Province of Treviso
The province of Treviso, the beating heart of the Marca Trevigiana, is one of the Veneto's most surprising lands: a mosaic of wate...
Updated 11 July 2026
Province of Treviso
Explore
Towns in the province
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Province of Treviso now
The story
The story of Province of Treviso
Treviso, the city of water
Calling it the "city of water" is no literary flourish: the Sile and Cagnan rivers run through Treviso's historic centre, tracing canals, small islands and views that recall Venice in miniature, yet with an entirely mainland soul. Strolling along the banks you come across old mills, some still working, and the frescoed facades that characterise the centre. The heart of the city is Piazza dei Signori, dominated by the Palazzo dei Trecento, the historic seat of municipal power; nearby, the Pescheria fish market occupies a small artificial island on the Cagnan, where fresh fish is still sold every morning. Medieval porticoes, narrow lanes and historic shops complete a centre best explored on foot, with stops at the many bacari for a glass of wine and a cicchetto.
The Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene
Since 2019 the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a recognition that celebrates a unique agricultural landscape: rows of vines climbing extremely steep slopes, still worked by hand, drawing green geometries as far as the eye can see. At the heart of this area lies Prosecco Superiore DOCG, but the territory also guards the historic Cartizze sub-zone, a few dozen hectares considered the pinnacle of production. Towns such as Conegliano, home to one of Europe's oldest oenology schools, and Valdobbiadene are ideal starting points for exploring the Prosecco Road, Italy's first official wine tourism route, among wineries, farm stays and views that change colour with every season.
Asolo, the city of a hundred horizons
Asolo deserves the title "city of a hundred horizons", coined by the poet Giosuè Carducci: perched on a hill, it offers views stretching from the Prealps to the Venetian plain. The town, encircled by walls and dominated by its Rocca fortress, was the residence of Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, and in modern times became a favourite retreat for the actress Eleonora Duse and the writer and explorer Freya Stark, both buried in the town cemetery. The historic centre, with its continuous porticoes, frescoed houses and small Teatro Duse, retains an intimate, aristocratic atmosphere that has fascinated artists and travellers for centuries. Don't miss a climb to the Rocca for the view and a stop at the historic cafés on the square.
Possagno, the birthplace of Antonio Canova
Possagno, at the foot of Monte Grappa, was the birthplace in 1757 of Antonio Canova, the greatest sculptor of European Neoclassicism. The village holds two unmissable places tied to his genius: the Gipsoteca Canoviana, which gathers the plaster models and original casts from which his marble sculptures were born, expanded in the 20th century by Carlo Scarpa with a wing of natural light that is itself an architectural masterpiece; and the Tempio Canoviano, a Neoclassical mausoleum inspired by Rome's Pantheon, which the artist himself designed and chose as his final resting place. Nearby, Canova's birth house completes a museum trail that captures the full creative arc of one of the protagonists of Western art.
Castelfranco Veneto and Giorgione
Castelfranco Veneto has preserved intact its medieval walled circuit with moat, a rare case in the Veneto of a walled town still perfectly legible within the urban fabric. Within the walls, around 1477, Giorgio Barbarelli was born, known to history as Giorgione, one of the most enigmatic and influential painters of the Venetian Renaissance. The town's Duomo houses his famous Castelfranco Altarpiece, the Madonna and Child with Saints Francis and Liberalis, a work alone worth the visit. Giorgione's House, now a museum, and the streets of the centre, lively with shops and cafés, make the town an elegant, human-scaled stop along the Marca Trevigiana itinerary.
The Sile River and its mills
The Sile is Europe's longest spring-fed river and crosses the province of Treviso, giving life to a unique ecosystem protected by the Sile Regional Natural Park. Its clear waters have powered water mills for centuries, some still open to visitors, bearing witness to a rural economy based on wheat, hemp and wool processed along its banks. The park is best explored by bicycle or boat, among reed beds, Venetian villas overlooking the water and small villages such as Casale sul Sile or Quinto di Treviso. The cycle paths that follow the river connect Treviso to Venice, offering one of the most scenic and peaceful cycling routes in the Veneto.
Red radicchio and tiramisù
The province of Treviso has given Italy two world-famous culinary treasures. Treviso red radicchio IGP, with its long, crisp wine-red leaves, is harvested in winter after a whitening process in running water that makes it sweet and slightly bitter: it stars in risottos, grilled dishes and the famous Radicchio Festival in December. Tiramisù, now a symbol of Italian pastry worldwide, was born right here in Treviso, where several historic establishments claim its invention between the 1960s and 1970s: ladyfingers, coffee, mascarpone and cocoa in a balance that has become legendary. It is no coincidence that Treviso hosts the Tiramisù World Cup every year, an international competition dedicated to the dessert.
The Venetian villas of the Marca
The Treviso countryside is dotted with Venetian villas, holiday residences built between the 16th and 18th centuries by Venetian nobility along the roads connecting the Serenissima to the mainland. Some, like Villa Emo in Fanzolo di Vedelago, designed by Andrea Palladio and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, represent absolute pinnacles of Renaissance architecture, with frescoed barchesse and Italian-style gardens. Other villas, less famous but no less charming, dot the province's towns and tell the story of a typically Venetian model of agricultural-noble life, where the farm estate and the noble residence coexisted in a single architectural complex, often surrounded by centuries-old parks.
Food and wine of the Marca Trevigiana
Beyond Prosecco, radicchio and tiramisù, Treviso's cuisine offers a rich and hearty table: pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans), baccalà alla trevigiana (salt cod), bigoli with duck, and malga cheeses such as Morlacco and Casatella Trevigiana DOP. Sweets are not lacking either, with Venetian Easter focaccia and the dry biscuits typical of local osterie. Among the wines, besides Prosecco, Manzoni Bianco stands out, a native grape variety created right in the province of Treviso, along with the reds of the Piave. The culture of the "giro d'ombre", the tradition of stopping at bacari for a glass of wine paired with cicchetti, is an authentic way to experience Treviso's sociability.
When to go
The Marca Trevigiana can be pleasantly visited all year round. Spring and early summer show off the Prosecco Hills in their most intense green, ideal for trekking and cycling among the vineyards. Autumn is harvest and festival season, with wine-themed events in the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. Winter is the time for red radicchio, with the Treviso Radicchio Festival in December and Christmas markets along the city's canals, particularly evocative with lights reflecting in the water. Summer is excellent for walks along the Sile and for discovering Asolo and Possagno in the cooler morning hours.
Experiences not to be missed
- Stroll along the Sile in Treviso among mills and the island Pescheria fish market
- Drive the Prosecco Road between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene
- Climb to the Rocca of Asolo for the view over the "hundred horizons"
- Visit the Gipsoteca Canoviana and the Tempio in Possagno
- Admire Giorgione's Altarpiece in the Duomo of Castelfranco Veneto
- Cycle the Sile bike path from Treviso towards Venice
- Taste real tiramisù in Treviso's historic establishments
- Discover Palladio's Villa Emo in Fanzolo di Vedelago
To see
What to see in Province of Treviso
Routes · Trovido Route
