The best cycling routes around Zenson Di Piave

icon contact us icon get inspired logo 0 Ernest Hemingway, a Venetian by adoption 5 Hemingway’s favorite places in Veneto Index 1. Schio, ‘one of the most beautiful places on earth’ 2. The yellow house in Fossalta di Piave 3. Venice, the Gritti Hotel, Harry’s Bar and the Locanda Cipriani on the island of Torcello 4. The casoni of Caorle 5. Cortina D’Ampezzo It is no exaggeration to call Ernest Hemingway a Venetian by adoption: 'a boy from the lower Piave, I am an old fan of Veneto and it is here that I will leave my heart,' he used to say about himself. Arriving in our region in 1918 as a volunteer for the International Red Cross, initially stationed in Schio, he narrowly escaped death on the Piave, where he was seriously wounded in the leg. From then on, he remained forever linked to our territory, where he was treated, fell in love, and returned several times throughout his life. What are Hemingway’s favorite places in Veneto? At least five cities remained in his heart and played an important role in his personal and artistic journey. Let’s discover them together. Ernest Hemingway 1. Schio, ‘one of the most beautiful places on earth’ Hemingway arrived in Veneto in 1918, sent to Schio shortly after coming of age due to its proximity to Monte Pasubio and Vallarsa, theaters of the Great War. He was young, cocky, looking for fun, girls, and good drinks, frequenting the locals in the taverns and local inns. Moments of joy and, despite the war, of lightheartedness, which imprinted themselves on his heart. He would later write, ‘There was a garden in Schio, with a wisteria-covered wall, where we drank beer on hot evenings, under a moon that bombarded us and cast all sorts of shadows with the plane tree that stretched over the tables.’ These words date back to 1922; Hemingway had recently married and was working as a journalist in Toronto. He was in Italy to interview Mussolini and returned to Schio to show his wife what he remembered as ‘one of the most beautiful places on earth.’ But the disappointment was bitter; he no longer recognized ‘his’ Schio, rebuilt after the war, which seemed to have lost all the verve and charm that had captivated him. If there is one place that forever marked the bond between Hemingway and Veneto, it is Fossalta di Piave, in the Province of Venice, where the writer was moved to follow the Piave front. The evening of July 8, 1918, around 11 p.m., an Austrian howitzer hit an Italian stronghold on the banks of the Piave, in the Buso Burato area. One dead and two wounded, one of whom was Hemingway himself. The explosion stunned him, but although wounded in the leg, he had the strength to shoulder the other wounded man and climb the embankment. Just at that moment, a flash lit up the night: it was a flare fired by the Austro-Hungarians to check the effect of the shot. A snapshot was indelibly imprinted in the writer’s mind: that of a ruined house nearby, the famous Casa Gialla (Yellow House), which we will find in his books as a symbol of anguish.

A tower with the image of the great writer Hemingway along the banks of the Piave river, near Fossalta di Piave (VE).

The town of Zenzon is historically relevant for the battles along the Piave front after the retreat from Caporetto in 1917. The Zenson bend was the scene of fierce clashes between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies.

The Municipality of Zenson di Piave stands as a symbol of reconstruction and civil identity for a town profoundly marked by the Great War. The building, located in the heart of the town center, reflects a sober and functional architecture, typical of the administrative structures that arose in the immediate post-war period to restore stability and services to the community after the wartime devastation that had almost wiped out the entire village. The facade, with its clean and regular lines, overlooks the main square, serving as the hub of public and social life for the citizens. In addition to housing the municipal offices, the town hall represents the guardian of local historical memory, managing a territory that has made resilience along the banks of the Piave its strength. Its central position makes it the starting point for discovering the indissoluble link between the administration, the river, and the history of the Treviso area.

The pontoon bridge between Fossalta and Noventa di Piave is a suggestive floating structure that represents one of the last testaments to traditional river engineering on the Sacro alla Patria river. The structure, formed by a series of connected barges that float according to the water level, constitutes a vital and historical link between the two banks. Beyond its practical utility, the bridge offers a unique sensory experience: the slight rolling and the rustling of the current accompany the passage of cars and cycle tourists, immersed in a natural landscape of rare beauty. A symbol of local identity and of a time when man constantly dialogued with the rhythms of the river, the bridge remains a fundamental stop for those seeking slow and conscious mobility, capable of uniting technical ingenuity and respect for the riparian environment.

Hemingway's famous yellow house

The pontoon bridge from a particular angle

Monument dedicated to the fallen of the First World War.