Tom`s travels: Bycicle trip north of Vicenza (27/05/2020)

On another nice sunny day, I took the chance for another bicycle trip this time heading northwards from Vicenza. After just a few kilometers I reached the small town of Costabissara, set right below the first hills to the north. I cycled through the small city center and passed by some older buildings, including the nice Casa Repeta, a 16th-century house with a fresco of a lion on its facade, a heraldic symbol of the Repeta family to whom the building belonged. A little further I then encountered the small Baroque Oratorio di San Valentino, built in 1684 by the Repeta family with a very nice small but well-decorated facade. Back through the city center I then cycled slightly uphill passing by the large Villa San Carlo, most probably of ancient origin, it was rebuilt during the 17th century and later refurbished during the 19th century receiving its current form. It is nowadays used as a spiritual home by the church so that prompted me to observe it from the exterior only. Not far ahead I then reached the small Langobard church of San Giorgio, set on a hill in a solitary position. Dating to the 12th century during the Langobard rule of these lands, it featured a complete reconstruction during the 1800s when it took its current neogothic style. At that moment it was closed, however, as it was used by the orthodox community, the interior would have nevertheless been completely changed from its original style. I then decided to head onwards and after a short way cycling, I reached the next town, Castelnovo. Not particularly noteworthy it still held a nice square, Piazza San Vitale, with a neogothic church dating to 1911 which replaced a much older one dating to the 13th century. As is typical in other places in Italy the bell tower is detached from the church and standing quite a few meters away. Nearby I then arrived in the town of Isola Vicentina with its small yet nice city center. I first passed through the main square, which is unfortunately sided by the trafficked main street on one side while the other features some old buildings including the town hall. At its center is a nice elegant 18th-century fountain. At the other end of town I then briefly gazed at the nice Villa Cerchiari, built in 1772 in an elegant Baroque style for the Cerchiari family and currently used as the town's library and with a nice garden surrounding it. The most important building in town was, though, the church and convent of Santa Maria del Cengio located on a hilltop right above the town. The church dates to the 12th century while the convent was added two centuries later. As I reached the complex, I parked my bicycle and entered through the convent first, admiring the beautiful arcaded geometrical cloister in a late gothic style. Then I moved on and passed through a door to reach the church proper. The interior was mostly remade in a baroque style during the 18th century but still featured some traces of its ancient past including two 15th century frescoes in the chapel of Santa Brigida, the first to the right when entering. I then exited through another door and reached a small terrace which granted me an incredible view over the surrounding landscape and town below. This used to be the main and only entrance to the church which was served by a staircase leading right up to the church directly from the town. Once I saw enough I got back to the bicycle and continued my cycle onwards. I passed by some nice green fields and then started my ascent of the surrounding high hills. As I cycled over these verdant mounds I admired some mesmerizing landscapes on both sides of the trails, looking east towards the plain of Vicenza and Padova, and west over to Verona and the Prealps. At one point close to the hamlet of Torreselle I spotted a few friendly horses who curiously came to see who I was and why I was passing by. I fed them some grass and took a few pics and then noticed I could now easily spot Vicenza in the distance. I could clearly make out the shapes of the Basilica Palladiana with the Torre Bissara next to it and the large cupola of the Duomo. As I continued on I took a trail continuing on along some nice countryside roads and passed by the nice Baroque church of Monte San Lorenzo when I reached the street once more. Then I followed another trail this time heading downhill through a forest which became quite hard as I cycled at high speed with quick turns and bumps. Finally, I cycled through the small town of Monteviale and once I had reached the ground level I was just outside Vicenza, with a few kilometers left before finally arriving back home,