Treviso Tourist Attractions

Treviso is an old-world town of narrow streets, many of them lined with arcades, and it is still surrounded by well-preserved 15th century walls and a circuit of canals or moats.

In the center of Treviso is the picturesque Piazza dei Signori, with the Palazzo dei Trecento (after 1217), once the seat of the Great Council of the town, and the Palazzo del Podestà with the tall Torre del Comune. The Palazzo Pretorio, a Renaissance palace, houses the town council.

From the Piazza dei Signori Via Calmaggiore, the main street of Treviso, flanked by fine 15th and 16th century houses, runs northwest to the Piazza del Duomo. The cathedral of San Pietro, with five domes, was built in the 15th and 16th century on the site of an earlier Romanesque church, with a crypt dating from the 11th and 12th century; the porch was added in 1836. The interior contains pictures by Titian ("Annunciation", 1517) and Paris Bordone, and fine frescoes by Pordenone (1519-20). The Cappella del Sacramento is decorated with fine sculptures by Pietro and Tullio Lombardo and L. Bregno. To the left of the cathedral stands the Romanesque Baptistery (11th-12th century), with 13th century frescoes and a fine font.

From the cathedral Via Canova and Via Cavour lead northwest to the Museo Civico Luigi Bailo, with an archeological collection and an excellent picture gallery, which contains frescoes by Tommaso da Modena and Girolamo da Treviso, and pictures by Bellini, Lotto, Pisanello, Titian and many other artists.

In Via San Nicolò, at the southwest corner of the old town, the Dominican church of San Nicolò, a spacious Gothic church built in brick (13th-14th century), has round piers and an unusual vaulted timber roof (restored). In the interior are a "Madonna Enthroned" by Fra Marco Pensaben and Savoldo (1521; on the high altar) and the tomb of Senator Agostino Oningo (d. 1490) by Pietro and Tullio Lombardi. In the chapterhouse of the former Dominican monastery are frescoes by Tommaso da Modena (1352).

In Viale San Antonio, in the north of Treviso, lies the church of San Francesco. Pietro Alighieri, a son of Dante, is buried there (d. 1364). Inside, note the frescoes and sculpture of St Sebastian.

At the northeast corner of Treviso is the fine Porta San Tommaso (1518). The northern rampart walk which begins here affords beautiful views of the Alps.