Asiago (; Venetian: ''Axiago'',

Cimbrian Cimbrian (, ; ; ) is any of several local Upper German varieties spoken in parts of the Italian regions of Trentino and Veneto. The speakers of the language are known as in German. Cimbrian is a Germanic language related to Bavarian most ...

: ''Slege'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) with the title of ci

in the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Sette Comuni, Altopiano dei Sette Comuni'', Asiago plateau) in the

Province of Vicenza The province of Vicenza (; ) is a province in the Veneto region of 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 113 ''comuni'' (municipalities) in th ...

in the

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

region of Northeastern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is near the border between the

and

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol ( ; ; ), often known in English as Trentino-South Tyrol or by its shorter Italian name Trentino-Alto Adige, is an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy, located in the ...

regions in the foothills of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, approximately equidistant (60 km) from

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

to the west and

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) 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 Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

to the south. The Asiago region is the origin of

Asiago cheese Asiago ( , , ) is a cow's milk cheese, first produced in Asiago in Italy, that can assume different textures according to its aging, from smooth for the fresh Asiago (called , which means "pressed Asiago") to a crumbly texture for the aged che ...

. The town was the site of a major battle between Austrian and Italian forces on the Alpine Front of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

Culture

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

, a

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 sh ...

. Asiago is the birthplace of Italian writer

Mario Rigoni Stern Mario Rigoni Stern (1 November 1921 – 16 June 2008) was an Italian author and World War II veteran. Biography He was born and grew up on the Asiago plateau in North East Italy. In 1938, after being rejected for service in the Navy, he enrol ...

, and features prominently in his stories. It is also described in

Emilio Lussu Emilio Lussu (4 December 1890 – 5 March 1975) was a Sardinian people, Sardinian and Italian writer, anti-fascist intellectual, military officer, Italian resistance movement, partisan, and politician. He is also the author of the novel ''One Yea ...

's ''

One Year on the High Plateau ''One Year on the High Plateau'' (original title: ''Un anno sull'Altipiano'') is a historical novel by Emilio Lussu: set on the Asiago plateau. It is one of the major works of Italian literature on the First World War. The novel was written in 1 ...

,'' Lussu was an officer in the

Sassari Brigade Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

, and in his book the author describes the horror and violence of the war.

Battle of Asiago

The

Battle of Asiago The Südtirol Offensive, also known as the Battle of Asiago or Battle of the Plateaux (in Italian: Battaglia degli Altipiani), wrongly nicknamed ''Strafexpedition'' "Punitive expedition" (this name has no reference in official Austrian document ...

(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 The Asiago War Memorial is a World War I memorial located in the town of Asiago in the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of northeast Italy. Surrounded by mountains that were the site of several World War I battles, the monument houses th ...

, a monument and museum that is a popular site for visitors to the area. 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 Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...

, 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 Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, Order of the British Empire, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scotland, Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, f ...

in 1920.

Sport

The city is home to

HC Asiago Asiago Hockey 1935 is an Italian professional ice hockey team from Asiago which plays in the Alps Hockey League. Until 2021–22, Asiago played in the Italian Hockey League - Serie A, winning the championship eight times. Honours Domestic *Italia ...

, a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team currently playing in the international

Alps Hockey League The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in Central Europe. The league is made up of teams from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. It was established in 2016 as a result of a merger between Serie A and the Int ...

as well as in the Italian top tier Serie A. The Asiago Vipers, based in Asiago, are a professional

inline hockey Inline hockey or roller hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a v ...

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

Nicola Tumolero Nicola Tumolero (born 24 September 1994) is an Italian 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 championships, follow ...

, European champion speed skater.

Asiago International Award for Philatelic Art

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. Awards are also given for stamps with the best designs promoting tourism and for raising awareness of environmental issues. Recent winners: * 2024 (2 winners) Czech Republic – Block of 4 stamps depicting works of William Shakespeare, and Luxembourg – Melting snowman holding parasol * 2023 Ukraine – " Russian warship, go...!" * 2022 San Marino – Two stamps for the 50th anniversary of

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

* 2021 Switzerland – 3 stamps showing the evolution of cinema theaters and audiences * 2020 Portugal – Nativity scene with LED light in the North Star * 2019 Liechtenstein – 3 stamps showing close-ups of birds' eyes

Geography

Climate

Sister cities

Noventa Vicentina Noventa Vicentina is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. Infrastructure It is west of SP247 provincial road. History Noventa Vicentina was first inhabited by the Romans in the 1st century AD. Afterward in th ...

Lockport, Illinois Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,094. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois a ...

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