Brendola: Culture, Routes and Hilly Landscapes

Brendola combines a landscape shaped by hills with historic buildings, rural routes and local produce. The routes, architectural heritage and agriculture offer different points of interest for planning your trip.

Landscape and orientation

Brendola includes wooded hills and hills covered in meadows, with some vineyards, as well as a flatter area between the hills. Brendola is considered an important western gateway to the Colli Berici. A map published by the municipality shows points of interest, accommodation, services and routes within the municipal area, and can give you an overview to help with further planning.

Choose routes by duration and theme

The three routes—Centro Storico, La Via dei Carri and Madonna dei Prati—have different stated durations: La Via dei Carri takes about an hour and a half, Madonna dei Prati takes about two hours on foot, and Centro Storico takes about three and a half hours. This places Madonna dei Prati between the other two in terms of duration. The routes also have different points of interest: Centro Storico starts at Piazzetta del Donatore and gives you the chance to discover the most important historic monuments in Brendola’s historic centre. La Via dei Carri starts at Casa Natale S. Bertilla. Madonna dei Prati passes through vineyards, cultivated fields and tree-lined avenues.

Casa Natale S. Bertilla is the birthplace of Saint Bertilla: a rural dwelling from the 19th century that has preserved its original features and furnishings. The description of Via dei Carri therefore begins at a place with its own historical significance. By contrast, those looking for a route focused primarily on scenery will find vineyards and agricultural fields as defining features of the Madonna dei Prati trail.

Another circular route passes through San Vito. The Sentiero di San Vito e delle Fontane begins in the hamlet of San Vito on Via Lampertico and extends to the upper part of Contrada Ca’ Vecchie. Along the way, it passes four fountains or washhouses, as well as the hamlet’s former aqueduct. The Antica Chiesa Benedettina di San Vito is also part of the circular route.

Buildings and history

Torre Revese is the surviving square tower of a complex built in the late 16th century that belonged to the Revese family. Villa Piovene – Municipio, now the seat of the municipal administration, is considered one of the elegant Gothic villas in the province of Vicenza. Different features stand out in these buildings: the surviving tower form and the history of the complex at Torre Revese, and the Gothic architecture and its current role as an administrative seat at Villa Piovene.

Chiesetta Revese is dedicated to Santa Maria Annunciata and is a sacred building from the early Renaissance. Although its dating is disputed, its present structure is believed to date from between 1486 and 1499. The fresco cycle inside is attributed to the Vicentine painter Giovanni Buonconsiglio. Chiesa di Madonna dei Prati comprises a church, bell tower, cloister and rectory. Rocca dei Vescovi stands on a limestone spur of Monte Sommaripa; its name refers to the former episcopal jurisdiction.

San Vito’s history also includes an ancient farmstead of Benedictine origin. Monks following the Rule of Saint Benedict settled there before the year 1000 and remained until the Napoleonic era. The area’s history therefore offers links to former religious communities as well as surviving architectural forms.

Winegrowing and local produce

A municipal guide from 2013 estimated that vineyards covered about 45 percent of Brendola’s total agricultural land. Garganega is an important native grape variety of the Berici hills and the most widely produced white grape variety in Brendola; it is used to make various types of wine. Traditional products also include baked goods, particularly the typical Pan Biscotto, as well as honey.

Brendola’s characteristic agricultural products include extra virgin olive oil with the Colli Berici D.O.P. protected designation of origin and prickly pear cacti, which grow below the Castello. If you are looking for these products in particular, ask locally about current cultivation and availability.

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