Soave Embracing the walls. From a distance, one is struck by the unmistakable turreted profile that rises to the Castle Hill, among slopes covered with renowned vineyards that underscore the winemaking tradition of the entire area.

Technical description:
Arriving in front of the ravelin of Porta Verona, we follow the four-sided wall enclosing the city to the right: at the foot of the steepest section of the eastern wing of the wall is the Porta Vicentina, anticipated by the crenellated battlemented bridge. Past the gate we reach the main axis of the city, Via Roma, on which the Antenna Square opens with the Scaliger Palace of the Magistrate’s Court. Continuing northward before leaving the Porta Aquila we encounter the Palazzo del Capitano erected in 1375 by Cansignorio della Scala along with the city walls. The outer road climbs through the vineyards to St. George’s Gate, which still retains the drawbridge. A passageway to the right leads into the castle complex, crossing first the Venetian courtyard of arms, then the Scaligera parade ground that finally leads into the castle court with the keep erected on a high escarpment base. A magnificent view of the castle can be had from the hill behind it, while from the right bank of the Tramigna the view flows over the walls from the plain to the mountain. Arzignano. The walled hill. Here the Scaligeri abandoned the foothill fortified typology to girdle the top of a relief that remotely dominates the “Villa del Piano” on the banks of the Chiampo River. With the striking basaltic stone mole of the Rocca before our eyes, we reach the 650-meter-long citadel walls: on the face stands the white stone-block facade of the Eastern Gate, from which we access the square of the Parish Church of the Visitation (once the ancient Pieve di Castello). At the end of the small hamlet is the westward opening of the Calpeda Gate, made of striped masonry. From the outside one can admire the polygonal walls of the fortress, with four shielded turrets at the apexes and, in the center, the donjon, the current home of the parish priest.

Length: 26 km
Height difference in ascent: 397 m
Downhill elevation gain: 397 m
Highest point: 432 m
Lowest point: 32 m
Type of surface: asphalt

Municipality of departure: Soave
Place of departure: Soave
Municipality of arrival: Arzignano
Place of arrival: Arzignano

Recommended period: March to October

Where to park:
ARZIGNANO: It is located only 6 km from the state highway no. 246 of Recoaro, but it can also be reached by the A4 Turin-Trieste motorway via the Montecchio exit, 10 km away. The railway station, along the Milan-Venice line, is 10 km away.

SOAVE: Located just 3 km from its own exit on the A4 Turin-Trieste freeway, it is also easily accessible by highway no. 11 Padana Superiore, which runs only 2 km from the built-up area, and via the Venice-Milan railway line, whose reference station is 4 km away.