Asiago
Asiago is the main town of the Plateau of the Seven Municipalities, a broad high-altitude tableland in the Vicenza Prealps, set am...
Updated 11 July 2026
The story
The story of Asiago
The Plateau of the Seven Municipalities and Cimbrian Culture
Asiago is the largest of the seven municipalities that historically formed the Federation of the Seven Municipalities, an ancient system of mountain self-government settled from the Middle Ages onward by colonists of Germanic origin, the Cimbri. This legacy is still visible in local place names, in some traditions and in the Cimbrian dialect, today protected as a historic linguistic minority. The plateau, a karst tableland ringed by mountains, developed over the centuries an economy based on livestock, pasture and forestry, which shaped the gentle, open landscape still characteristic of the area today.
Asiago DOP Cheese
The name Asiago is known worldwide for the DOP cheese that bears it, produced for centuries with milk from the plateau's farms and high-altitude mountain huts (malghe). There are two main types: the fresh Asiago Pressato and the aged Asiago d'Allevo, the latter able to mature for months or years, developing increasingly pronounced flavours. The malghe scattered across the high pastures, many of which can be visited and remain active in summer cheesemaking, are still the most authentic way to approach this tradition, observing at close hand a production cycle that is an integral part of the plateau's identity.
The Astrophysical Observatory and the Plateau's Skies
On Monte Ekar, just above the centre of Asiago, stands one of Italy's most important astronomical observatories, run by the National Institute for Astrophysics: the clarity of the high-altitude skies and relative distance from light pollution have made the plateau one of the historic seats of Italian astrophysical research. The observatory's visitor centre runs public outreach activities and observation evenings, offering a combination of nature tourism and serious scientific research that is not something one usually finds in a mountain setting.
The Memory of the Great War
The Asiago plateau was one of the harshest fronts of the First World War, the setting in 1916 for the Austro-Hungarian Strafexpedition and years of fighting that devastated villages and forests. Today the vast Leiten Military Shrine, which holds the remains of thousands of Italian and Austro-Hungarian fallen, overlooks Asiago from a rise just outside the centre and is one of the most imposing memorial sites on the Alpine front. Trenches, tunnels and forts such as Forte Corbin, scattered across the plateau, remain open to visitors and allow one to physically retrace the front line in a natural setting that has since returned to silence.
Snow, Forests and Sport All Year Round
Asiago has for decades been one of Italy's leading centres for cross-country skiing, thanks to dozens of kilometres of trails cut through forests and clearings, also hosting international competitive events; alpine skiing is available too, on gentler slopes suited to families and beginners. In summer the same landscape turns into a network of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horse riding, while the town centre is also home to a nationally significant ice hockey tradition. This is a destination built for an active holiday rather than simple sightseeing.
Not-to-be-missed Experiences
- Visitare il Sacrario Militare del Leiten
- Visit the Leiten Military Shrine
To see
What to see in Asiago
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Asiago
Jobs · JobFlow
