Foza
Foza is one of the Seven Municipalities of the Asiago Plateau, in the province of Vicenza, traditionally called the queen of the P...
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of Foza
The Queen of the Plateau
Foza sits on the Asiago Plateau, at an altitude that grants wide views over the surrounding valleys and pre-Alpine peaks. It is one of the historic Seven Municipalities, together with Asiago, Roana, Rotzo, Gallio, Lusiana and Enego, and owes its nickname queen of the Plateau to its elevated, panoramic position relative to the other centres of the federation. The village still holds the charm of a mountain borgo today, with stone and timber houses clustered around its centre.
Cimbrian Origins
Foza's origins are tied to the migration of German-speaking families, mostly from the Bavarian-Tyrolean linguistic area, between the year 1000 and the 13th century. These settlers brought with them Cimbrian, a Germanic language of Bavarian origin, which for centuries became the most widely spoken idiom in Foza and the other municipalities of the Plateau, within the so-called Federazione dei Sette Comuni. Traces of this linguistic and cultural identity still survive in local place names and traditions.
Devastation in the Great War
The Asiago Plateau was the stage for some of the bloodiest battles on the Italian front during the First World War: the Austrian Strafexpedition of May-June 1916, the Battle of Ortigara of June 1917, and the Battle of the Solstice of June 1918. According to a 1931 account, towns like Foza had nearly 95 percent of their buildings completely destroyed and rendered uninhabitable. Beyond the casualties, the population was forced into long periods of displacement in distant territories, a collective trauma that deeply marked the Plateau's identity.
Reconstruction and Memory
After the war, Foza was almost entirely rebuilt, and the surrounding landscape still bears the marks of the conflict today: trenches, communication paths, forts and military cemeteries scattered across the Plateau, stops along the Alta Via della Grande Guerra that crosses the territories of Rotzo, Gallio, Foza and Enego. These are places of memory that each year draw visitors interested in the history of the Italian front, well beyond simple hiking tourism.
Mountain Life Today
Today Foza is a small mountain municipality that lives on livestock farming, forestry and seasonal tourism tied to summer hiking and winter sports. It is not as crowded a destination as nearby Asiago, and for that very reason it keeps a more authentic, quiet atmosphere, made of mountain huts, conifer woods and a pace of life still marked by the seasons.
Nature and Trails of the Plateau
Foza's territory offers ample space for hiking, through spruce forests, high-altitude pastures and views stretching from the Piccole Dolomiti to the Veneto plain on the clearest days. Trails connect the village to the other centres of the Plateau, such as Gallio and Enego, within a hiking network that combines nature and historical memory into a single itinerary.
Experiences not to miss
- Walk a stretch of the Alta Via Grande Guerra among trenches and forts
- Discover the Cimbrian roots of the Seven Municipalities plateau
- Visit the military cemeteries and memorial sites
- Walk through the high-altitude woods and pastures
- Take in the view over the Plateau from Foza
To see
What to see in Foza
Routes · Trovido Route
