Top 12 (almost) free culture and art picks to spend an unforgettable day in Treviso, a charming town near Venice
If you are planning a trip to Treviso, a pictoresque town at about 1 hour drive from Venice, read the best 12 (almost) free culture and art picks that you can enjoy.
Amongst the top things to see there are its charming canals, many watermills scattered across the town centre and its romantic atmosphere which makes it an ideal and unique stopover all year round. Even the UK daily newspaper "Telegraph" praised the beauty of Treviso in one of its articles.
The latter shows different styles from the romantic front facade dating XII century to the Gothic back facade dating XIII century. The house shows a stunning "Carpaccio" chimney (the name comes from Carpaccio, the Venetian painter, who depicted them): you will travel in a time-capsule without moving from the spot where you are standing!
Want to visit a really special place? Go to "Casa dei Carraresi", a versatile temporary gallery, next to the Fishmarket. Under Venetian rule, it used to be a tavern where the wayfarers used to stop to get refreshment.
As the place has a bottom floor and a top floor, it is likely that its ground floor was a warehouse with direct access to the canal for the traded goods. The top part used to lodge the merchants. Arts exhibitions change regularly here, but no matter how interesting they are, taking a look at the ex-tavern interiors is worthwhile in itself.
Mr Pietro Alighieri and Mrs Francesca Petrarca may be two names that sound unfamiliar to you, so are they to the vast majority of the Italians. However, they are the son ad daughter of the 2 most famous literary minds of the whole history in Italy and abroad: Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarca.
The son and daughter happened to die in Treviso where they found themselves by chance. A rare coincidence in the span of twenty years. Pietro died in 1364: he was a magistrate and poet, and was trying to spare his fortunes for bankrupt. Francesca died in 1384 while giving birth. Life can tackle oddity better than films!
Even without visiting their two tombs, a visit to the Church of Saint Francis (XIII) which hosts them is well worth a visit. The church is stunning and in the past it safeguarded masterpieces by painters such as Carpaccio and Vivarini, that have been moved to Venice at the Galleria dell'Accademia.
I particularly like this church because there is a huge painted fresco of Saint Christopher, who is the patron saint of travellers, and of travel bloggers!
In Treviso there is a place that it is unique but hardly visited: the Rectors' Chapel, right behind the main square called Piazza dei Signori. The reason why it is out of the tourist routes is because it is hidden inside a bank, and you need to ask for a special permission to get in.
The place is covered in leather and it dates back 600 years. The ceiling in beams is painted with stories depicting the charity towards the needy and poor people by the Dutch master, Pozzoserrato.
Before the bank was built, a Mount of Piety was there: the institutional pawnbroker run by the church to avoid usury. The place is a jewel, so get organised and contact the tourist office well in time to access it.
If you were in Treviso on 7th April 1944, you might have survived one of the most fatal World War II bombings by the B-17 Flying Fortress which lasted 5 minutes and dropped 2,000 bombs over the town.
You would have witnessed the famous "Palazzo dei Trecento", dating back 1217, almost collapsing on itself. The Palace had been the HQ to the main administrative council of Treviso for 700 years since the Venetian Republic.
Today to see a picture of the result of that bombing, walk to the shopping arcade in the building facing the Palazzo big staircase. There is a photo hanging on the wall that shows what was left of it.
Now look at the eastern wall of the Palazzo to find a thicker line of receding bricks on the wall: the original part of the wall that survived that tragic day. The Palazzo was almost entirely reconstructed with the original debris and bricks!
Have fun admiring 25,000 advertising posters collected by the pioneer of marketing collectors, Mr Nando Salce, at the museum called "Collezione Salce". It is the first Italian museum entirely dedicated to ads dating back from the end of '800 to 1960s.
These posters covered the walls of the main cities of Europe, and show the new trends in consumerism which up to that moment mattered only for aristocrats: liquors, perfumes, opera shows, etc.
Cartoonists and painters who designed those posters were the trailblazers of a whole advertising and graphic design sector which would lead one day to Facebook ads, at that time just a futuristic nonsense.
If you are a passionate art lover, you should bear in mind this name when you come to Treviso: Abbot Luigi Bailo. He was a priest who was stubborn enough to save one of the greatest masterpieces of Italy from loss and demolition: the cycle of frescoes entitled "the Legend of Saint Ursula" by Tommaso da Modena.
Today this extraordinary masterpiece is in Treviso city museum, but in 1883 the frescoes were in the church of "Santa Margherita degli Eremitani" which was deconsecrated and used as a shed and barn by military authorities.
