Bassano del Grappa (Venetian simply: Basan /ba'saŋ/, italianized: Bassan or Bassàn) is a city and comune in the region Veneto, in northern Italy.
Bassano is located at 129 metres (423.23 ft) above sea level and has an area of 46,79 square km (55.96 sq yards ). Its highest point is at 1276 m, whereas the lowest point is at 84 m. The city lies at the foothills of the Venetian Prealps, where river Brenta comes out the southern end of Canal di Brenta (also called Valbrenta 'Brenta valley') and flows in the lowlands at the borders of Vicenza, Treviso and Padua provinces.
It is a beautiful city with a long and interesting story behind.


The city was founded in the 2nd century BC by a Roman called Bassianus, whence the name, as an agricultural estate. However, an ancient bronze sword (called "spada di Riccardo"), found in 2009[1] and dating back to the 7th century BC, possibly between the 18th and 15th century BC, suggests that the area of Bassano was already inhabited not just in the pre-Roman period, but possibly even in the pre-Venetic period.
The first news of the existence of the medieval city dates from 998, while the Castle is mentioned first in 1150. In 1175 Bassano was conquered by Vicenza, but the city maintained a semi-autonomous status as a free commune in the 13th century also, when it was under the family of the Ezzelinos.
In 1368 it was acquired by the Visconti of Milan and, in 1404, by the Republic of Venice: the latter did not alter the citadine magistratures, limiting to impose a Captain chosen by the Venetian Senate. The city became home to a flourishing industry producing wool, silk, iron and copper, and mainly for ceramics; in the 18th became especially famous in all Europe for the presence of the Remondini printers.
During the French Revolutionary Wars the city was the site of the Battle of Bassano. In 1815 it was included in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1866. Napoleon Bonaparte remained in Bassano del Grappa for many months.
The original name of the town was Bassano Veneto. After the terrible battles on Mount Grappa in WWI, where thousands of soldiers lost their lives, a decision was made to change the name of the town. In 1928, the name was changed to Bassano del Grappa, meaning Bassano of Mount Grappa, as a memorial to the soldiers killed. Ernest Hemingway during his days as an ambulance driver in the war spent many days in Bassano and eventually settled there as part of A Farewell to Arms. Also other American writers spent some days in Bassano during WWI such as Scott Fitzgerald and Dos Passos.
During World War I Bassano was in the front area, and all industrial activities were halted. In World War II, after the Armistice with Italy, the city was invaded by German troops, who killed or deported numerous inhabitants.
The symbol of the town is the covered wooden pontoon bridge, which was designed by the architect Andrea Palladio in 1569. The bridge was destroyed many times, the last time during WWII. The Alpine soldiers, or Alpini have always revered the wooden bridge and Bassano del Grappa. After the destruction of the bridge, they took up a private collection and had the bridge completely rebuilt. Often soldiers flock to the bridge to remember and sing songs from their days as alpine soldiers. The grappa shop of Nardini Distillery is located on the bridge, known as Ponte degli Alpini.
Bassano del Grappa is also the hometown of Renzo Rosso, the founder and President of Diesel. Since Diesel began to expand in the mid-1980s, the company has become an important source of business for the city and its surrounding region. As thanks for the support that Rosso has received locally, he has invested personally in the city's professional soccer team, Bassano Virtus 55 S.T., initiated various reconstructions by the town centre, and recently launched a large wi-fi hotspot that provides free internet to the city's inhabitants.

In the pic you can see The Ezzelini's castle or "Castello degli Ezzelini" (perhaps you heard it as the upper castle) and the wooden covered Bridge, or Ponte degli Alpini designed in 1569 by the architect Andrea Palladio to replace a pre-existing construction existing at least from 1209. The bridge was destroyed in 1748, and was rebuilt three years later.