Bassano is a smart, lively, confident town, with a wonderful old centre; cheery, bright and well preserved and maintained. The main feature of the town is a covered, old wooden bridge over the Brenta, called Ponte Vecchio. First designed by Palladio in 1569, it has been destroyed at least eight times, either by flood or war. Its latest incarnation is a faithful reconstruction of the original, with a comfortingly solid feel and yet an elegance and lightness of style.