Luigi Bailo made every possible efforts to save the frescoes: the local authorities were deaf to his appeals to save the heritage, and he was denied the public money to hire experts.
However, he did not lose heart. With two painters, friends of his, they studied the technical manuals and with dedication, they themselves detached the frescoes one by one: 120 square metres of them!
If you can still view this absolute work of art in the former convent of Santa Caterina, you owe it to this ordinary hero who had courage to spare.
Luigi Bailo died in Treviso in 1932: he had spent his late life as a literature teacher and a learned scholar: he is said to have had visceral and passionate reactions, maybe because of his down-to-earth personality and outspoken character.
He was a man with a great sense of engagement. He was the mind behind the foundation of the first Treviso city museum, which today consists of three main museums.
To remember and thank this iconic and essential personality of Treviso cultural scene, the museum of modern art was named after him, the Bailo Museum.
The Bailo museum was opened again after a period of major renovation in 2015 and is located on the site of a former monastery.
It hosts major Italian works of arts spanning from the second half '800 and the first half of '900. A special treat for all the modern art lovers!
I don't know why in the past chess was regarded as a dignified pasttime for noblemen, maybe it was a game in which they could compare their winner or loser skills to their battlefield abilities. Anyway, in Treviso they used to play chess with their fellow knights under the beautiful "Loggia dei Cavalieri".
The place is not far from the "Palazzo dei Trecento". You can't miss it: it's a building built in red bricks, with rounded arches on three sides, a slanting roof and solid wooden beams.
If you walk under it, you can try to figure out the frescoes showing courtly love scenes: I say try to figure out because the frescoes are heavily neglected by time and men.
This gem was used by the nobles until middle of '300 to gather, talk and relax, as a sort of "game room" when they came back from their Crusades or "business trips".
Treviso had become richer and richer for the florishing economic trades of Venice, and the beautiful painted Loggia was an effect of that richness.
Would you like to learn more about Treviso and surroundings? Please visit Treviso tourist office website by clicking here.
"Ripley's Game" by Liliana Cavani.
Amongst the top things to see there are its charming canals, many watermills scattered across the town centre and its romantic atmosphere which makes it an ideal and unique stopover all year round. Even the UK daily newspaper "Telegraph" praised the beauty of Treviso in one of its articles.
I have chosen a list of 12 cultural and art visits to turn your holiday in Treviso into an unforgettable experience. It is a quick, and easy guide on how to make the most out of the beautiful spots in town. Enjoy your visit!
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| The striking beauty of Treviso canals and romantic atmosphere |
Culture and arts
- Time travel from the post-war period to Medieval times
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| The white facade of the post-war Astra cinema (now a luxury home) |
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| Next door to the Astra cinema you can see the Gothic facade of "Casa Boccaliero" and the typical Venetian Carpaccio chimney |
The latter shows different styles from the romantic front facade dating XII century to the Gothic back facade dating XIII century. The house shows a stunning "Carpaccio" chimney (the name comes from Carpaccio, the Venetian painter, who depicted them): you will travel in a time-capsule without moving from the spot where you are standing!
- Save a woman diving into the local river
The woman jumping into the river by Mario Marinelli
Are you a good swimmer? If so, you might show off your swimming skills in Via Sant'Agata where you can see a woman jumping from a building into the river.
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| The woman jumping into the river by Mario Marinelli |
No need to wet your clothes to save her from drowning: the woman is an amazing scupture, hanging on a wall! It is the masterpiece of a local sculpturer, Mario Martinelli, who is skilled with metal nets and scatters them around Treviso. The nets are shaped in such a way that they can be seen from a distance.
- Explore the local archistar who loved rust
The functional blocks of flats built by the local archistar Luciano Gemin
If you like admiring archistar works, you cannot miss one of the housing works of a local architect who has shaped Treviso in the post war period. His name is Luciano Gemin and in the sixties he built a stunning block of flats overlooking the Fishmarket island.
He followed the lesson of his masters such as Scarpa, Le Corbuisier and Lloyd Wright, and build functional bare houses whose colour pink and rusty are the highlights of the place. Behind the building, facing the Fishmarket, you can still see a watermill working. A combination of old and modern that match well together!
