Near the Castelfranco gate stands the house and grounds that belonged to Freya Stark, the great English writer and traveller (Paris 1893 – Asolo 1993) who chose Asolo as a home for recouping her energies after her tiring journeys of exploration in the Middle East. Set into the front door is a ceramic tile in eastern style with an Arabic inscription. The interiors are simple but cosy, only a few of the rooms being furnished in a slightly extravagant style.The grounds were once transformed into a botanic garden to accommodate the essences collected on Stark’s travels. The park, that continues behind the house, was occupied in Roman times by the Roman theatre complex discovered in 1879 and following years by Pacifico Scomazzetto; in the 90s it was excavated by the University of Padua.