Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Overlooking the city of Vicenza, a 10-minute walk from Valmarana, is the
17th-century
Basilica di Monte Bérico
(
%
0444-320999; Mon-Sat 6am-
12:30pm and 2:30-7:30pm, Sun 6am-8pm, with shorter hours in winter).
The
church is popular with pilgrims who believe that this was the very spot that the
Virgin twice appeared to announce the city's delivery from bubonic plague, which
struck Vicenza in 1426. In front of the Basilica, there's a relaxed cafe where you
can have a drink and snack in the garden terrace, and enjoy the panoramic view
over the city.
5
A BUDGET RESTAURANT
All that walking through the streets of Palladio's
city will build up quite an appetite; to find a reliable, affordable
taverna,
turn off
Corso Palladio into Contrà della Morette (which runs towards Piazza dei Signori)
and look for
Antica Casa della Malvasia
(
%
0444-543704),
a spot that attracts
a devoted local following. The cuisine is typical of the region, unpretentious and
very good; and the menu of drinks, I must say, is spectacular.
Treviso
The low-key city of Treviso is easily overlooked by time-constrained tourists
(many of whom merely think of this as a point of arrival for visits from the U.K.
to Venice, typically with budget carrier Ryanair), but it makes for an attractive
outing; its ancient system of canals quaintly set off the lively architecture (the
houses often feature frescoed facades) of the historic center, extensively fortified
by 16th-century walls. Much of the Treviso you see today resulted from extensive
post-war restoration.
Treviso is small enough to get around without much hassle, but if you do
require sightseeing assistance, head for the
tourist office
(Piazza Monte di Pietè;
%
0422-547632; www.provincia.treviso.it; closed Mon afternoon, 12:30-2pm
weekdays, and 12:30-3pm weekends)
slap-bang in the center of the town.
To reach the center from the train station (which is to the south of the center),
head along Via Roma and farther as it becomes Corso dei Popolo, until you reach
the Piazza dei Signori, at one end of the city's main street, Calmaggiore. Here
stands the
Palazzo dei Trecento,
Treviso's 13th-century town hall (much rebuilt
after destructive bombing raids on Good Friday 1944), and the more recent
Palazzo del Podestà (from the 19th c.). Worth visiting here are the
San Vito
and
Santa Lucia churches
(free admission; daily 9am-noon),
around the other side of
the block. The chapel in the latter church showcases more work by Tomaso da
Modena.
The city's 12th-century San Pietro Cathedral is farther along Calmaggiore, but
has been maintained with limited success; you can visit in the mornings and after
3:30pm in the afternoon to see Titian's
Annunciation
(1570); however, you're
likely to be far more impressed by the remains of the frescoed
Adoration of the
Magi,
executed 50 years earlier by Pordenone.
Back toward the station, the
Church of San Nicolò
(Via San Nicolò;
%
0422-
3247; free admission; Mon-Fri 8am-12:30pm and 3:30-7pm)
stands near the city
wall abutting the River Sile. The church was built by the Dominicans and features
an extraordinary range of frescoes spanning several centuries. Of importance here
are columns decorated with the work of the city's principal artistic contributor,