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| One of the surviving watermills facing the Fishmarket island |
- Visit "Casa deI Carraresi", a versatile gallery which was a tavern
A versatile exhibition gallery, "Casa dei Carraresi", once a tavern
Want to visit a really special place? Go to "Casa dei Carraresi", a versatile temporary gallery, next to the Fishmarket. Under Venetian rule, it used to be a tavern where the wayfarers used to stop to get refreshment.  |
| A versatile exhibition gallery, "Casa dei Carraresi", once a tavern |
As the place has a bottom floor and a top floor, it is likely that its ground floor was a warehouse with direct access to the canal for the traded goods. The top part used to lodge the merchants. Arts exhibitions change regularly here, but no matter how interesting they are, taking a look at the ex-tavern interiors is worthwhile in itself.
- Visit the gorgeous church of Saint Francis where you can see the tombs of famous people who both died in Treviso
Francesca Petrarca's tomb: she was the daughter of the Italian poet Petrarca and she died in Treviso while giving birth.
Detail of Saint Francis Church: Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travellers
Mr Pietro Alighieri and Mrs Francesca Petrarca may be two names that sound unfamiliar to you, so are they to the vast majority of the Italians. However, they are the son ad daughter of the 2 most famous literary minds of the whole history in Italy and abroad: Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarca.  |
| Francesca Petrarca's tomb: she was the daughter of the Italian poet Petrarca and she died in Treviso while giving birth. |
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| Detail of Saint Francis Church: Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travellers |
The son and daughter happened to die in Treviso where they found themselves by chance. A rare coincidence in the span of twenty years. Pietro died in 1364: he was a magistrate and poet, and was trying to spare his fortunes for bankrupt. Francesca died in 1384 while giving birth. Life can tackle oddity better than films!
Even without visiting their two tombs, a visit to the Church of Saint Francis (XIII) which hosts them is well worth a visit. The church is stunning and in the past it safeguarded masterpieces by painters such as Carpaccio and Vivarini, that have been moved to Venice at the Galleria dell'Accademia.
I particularly like this church because there is a huge painted fresco of Saint Christopher, who is the patron saint of travellers, and of travel bloggers!
- See the Rectors' chapel covered in leather
In Treviso there is a place that it is unique but hardly visited: the Rectors' Chapel, right behind the main square called Piazza dei Signori. The reason why it is out of the tourist routes is because it is hidden inside a bank, and you need to ask for a special permission to get in. The place is covered in leather and it dates back 600 years. The ceiling in beams is painted with stories depicting the charity towards the needy and poor people by the Dutch master, Pozzoserrato.
Before the bank was built, a Mount of Piety was there: the institutional pawnbroker run by the church to avoid usury. The place is a jewel, so get organised and contact the tourist office well in time to access it.
- Be surprised to see the photo of the famous "Palazzo dei Trecento" bombed during the World War II (but the Palazzo is still there today!)
The photo of the bombed "Palazzo dei Trecento" after 7th April 1944 and how it looks today
If you were in Treviso on 7th April 1944, you might have survived one of the most fatal World War II bombings by the B-17 Flying Fortress which lasted 5 minutes and dropped 2,000 bombs over the town.  |
| The photo of the bombed "Palazzo dei Trecento" after 7th April 1944 and how it looks today |
You would have witnessed the famous "Palazzo dei Trecento", dating back 1217, almost collapsing on itself. The Palace had been the HQ to the main administrative council of Treviso for 700 years since the Venetian Republic.
Today to see a picture of the result of that bombing, walk to the shopping arcade in the building facing the Palazzo big staircase. There is a photo hanging on the wall that shows what was left of it.
Now look at the eastern wall of the Palazzo to find a thicker line of receding bricks on the wall: the original part of the wall that survived that tragic day. The Palazzo was almost entirely reconstructed with the original debris and bricks!
- The town symbol unclothed: the "Fountain of Tits"
Treviso town symbol: the so-called "Fountain of Tits"
Under the Loggia of "Palazzo dei Trecento", there is Treviso town symbol: a statue in all its naked splendour. It's the "Fountain of Tits" shaped as a woman squeezing her breasts.
Under Venetian rule, white and red wine spilled out of her nipples, this is why in time of harship and to avoid social unrest and turmoils, wine was an excellent system to tame and control the population. It was distributed for free by the local "podestà", the chief governor sent by the Venetian Republic to run the town administration.
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| Treviso town symbol: the so-called "Fountain of Tits" |
- "Collezione Salce". the trailblazer of Facebook ads
Collezione Salce: the largest advertising posters in Italy
Have fun admiring 25,000 advertising posters collected by the pioneer of marketing collectors, Mr Nando Salce, at the museum called "Collezione Salce". It is the first Italian museum entirely dedicated to ads dating back from the end of '800 to 1960s.  |
| Collezione Salce: the largest advertising posters in Italy |
These posters covered the walls of the main cities of Europe, and show the new trends in consumerism which up to that moment mattered only for aristocrats: liquors, perfumes, opera shows, etc.
