La Regina Cornaro in Asolo

The queen arrives in Asolo. a monk (?) is describing every single movement in his amplified camp Italian voice. fierce tribal drumming. for a moment i'm on a filmset.

you can just about feel the tension in the air.

an old lady watches from a balcony.

usually this place is very sleepy.

this happens here every year to reenact the arrival of the Regina Cornaro in the beautiful hilltop town of Asolo. i think she's taking it over from Venice, this is 500 or so years ago. it all really happened.


Asolo is surrounded by grand old villas, some of them a bit faded, gardens, vineyards, and there's a castle ruin high above it from where you can already see the Alps.

the wine is very good around here, and pretty cheap. there's a great little wine bar in town, could almost be a gay bar. loungey music. no smoking everywhere.

another grappa please!