The historic heart of Treviso, Piazza dei Signori ★ is anchored by the Palazzo del Podestà, rebuilt in the 1870s with a tall clock tower, and the Palazzo dei Trecento, the 13th-century town council hall (chic Bar Beltrame nestles beneath the arches). Just beyond the square, on adjacent Piazza San Vito, sit two handsome medieval churches: Santa Lucia ★ (www.santaluciatreviso.it; tel. 0422/5457200), with a superb Tomaso da Modena fresco of the “Madonna del Pavegio” in the first shrine on the right; and San Vito ★, with its fine 13th-century Byzantine-style frescoes. Both are open daily 8am–noon; admission is free.
Historic Via Calmaggiore, lined with posh boutiques, runs northwest from Piazza dei Signori towards Treviso’s Duomo ★ (admission free; Mon–Sat 7:30am–noon and 3:30–7pm; Sun 8am–1pm and 3:30–8pm). Its relatively dull neoclassical facade dates only from 1836, but its flanking Romanesque lions and seven Venetian-Byzantine style green copper domes testify to the cathedral’s 12th-century origins. The crypt is the most compelling part of the interior, with tombs of the city’s bishops amid a forest of columns and fragments of 14th-century frescoes and mosaics. The cathedral also has a fine 1520 Titian altarpiece, the “Malchiostro Annunciation.”
Stroll southwest from the Duomo to the massive Italian Gothic San Nicolò church ★ (admission free; daily 8am–noon and 3:30–6pm), with its intriguing Gothic frescoes. Tomaso da Modena and his school decorated the huge round columns with a series of saints, notably St. Jerome and St. Agnes. Antonio da Treviso painted the gargantuan St. Christopher—his .9m-long (3-ft.) feet strolling over biting fish—in 1410. Next door to the (unused) front door of the church is the entrance to the adjoining seminary's Sala del Capitolo, Piazzetta Benedetto XI 2 (tel. 0422-324800), frescoed in 1352 by Tomaso da Modena with 40 Dominicans busily studying and copying out manuscripts at their desks. It's open 8am to 5pm daily; admission is free (ring the bell if the door is shut).
East of Piazza dei Signori, in Piazzetta Mario Botter, the Museo di Santa Caterina (www.museicivicitreviso.it; tel. 0422/658442; 6€; Tues–Sun 9am–12:30pm and 2:30–6pm), housed in a deconsecrated church, displays another Tomaso da Modena fresco cycle, the “Story of the Life of Saint Ursula.” There’s also a cache of local archaeological finds, plus minor works by Titian, Lorenzo Lotto, and Francesco Guardi. South of there, the 15th-century church of Santa Maria Maggiore (admission free; daily 8am–noon and 3:30–6pm) houses a venerated frescoed image of Mary (the “Madonna Granda”), an ancient Byzantine-style image later touched up by Tomaso and members of his school.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
