Sarmede
Sarmede is a small municipality in the Treviso foothills known throughout Italy as the "fairytale village"
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of Sarmede
Stepan Zavrel and the birth of the fairytale village
It all began with the arrival in Sarmede of Czech illustrator Stepan Zavrel, who chose this village in the Treviso foothills as his home and, together with a group of friends and artists, began transforming it into an extraordinary place. Zavrel painted and had painted nearly seventy fairytale-themed murals on the village's houses, signed by himself and by numerous internationally renowned illustrators who passed through Sarmede over the years. After his death in 1999, his friends in the village founded the Stepan Zavrel Foundation that same year to continue his work in favour of illustration and children's literature, keeping alive the artistic project that has made Sarmede unique among Venetian villages.
The International Exhibition of Illustration for Children
In 1983, Zavrel, together with a group of passionate friends, launched the International Exhibition of Illustration for Children "Le Immagini della Fantasia", which every year between autumn and winter brings to Sarmede works by illustrators from around the world. In 1988 the exhibition was joined by the International School of Illustration, which over the years has trained generations of young illustrators drawn by the village's fame. The event has become a fixed appointment for industry professionals, families and picture-book enthusiasts, transforming for a few months each year a small municipality of just a few thousand inhabitants into a culturally significant international hub for children's illustration.
The Casa della Fantasia
In 2012, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the "Le Immagini della Fantasia" exhibition, the Casa della Fantasia was inaugurated in Sarmede, the new headquarters of the Zavrel Foundation and a multifunctional centre dedicated to fantasy and picture books. The building hosts permanent and temporary exhibitions, educational workshops for children and families, and an archive collecting original works by Italian and international illustrators. It is the reference point for anyone wanting to explore, even outside the autumn exhibition period, the artistic journey linked to Zavrel and the tradition of children's illustration that made the village famous.
A walk among the village murals
The most direct way to experience Sarmede is simply to walk its streets, looking up at house façades painted with scenes from classic fairy tales and fantastical characters. The murals are scattered throughout the built-up centre, on public and private buildings, creating a free, self-guided route that visitors can follow at their own pace, perhaps with the help of maps distributed by local tourist offices. It is an experience particularly suited to families with children, who can recognise familiar characters from European fairy tales, but one capable of fascinating adults too, thanks to the artistic quality of the works and the dreamlike atmosphere felt while walking through the village's streets.
The Treviso foothills and surroundings
Beyond its artistic fame, Sarmede sits in a pleasant natural setting, within the Treviso foothill belt not far from Vittorio Veneto and the Cansiglio plateau, a destination for hikes through beech woods and for cross-country winter sports. The municipal territory retains a partly agricultural economy, with small farms and a hilly landscape that frames the vivid colours of the murals. Those visiting Sarmede for the exhibition or the murals can therefore easily combine the cultural stop with a trip into the surrounding nature, in one of the less crowded but most striking areas of the Treviso province.
Experiences not to miss
- Stroll among the village's nearly seventy fairytale murals
- Visit the International Exhibition of Illustration "Le Immagini della Fantasia"
- Explore the collections at the Casa della Fantasia, home of the Zavrel Foundation
- Take part in children's illustration workshops
- Head to the Cansiglio plateau or Vittorio Veneto for a nature outing
To see
What to see in Sarmede
Routes · Trovido Route
