Jacopo Bassano's Padua masterpiece

The Basilica di Santa Giustina holds one of painter's greatest works

Jacopo Bassano, who died on 14 February 1592, painted altarpieces for many churches in Padua, Treviso, and Belluno.

Bassano's painting of Santa Giustina
was executed in about 1560

Visitors to the Basilica di Santa Giustina, the large church in the southeastern corner of Prato della Valle in Padua, can see Bassano's Santa Giustina enthroned with the saints Sebastian, Antonio Abate and Rocco, which was painted by him in around 1560 with the help of his son, Francesco.

It is considered one of his best works and also one of the most original examples of the Venetian Mannerist culture. 

Bassano was born in about 1510 in Bassano del Grappa, a town about 50km (31 miles) north of Padua, and is said to have been christened Jacopo dal Ponte, although his statue in the town names him as Giacomo da Ponte. His father, Francesco il Vecchio, was already a successful painter in the town and had established a workshop that produced mostly religious works.

Jacopo became an apprentice in his father’s workshop while still a young boy. He made his way to Venice when he was about 20, where he studied under Bonifazio de Pitati, who was also known as Bonifazio Veronese.

While in Venice, he met famous artists, such as Titian and il Pordenone, and his work from this period shows Titian’s influence and demonstrates his lifelong appreciation of the great artist’s work. Jacopo Bassano’s earliest paintings also show his love of the brilliant colours used by Titian.

Bassano’s Supper at Emmaus (1538), originally commissioned for a church, uses rich luminous colours that distinguish the figures from their background. Unusually, he places Christ towards the back of the scene, allowing the figures around him to play a more significant part. He dresses them in 16th century clothes rather than in robes in the classical Roman tradition. He includes food on the table and there are a dog and a cat in the picture, showing he has drawn on contemporary life for his inspiration rather than just sticking to the stylistic conventions of his age.

The Basilica di Santa Giustina is a former abbey
adjoining the wide Prato della Valle piazza

After his father’s death in 1539, Jacopo Bassano returned to Bassano del Grappa and took over the running of the family workshop. He married a local woman, Elisabetta Merzari, in 1546.

His painting of The Last Supper in 1542 shows the influence on his work of Mannerism and indicates that he had seen the paintings of Durer and Raphael because his figures seem alive, with muscles and sinews, in the style of the two great artists.

After about 1550 he started experimenting with light and he was one of the first painters to paint a ‘nocturne’, a scene taking place at night time, which was to make his paintings even more highly valued.  He also tended to place his subjects in a natural landscape with carefully painted trees and flowers.

His four sons, Leandro Bassano, Francesco Bassano the Younger, Giovanni Battista da Ponte and Girolamo da Ponte, all worked in his workshop and followed him closely in style and subject matter.

The Basilica of Santa Giustina, which is the ninth largest Christian church in the world, is at the corner of Prato della Valle where it is joined by Via Avazzano and Via Ferrari. 

A portrait of Jacopo Bassano by his
son, Girolamo da Ponte

The church contains the remains of Santa Giustina, a devout young woman who was martyred in 304, and is also home to the tomb containing the body of St Luke the Evangelist, who was credited with writing the Gospel according to St Luke. Next door to the basilica there is a Benedictine monastery with frescoed cloisters and a famous library that can be visited by arrangement.

After Jacopo’s death in 1592, his sons produced numerous works in his style, making it difficult for art historians to establish which pictures were created by Jacopo Bassano himself and which were the work of his sons.

His work is considered unique because it incorporated diverse artistic influences. He is believed to have learnt from Durer, Parmigianino, Tintoretto and Raphael, even though he lived permanently in Bassano del Grappa, mainly by seeing their prints, of which he became an avid collector.

Bassano del Grappa, where Jacopo Bassano was born and died, and from which he got his professional name, lies at the foot of Monte Grappa in the province of Vicenza and is an easy day trip to make from Padua. The town is famous for inventing grappa, a spirit made from the grape skins and stalks left over from wine production, which is popular with Italians as an after dinner drink to aid digestion. A famous sight in the town is the Ponte degli Alpini, a bridge designed by Andrea Palladio.

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Bassano del Grappa

Take a day trip to this gem of the northern Veneto

The Ponte Vecchio - or Ponte degli Alpini - was originally
built by Andrea Palladio in 1568

To travel to Bassano del Grappa, which is to the north of Padua, takes about an hour by car or by train, but this elegant town in the province of Vicenza is well worth seeing.

Bassano is in the foothills of the Alps and there are stunning mountain views from many of its street corners.

The town’s most famous landmark is the covered wooden bridge designed by Andrea Palladio in 1568 that still spans the Brenta River. It was badly damaged at the end of World War II by the retreating German army and lovingly rebuilt and restored by the town’s Alpini, a contingent of Italy’s prestigious alpine troops.

Bassano has become famous for producing the eponymous alcoholic drink, Grappa, which is enjoyed by Italians as a digestivo or liqueur. The drink derives its name from the graspa, or remnants, of the grapes that are left over after wine making, while the town is named after Monte Grappa, a mountain of the Venetian Prealps.

The huge Torre Civica towers over Piazza
Garibaldi, one of Bassano's central squares

There are bars and shops where you can taste the different varieties of Grappa, or buy some as a souvenir to take home, including several on either side of the Ponte Vecchio, or Ponte degli Alpini, as the wooden bridge has also become known.

The Museo degli Alpini, at the end of the bridge nearest the historic centre of the town, was founded with just a few items in 1948 after the first post-war national assembly of the Alpini, but it has grown over the years, as objects from both world wars have been donated.

Once you have crossed the bridge you will soon see the Torre Civica, 43m (141ft) tall, which was once a lookout tower inside the 12th century walls, but now serves as a clock tower.

In Piazza Garibaldi, one of the biggest squares, is the 14th century Church of San Francesco, which has a tranquil cloister housing the Museo Civica, the town’s museum. The museum has the biggest collection of works by local artist Jacopo dal Ponte, who was also known as Jacopo Bassano.

In the adjoining square, Piazza Libertà, there is a 17th century sculpture of San Bassiano, the town’s patron saint, and a market is held there every Thursday.

The Viale dei Martiri serves as a poignant
memorial to 31 partisans executed there in 1944

In the highest part of the city you can visit the remains of the 12th century Castello Ezzelino. Within its walls is the town’s Duomo - the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Colle - which dates back to the 11th century.

Nearby, the beautiful, peaceful Viale dei Martiri has lovely mountain views and provides a poignant memorial to 31 young partisans who were executed there by the Germans in September 1944.

Many were hung from the trees that line the road and today each tree bears the name of the soldier who was murdered there and many display a photograph of the young victim. The road, formerly, Viale XX Settembre, was renamed in their honour.

Should you wish to stay longer in Bassano del Grappa, the pleasant Hotel Victoria is recommended. Situated in Viale Armando Diaz, just a short walk from the historic centre, the Victoria has friendly, welcoming staff and all the facilities you would expect from a traditional Italian hotel.

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