European Trip 13: Treviso, Italy

Friday 4th October 2024 (day 21)

We had planned (and paid for) 4 nights at the campsite in Fusina, on the Venice lagoon, but sadly yesterday was a complete write-off as an unholy tempest hit the area with gale-force winds and horizontal rain over a period of over 24 hours, preventing us returning to Venice. We stayed put in the motorhome and watched the conditions get gradually worse as the day went on.

Today we moved on as planned, heading north to the small, attractive city of Treviso and our overnight stay on a sosta (motorhome park-up) situated on the car park of the local football club. The constant rain had changed to showers.

The town is a medieval walled settlement which has a river running through it in at least three separate channels. This, together with the covered pavements with shops, gives it the feel of a smaller version of Venice. No gondolas here though.

It is clear that this has been a settlement since well before medieval times, as there is a roman mosaic on view in one of the streets:

On most mornings, the town has a permanent fish market on an island in the river:

There are several of these old water wheels, restored to provide lighting. Although some are working, others appear to be in dire need of repair.

We visited Saint Francis’ church, which has a remarkable life-size statue of St Francis outside the door. The church is very old and in previous times was decorated more extensively. Examples of the decorations do remain, however.

Treviso Cathedral is quite a lot bigger and sits under three domes.

In the aisle, there is the body of a long-dead saint. We also visited the crypt under the altar, which houses the bodies of some dead priests.

The town is also quite famous for its fountain, which is mamorable for a couple of reasons:

In fact, there seems to be a bit of a boob thing going on, as in the river alongside the fish market, there is also a bare-breasted mermaid statue.

Tomorrow we move on further north and east.