Treviso

The Sile and Botteniga run through Treviso in channels that were used for mills and washing, so the old centre is crossed by small canals with waterwheels, weirs and the fish market on its own island. Sixteenth-century walls and gates by Fra Giocondo enclose the centre, and long arcades run along the main streets with frescoed facades surviving in patches. The city was heavily bombed in April 1944 and much of the centre was rebuilt. Radicchio rosso di Treviso, a bitter red chicory forced in the dark and washed in spring water, is the local crop, in season from late autumn.

Background

One theory derives the name from Ter- and -visi, for the three hills the city was built on, now Piazza Duomo, Piazza Sant'Andrea and Piazza dei Signori. Tarvisium, a city of the Veneti, became a Roman municipium in 89 BC. Its first documented bishop, John the Pious, began his episcopacy in 396 AD. From 568 AD the Lombards made it one of 36 ducal seats, with an important mint. For a short time from 1318 it had a university, and in 1369 the collection of Oliviero Forzetta, a notary and physician, was published in a catalog, the earliest of its kind to survive. The area is the original home of Prosecco, and tiramisù is thought to have started here.

Source: Wikipedia, "Treviso"

Highlights

• The canals - waterways with mills, weirs and an island fish market.
• The arcades - long porticoed streets with patches of fresco.
• The Fra Giocondo walls - sixteenth-century ramparts and gates.
• The radicchio - forced red chicory grown around the city.

When to go

April to October for the canals and arcades; radicchio season runs from late autumn into winter with markets and festivals. The city is quiet year-round.

Before you go

Much of the centre is postwar rebuilding after 1944 bombing. It has few headline sights, which is part of the appeal but not to everyone's taste.

Nearby

Venice lies south; Asolo is northwest.