The Road of the British Royals stretches approximately 100 km between Dueville and the southern edge of the Asiago Plateau.
This route, ideal for a road trip or a cycling journey, allows visitors to immerse themselves in History, Culture, and the Environment, amid breathtaking landscapes and places of memory.
Between June 15 and 16, 1918, the battle remembered in history as the Solstice Battle (The Battle of Asiago) took place on the Asiago Plateau, where over two thousand British soldiers lost their lives. These soldiers were part of the troops called to aid the Italian army, together with French forces, on the southern edge of the Plateau, in anticipation of the last attack by the Austrians, who were stationed in the area north of Asiago.
The British command was established at Villa Godi Malinverni in Lugo di Vicenza, where the Prince of Wales and future King Edward VIII also resided.
The fallen soldiers rest in the evocative cemeteries of the Pedemontana, located in the municipalities of Dueville, Montecchio Precalcino, Calvene (locality Cavalletto), Cesuna di Roana (localities Magnaboschi and Boscon), Asiago (locality Barenthal), and Lusiana (locality Granezza).
Through a route of approximately 100 km, ideal for a road trip or a cycling path but also a slow journey on an e-bike or pedal-assisted bicycle, the Road of the British Royals allows visitors to immerse themselves in History, Culture, and the Environment, among breathtaking landscapes and places of memory, battlefields and rear areas, municipal buildings hosting hospitals and Red Cross centers, Venetian villas, and castles. The itinerary is enriched by museums, remnants of trenches and outposts, cable cars, aqueducts, and support airports.
These places were visited in 1923 by the British Royals, King George V and Queen Mary, parents of King George VIII: they stopped at Villa Godi Malinverni, where the British command was stationed in 1918. Then, in 2017, the Prince of Wales, Charles of England, visited the cemetery of Montecchio Precalcino and the Road of the 52 Galleries.
The route of the Road of the British Royals starts from the British Cemetery of Dueville, continues to Montecchio Precalcino, heads towards the airport of Thiene and passes through the historic center where the Castello Porto-Colleoni-Thiene can be visited.
It reaches Zugliano with Villa Giusti-Suman, ventures into the hills and along the bridge over the Astico, crosses Fara Vicentino where there are testimonies of the shelters, arriving at Lugo di Vicenza where Villa Godi Malinverni can be visited, the first villa by Palladio, which also houses the museum "The Villa of the Prince" that commemorates the presence of the British command under Lord Cavan and Prince Edward.
The itinerary continues uphill towards Monte di Calvene to reach Locality Cavalletto, where another British cemetery is located. It then proceeds towards Caltrano, with a stop at Malga Carriola, which was also the headquarters of the British army command.
From there, the route continues along the path of the Giro delle Malghe to reach Roana with its cemetery in locality Magnaboschi, and by crossing the center of the fraction of Cesuna, reaches locality Boscon where the next British cemetery can be visited. It then follows the road to the center of the fraction Canove to visit the Museum of the Great War 1915-1918.
It then reaches the center of Asiago where the Battle of the Solstice took place, a place of historical significance worthy of a stop, before continuing to locality San Sisto where the homonymous church and the British hospital can be found. It then continues to locality Prunno where the next British cemetery Barenthal is located, and shortly afterward with a brief detour to locality Kaberlaba for a visit to the Water Museum. Then it's on to Lusiana, in locality Granezza, to visit the last British cemetery.
At this point, the route begins the ring descent towards Salcedo, where the Pasquale Museum of the Great War can be visited. It crosses Breganze to return to Thiene and pass through Ferrarin airport in locality Rozzampia. Once again, there is a stop in Montecchio Precalcino and, finally, it concludes with the return to Dueville.
INVOLVED MUNICIPALITIES:
Dueville
Montecchio Precalcino
Villaverla
Thiene
Zugliano
Fara Vicentino
Lugo di Vicenza
Calvene
Caltrano
Roana
Asiago
Lusiana
Salcedo
Breganze