Cartoonists and painters who designed those posters were the trailblazers of a whole advertising and graphic design sector which would lead one day to Facebook ads, at that time just a futuristic nonsense.
- Are you a passionate art lover? Well, in Treviso there lived a bold man who loved art to the point of bravery: Abbot Luigi Bailo
Abbot Luigi Bailo saved the precious frescoes of Saint Ursula which today are hosted in the former Santa Caterina convent
If you are a passionate art lover, you should bear in mind this name when you come to Treviso: Abbot Luigi Bailo. He was a priest who was stubborn enough to save one of the greatest masterpieces of Italy from loss and demolition: the cycle of frescoes entitled "the Legend of Saint Ursula" by Tommaso da Modena. |
| Abbot Luigi Bailo saved the precious frescoes of Saint Ursula which today are hosted in the former Santa Caterina convent |
Today this extraordinary masterpiece is in Treviso city museum, but in 1883 the frescoes were in the church of "Santa Margherita degli Eremitani" which was deconsecrated and used as a shed and barn by military authorities.
Luigi Bailo made every possible efforts to save the frescoes: the local authorities were deaf to his appeals to save the heritage, and he was denied the public money to hire experts.
However, he did not lose heart. With two painters, friends of his, they studied the technical manuals and with dedication, they themselves detached the frescoes one by one: 120 square metres of them!
If you can still view this absolute work of art in the former convent of Santa Caterina, you owe it to this ordinary hero who had courage to spare.
- Learn how Treviso thanked Abbot Luigi Bailo by visiting the Bailo Museum
Bailo Museum in Treviso is entitled to Abbot Bailo
Luigi Bailo died in Treviso in 1932: he had spent his late life as a literature teacher and a learned scholar: he is said to have had visceral and passionate reactions, maybe because of his down-to-earth personality and outspoken character.  |
| Bailo Museum in Treviso is entitled to Abbot Bailo |
He was a man with a great sense of engagement. He was the mind behind the foundation of the first Treviso city museum, which today consists of three main museums.
To remember and thank this iconic and essential personality of Treviso cultural scene, the museum of modern art was named after him, the Bailo Museum.
The Bailo museum was opened again after a period of major renovation in 2015 and is located on the site of a former monastery.
It hosts major Italian works of arts spanning from the second half '800 and the first half of '900. A special treat for all the modern art lovers!
- Play chess under the painted "Loggia dei Cavalieri"
The "Loggia dei Cavalieri" in Treviso: in the past the favourite spot for nobles to play chess
I don't know why in the past chess was regarded as a dignified pasttime for noblemen, maybe it was a game in which they could compare their winner or loser skills to their battlefield abilities. Anyway, in Treviso they used to play chess with their fellow knights under the beautiful "Loggia dei Cavalieri". |
| The "Loggia dei Cavalieri" in Treviso: in the past the favourite spot for nobles to play chess |
The place is not far from the "Palazzo dei Trecento". You can't miss it: it's a building built in red bricks, with rounded arches on three sides, a slanting roof and solid wooden beams.
If you walk under it, you can try to figure out the frescoes showing courtly love scenes: I say try to figure out because the frescoes are heavily neglected by time and men.
This gem was used by the nobles until middle of '300 to gather, talk and relax, as a sort of "game room" when they came back from their Crusades or "business trips".
Treviso had become richer and richer for the florishing economic trades of Venice, and the beautiful painted Loggia was an effect of that richness.
In brief
- Getting there
Treviso can be easily reached via its airport called "Antonio Canova", 5 km out of town. Major airlines fly into Treviso airport which covers both domestic and international routes.
From here you can take buses to Treviso town centre, or Mestre railway station, from where you can reach Venice. Another option is hiring a car to reach the best destinations mentioned in my blog. For further information, please visit Treviso airport website. If you wish to visit Venice and reach it by train from Treviso train station, please go to Trenitalia website for an updated timetable.
- More information
Would you like to learn more about Treviso and surroundings? Please visit Treviso tourist office website by clicking here.
- Just for fun
Books set in Treviso
"The Broker" by John Grisham.Films set in or around Treviso
"The Consequences of Love" by Paolo Sorrentino"Ripley's Game" by Liliana Cavani.