Titian’s Venetian retreat

"This hotel, in a 16th century palazzo, is one of the most romantic in Italy," says Dana Facaros in the Sunday Times Travel magazine. For centuries, the Renaissance hill-town of Asolo has been the favourite countryside retreat of well-bred Venetians. Set in the "emerald hills" of the Veneto, Asolo is just an hour from Venice, and makes the perfect place to escape to after exploring the city. It is also only 15 miles from Treviso  airport, so it is easily accessible for a long weekend from Britain. The Villa Cipriani, perched above the town, "occupies a  walled garden of pomegranate trees", and is surrounded by views that inspired Titian and Giorgione. The rooms, in the villa  and the garden houses, are "filled with antiques". Villa Cipriani, +39 0423 523 411. Doubles from £159, room only. ·