"One up, one down" a Marostica Travel Page by iandsmith

Here is a town where, if you can find the right view point, you can see the entire wall of the town. I have seen a picture to prove it but, try as I may, the vantage point escaped me.
It's a little bit unique inasmuch as the wall doesn't entirely go around a hill or confine itself to the river, it has a foot in both worlds.
When heading out from Vicenza I asked my B&B host about towns I should consider and Marostica was the first word he uttered. So I went there........................obviously!
The town was another stronghold of Ezzelino da Romano, whose fortress glowers down on the old centre from the crest of the hill of Pausolino. The Ezzelini controlled Marostica for quite a while - Ezzelino III was preceded by Ezzelino the Stutterer and Ezzelino the Monk (now there's a family for you!) - but it was another despotic dynasty, the Scaligers of Verona, who constructed the town walls and the Castello Inferiore (lower castle).
In front of the castle is Piazza Castello, the central square of the town, onto which is painted the board for the Partita a Scacchi , the town's principal claim to fame. The game's origin was an everyday chivalric story of rival suitors, the only unusual aspect being that the matter was decided with chess pieces rather than swords.
It is played on the second week in September in even years, with the following dates and hours:
friday - h. 21,00
saturday - h. 21,00
sunday - h. 17,00 and h. 21,00
The viewing platforms hold 4.000 people.