Grumolo delle Abbadesse among rice fields and villas

Grumolo delle Abbadesse combines rice cultivation with a remarkable density of historic villas and chapels. If you would like to bring Italian architecture, regional cuisine and rural landscapes together when planning your trip, you will find several concrete points of interest here. The history of the area is reflected not only in individual buildings, but also in the agriculture that shaped the region over the centuries.

Rice Fields as a Characteristic Landscape

Rice cultivation shaped the landscape of Grumolo delle Abbadesse through the reclamation of the land, deforestation, the drainage of wetlands and the construction of irrigation canals. Rice fields have existed for more than 500 years in the area of the historic fiefdom of the abbesses, including in the municipality of Grumolo delle Abbadesse and on nearby historically documented land. In April and May, the fields are flooded for sowing; at that time, the landscape takes on an impressive lagoon-like character. Storks, herons, wild ducks, moorhens and lapwings can be found in the rice fields.

Rice and Regional Identity

The Vialone Nano and Carnaroli rice varieties are grown and marketed in Grumolo delle Abbadesse. The municipality has officially recognized the rice produced there with a De.Co. designation. Vialone Nano di Grumolo delle Abbadesse is also a Slow Food Presidium supported by the Veneto Region. A longstanding link between agriculture and community life is established by the Festa del Riso: it has been held regularly in Grumolo delle Abbadesse every September for several decades. Here, rice is therefore encountered as a product of the fields, a regional product and part of the events calendar.

Historic Traces of the Canal and Barchessa

The Barchessa was built in 1200 as a farmstead and warehouse for in-kind payments to the nuns. After the earlier building had fallen into disrepair, it was restored in 1710. The navigable Meneghina Canal also tells of the area’s economic past: in 1618, the canal was built and a landing place was constructed where boats transporting rice to the granaries would moor. Together, these two landmarks illustrate how closely architectural history, supply and rice cultivation were connected.

Villas and Chapels in the Townscape

The park of Villa Godi–Piovene is home to centuries-old trees. Next to the park of Villa Piovene stands the La Favallina Chapel, an example of 17th-century Vicentine architecture attributed to Carlo Borrella. Villa Canal, formerly Villa Rossi di Schio, dates from the 17th century and is located on Via Piave at the edge of the center of Grumolo delle Abbadesse. Its complex includes a chapel built in 1697. Andrea Palladio is credited with the authorship of Villa Chiericati; this attribution is based on the master’s own drawings, which are preserved in Great Britain. For your trip planning, this provides a destination where regional culinary culture and historic architecture can be viewed on different scales.

More Destinations for Your Trip Planning

Asiago, Valdagno, Mason Vicentino, Montebello Vicentino, Cornedo Vicentino, Valstagna, Montecchio Precalcino and Rive Poleo

For the higher-level travel overview: Vicenza.