In Avio (a photo gallery) - An Italian Spring, 2023 - CycleBlaze

June 4, 2023

In Avio (a photo gallery)

 We’re in Avio only by chance, really.  When we decided to drop Riva from our plan I just looked for available lodging at a suitable distance to break up the ride between Peschiera and Trento.  There wasn’t much available on such short notice, but Piccolo Fiore received good reviews and the pizzeria nearby looked like it would be open on a Sunday night.

We were probably set up to appreciate Avio by the craziness we left behind in Peschiera, but we were surprised at what an attractive little village it is.  An excellent B&B, stunning views all around, and a lovely village with enough of interest to make an appealing afternoon walk before the thunderstorms rolled in.  

Really, Avio was one of our favorite overnight stays of the tour and we were sorry to leave the next morning.  And that was before the surprise at dinner.

The new town hall, originally an 18th century townhouse. It replaces the previous town hall, in another former palazzo nearby.
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Work on the new parish church began in 1651.
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Avio is a small place, about four or five blocks deep. You don’t have to go far before you leave the village and the vineyards and mountains begin.
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Piazza Vittorio Emanuele III. Maybe it’s because the holiday weekend is just ending, but it feels calmer here than the piazzas in Peschiera.
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Lyle McLeodMaster of understatement 😉
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10 months ago
A green door.
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In Avio.
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This house is an open-air art gallery, with large modern murals painted on at least three of its faces.
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A blue door.
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Monte Cerbiolo makes an appealing backstop to the village, it’s summit only a mile and a half away but 3,500’ higher.
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Keith AdamsIt hurts to be craning my neck to see the summit. That's an impressive slope.
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10 months ago
Rest stop with sitz bath.
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A lighter green door, bordering on yellow.
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Keith AdamsSeemingly also bordering on collapse.
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10 months ago
Looking up the valley to the neighboring village, Sabbionara.
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The view back downriver and across Avio. That yellow squarish building to the left of the church is Pizzeria Vignola, the restaurant straight across the street from our room where we’ll have dinner tonight.
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It was delightful following this couple down the hill. I first saw them in the distance, stopped to pat the nose of a young donkey. Then, a stop to admire an attractive horse. Finally, a stop to break out the rain parka and umbrella as thunder rumbled in the hills and showers began.
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Back in the village at just the right time.
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It’s lightly sprinkling when it’s time for dinner, but with the restaurant so close by we don’t bother with the umbrellas available in the stand by the door when we leave our B&B.  Our destination for dinner is Pizzeria Vignola, a place that offers up a startling variety of pizzas to chose from - there must be at least 30-40 options - as well as letting you choose from one of four crust options.

The pizza is excellent, so we’d have been happy with the place even without the exceptional decor that you can’t stop looking around in amazement at.  It’s so nice being in a modest, understated village like this! There’s no garish neon sign announcing that inside is the largest beer bottle collection in Italy to tempt you in - 10,200 bottles from 120 countries, according to their website.  Quite impressive.

A small corner of the beer collection in Pizzeria Vignola.
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Keith AdamsA reminder that it's time to get back to last summer's research project, perhaps?
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10 months ago
Rich FrasierThat's even more beer bottles than my college dorm room had! :)
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10 months ago
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Kirsten KaarsooAmazing they have a ‘33’! I used to buy them all the time when we lived in Glasgow. the bottle was smaller and I usually did not want the amount of beer in a regular sized bottle.
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10 months ago
There are some rare items here, including this commemorative bottle honoring Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding.
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