cagliari (Sardinia) and graduated with a degree in law in 1914. Lussu ma ...

's ''A Year on the Altopiano''.

Battle of Asiago

The

Battle of Asiago The Battle of Asiago (Battle of the Plateaux) or the Südtirol Offensive (in Italian: Battaglia degli Altipiani), nicknamed ''Strafexpedition'' ("Punitive expedition") by the Italians, was a major counteroffensive launched by the Austro-Hungari ...

(Battle of the Plateaux) was a counter-offensive launched by the Austro-Hungarians on the Italian Front in May 1916, during

. It was an unexpected attack that occurred near Asiago (now in northeast Italy, then on the Italian side of the border between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary). Commemorating this battle and the fallen soldiers of

is the Asiago War Memorial, a monument and museum that is a popular site for visitors to the area.

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

fought here. In a later engagement in 1918,

Edward Brittain Edward Harold Brittain, MC (30 November 1895 – 15 June 1918) was a British Army officer who was killed in the First World War; he was immortalised by his sister Vera Brittain in ''Testament of Youth''. Early life Brittain was born at Macclesf ...

, brother of Vera Brittain, was killed and was buried in the Granezza British military cemetery on the plateau. In 1970 Vera's ashes were scattered on his grave. The Barenthal, Boscon, Granezza, Magnaboschi and Cavalletto Military Cemeteries at Asiago were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1920.

Sport

The city is home to HC Asiago, a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team currently playing in the international Alps Hockey Leaguehttps://www.asiagohockey.it/ as well as in the Italian top tier Serie A. The

Asiago Vipers Asiago (; Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) in the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Altopiano dei Sette Comuni'', Asiago plateau) in t ...

, based in Asiago, are a professional inline hockey team. The team plays in the highest Italian inline league. *

Enrico Fabris Enrico Fabris (born 5 October 1981) is an Italian former long track speed skater who has won three World Cup races and became the first European Allround Champion from Italy when he won the 2006 European Championships one month before the Wint ...

, long track speed skater who has won three World Cup races. *

Ivan Lunardi Ivan Lunardi (born 15 May 1973) is an Italian former ski jumper. Career At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, he finished seventh in the individual large hill event. Lunardi's best individual finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships ...

, one of the best Italian ski jumpers in history. * Aldo Stella, ski mountaineer and cross-country skier. *

Lucio Topatigh Lucio Topatigh (born 19 October 1965) is a former Italian ice hockey player. Born in Gallio, Vicenza, Topatigh spent all his career in Serie A league, with Asiago Hockey A.S., HC Devils Milano and Hockey Club Bolzano-Bozen. He won seven ti ...

, Italian ice hockey legend. *

Nicola Tumolero Nicola Tumolero (born 24 September 1994) is an Italian Speed skating, speed skater. Skating career Tumolero won gold in the 5,000 meters at the 2018 European Speed Skating Championships. This was Italy's second-ever gold at the European champion ...

, European champion speed skater.

The Asiago Award

The Asiago Award is known as the Oscar of the Philatelic World. Since 1970 the "Circolo Filatelico Numismatico Sette Comuni Asiago" (Numismatic and Philatelic Chapter of the Seven Asiago Communities) has been awarding the prize for the best designed postage stamp of the year.

Sister cities

* Noventa Vicentina *

Lockport, Illinois Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,094. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal, an ...

References

External links

Official site

Asiago plateau

Asiago7Comuni
news and general information

Astrophysical Observatory of Asiago

Asiago on The Campanile Project

{{Authority control Geography of Veneto