Colceresa
Colceresa è un comune della pedemontana vicentina nato il 20 febbraio 2019 dalla fusione di Mason Vicentino e Molvena, due paesi c...
Mis à jour le 12 juillet 2026
Le récit
L'histoire de Colceresa
A recent merger, a new identity
The merger between Mason Vicentino and Molvena was decided by a consultative referendum on 16 December 2018, which recorded a clear majority in favour in both villages, and formalised by regional law on 18 February 2019. As in other merger cases in Veneto, the goal was to share municipal services, cut management costs and jointly face the challenges of two small centres, each with just over three thousand inhabitants. Mason Vicentino and Molvena have kept their own parishes, cemeteries and much of their village social life, but today share administration, urban planning and territorial development projects, in a still-young balance that the new municipality is building day by day.
The landscape between plain and hills
The territory of Colceresa occupies a typical transition belt of the Vicenza foothills: cultivated fields of the plain to the north, and the first hill ridges to the south leading into the harsher landscape of the Asiago plateau and the Astico valley. The hills of Molvena, planted with vines and orchards, offer panoramic points over the plain below and the Berici Hills in the distance, while the coppice woods crowning them hide lightly signposted but walkable paths, also suited to mountain biking. It is a working agricultural landscape rather than a spectacular one, but precisely for that reason it offers an authentic picture of the Vicenza countryside, away from the heavy tourist flows of nearby Bassano del Grappa.
Cherries and local farming
The very name Colceresa recalls cherries, a historic crop of this foothill belt that also includes nearby Marostica, famous for its PGI cherries and its June festival. Traditional cherry orchards survive in the Mason Vicentino and Molvena area too, alongside vineyards producing wine mostly for local consumption and plots growing vegetables and fodder. Farming remains an economically relevant activity for the town, though not organised on an industrial scale: small family-run holdings preserve local varieties and nearby markets, in a direct producer-to-consumer relationship that still characterises many villages of the Vicenza foothills.
The churches and heritage of the two villages
Mason Vicentino and Molvena each retain their own parish church and a network of small chapels and roadside shrines typical of Veneto folk devotion, alongside farmhouses and rural courtyards that bear witness to the area's traditional farming organisation. There are no monuments of national touristic renown, but a widespread heritage of minor architecture telling the story of two farming communities that grew up at the foot of the hills, with a pace of life still marked by the agricultural calendar and patronal feasts. It is a heritage best discovered slowly, strolling through the streets of the two historic centres, rather than visited in a rush.
Community life and local festivals
Community life in Colceresa still revolves around village festivals, parish groups and sports and cultural associations that fill the calendar of both centres throughout the year, from summer patronal feasts to events tied to local farm produce. It is a small foothill community, with a total population of just over six thousand, where the administrative merger has not erased the distinct identities of Mason Vicentino and Molvena, but has added a shared layer of planning and services. For visitors, attending a local festival remains the most genuine way to experience the customs, food and social life of this corner of the Vicenza foothills.
Getting there and surroundings
Colceresa lies just a few minutes' drive from Marostica and Bassano del Grappa, and is easily reached via the Vicenza foothill road network connecting Thiene, Schio and the Asiago plateau with the plain toward Vicenza and Padua. Its position makes it a convenient secondary base for visiting the area's better-known destinations without staying in the more touristy, crowded centres. Nearby are the Asiago plateau, Monte Grappa and the circuit of Venetian villas across the Vicenza plain, all reachable in under an hour, allowing Colceresa to be woven into a wider itinerary exploring the foothill territory.
Experiences not to miss
- Passeggiare tra i ciliegeti in fiore a primavera, nei dintorni di Mason Vicentino e Molvena
- Walk among the blossoming cherry orchards in spring, around Mason Vicentino and Molvena
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