Villa Freya (Casa di Freya Stark)
A ceramic tile with an Arabic inscription is set into the front door — a quiet signal of the life lived here. This is the house Freya Stark returned to between expeditions into the Middle East, a place she used to recover and to write, and where she eventually died in 1993 at the age of a hundred.
The villa sits at the entrance to Asolo, on the corner of Via Browning and Via Marconi, and its 800 square metres hold Damascus-style bathrooms, a fireplace Stark decorated herself with fruit drawings, and a garden where centuries-old holm oaks shade the remains of a Roman theatre.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who visit more than once tend to walk the route Stark herself walked each morning — a few hundred metres along the porticoed pavement to Caffè Centrale, where she ordered cappuccino after cappuccino and wrote through the cooler hours. The café still serves both coffee and, later in the day, cocktails.
The story behind Villa Freya (Casa di Freya Stark)
Herbert Young, an English landscape architect, bought the property in the late 1800s and gave it to Flora and Freya Stark in 1925. Freya had already adopted Asolo as the place she returned to between her long journeys through the Arab world. When Young died, she inherited the villa outright in 1941.
For decades the house held her collections — objects, plants, memories — including a botanic garden she shaped around species gathered on her travels. After restoration work completed in 2012, the Archaeological Garden opened to guided visitors; it contains a Roman theatre complex first uncovered in 1879 and excavated more systematically by the University of Padua in the 1990s. Plans for a museum came to nothing, and the villa was eventually sold at auction into private hands.
Good to know
Visits are by reservation only through the Asolo tourist office (IAT, 0423/529046 or iat@asolo.it). The closest train station is Castelfranco Veneto; bus 204 runs to Asolo in around 30 minutes. Allow at least an hour for the villa and archaeological garden.
The garden visits are most comfortable in July and August, though the site is also open in spring and autumn when the light is softer and the hornbeam avenue particularly good. November brings the heaviest rainfall, and January temperatures average close to freezing.
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What travellers say about Villa Freya (Casa di Freya Stark)
Great views of the local area. Gives a fantastic understanding of how flat the Veneto region is. The place itself is beautifully preserved and is beautiful. They appear to do plays here and is a fantastic setting. The the whole town of Asolo is worth a visit.
A wonderful living museum filled with history. Beautiful garden and views
Villa Freya is situated in a beautiful area with a direct view of the Bucegi mountains. The view is fantastic. The main building has 5 floors, but no elevator, be aware in caer of heavy luggage. The rooms are very clean and also have balconies. It will make a family with kids a very nice staying. The second building has apartments in the ground floor level and is more indicated for elderly persons. There is no wheel chair access. Reception is on the 1st floor. The restaurant is not open, 1.1 km is the distance to Busteni downtown and the restaurants area. It is recommended to have a car for better mobility. The reception personnel is very friendly and helpful. It is a quiet area, and if you are looking for relaxation and privacy, this is the place. Enjoy it!
A truly remarkable woman. Thoroughly recommend ‘Passionate Nomad’ a biography of Freya Stark by Jane Geniesse
Nice place as all places in Asolo!
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