Asiago

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This article is about the settlement in the Province of Vicenza, Italy. For the cheese of the same name, see Asiago cheese.

Asiago (Cimbrian: Schleghe, German: Schlägen) is the name of both a minor township (population roughly 6,500, 45°52.55′N 11°30.5′E / 45.87583°N 11.5083°E / 45.87583; 11.5083) and the surrounding plateau region (the Altopiano di Asiago) in the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of Northeastern Italy. It is near the border between the Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regions in the foothills of the Alps, and about equidistant (100 km) from the major cities of Trento to the west and Vicenza to the south.

Alpine-War 1915-1918 Monument in Asiago.

Although probably best known internationally as the origin of Asiago cheese, Asiago was also the site of a major battle between Austrian and Italian forces on the Alpine Front of World War I. It is a major ski resort destination as well as the site of the Astrophysical Observatory of Asiago, operated by the University of Padua.

[edit] Culture

Until the middle of the nineteenth century many of the people of Asiago spoke Cimbrian, an ancient German dialect.

Asiago is the birthplace of author Mario Rigoni Stern, and features prominently in his stories. It is also described in Emilio Lussu's A Year on the Altopiano.