A Dream in the Hills: Villa Cipriani, Asolo
Perched above the terracotta rooftops of Asolo — a hilltop jewel in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy — Villa Cipriani is not simply a hotel. It is a living chronicle of beauty, power, and poetry, where centuries of extraordinary history breathe through every stone wall and garden path. You arrive winding up through Asolo’s olive groves and vineyard slopes, the villa’s façade emerges, classical and gracious, as you step into its sweeping gardens.
The 28 rooms and suites are furnished with pieces of Italian craftsmanship. The floors are tiled with local Possagno cotto and the bathrooms decorated with hand-painted tiles from Vietri — details that speak not of decoration, but of devotion. The garden is the villa’s crown jewel.
Recipient of the Top 10 Magnificent Gardens award from Historic Hotels Worldwide and included in the American Horticultural Society’s Garden of Excellence circuit since the mid- 1990s, it is a living theatre of colour and fragrance that shifts with every season. Yet at the heart of Villa Cipriani beats its restaurant — and it has never shone more brilliantly.
Immersed in the splendid award-winning English garden, and from both the outdoor terrace and the two dining rooms, guests enjoy a breathtaking view over the Asolo valley and Monte Grappa, one of the most romantic vistas in all of Veneto. The kitchen offers a blend of regional and Mediterranean specialities alongside traditional Cipriani dishes — beef carpaccio, risotto primavera, baccalà mantecato, rice pilaf with curry scampi — with a seasonal menu that follows the rhythms of local markets.
Each plate is at once a tribute to the Veneto’s extraordinary larder and a quiet act of culinary artistry. The gastronomic experience is completed by Bistrot Rosmarino, overlooking the infinity pool with an incomparable view of the valley, open from May to September, and by the American Bar — walls lined with cherry and walnut boiserie, Scottish tartan carpeting, leather armchairs — where expert bartenders craft classics alongside the signature Cocktail Duse, a gin, Cointreau and crème de violette creation of luminous violet hue.
Villa Cipriani is, above all, an invitation to surrender to the Italian art of living beautifully — one unhurried meal, one golden hillside view, one perfect glass of local Prosecco at a time.
