Castelfranco Veneto Travel Guide

Castelfranco Veneto (TV) was established around 1199 as a defense for the the people of Treviso during a time when regional conquest was common.  Today the commune (city) is home to 36,000 people.  Castelfranco Veneto's most famous resident was the painter Giorgione (b1477 d1510).  While the house of Giorgione is still erect, most of his belongings and documents were destroyed after his death around 1510.  This destruction as well as the repainting of his home was a common practice as Giorgione died from the black plague.  A remaining Giorgione painting, Madonna in trono con in Bambino , can be seen in the Dome (the main catherdral) built by architecht Francesco Maria Preti.  Also built by Francesco Maria Preti is the Theatro Accademico. 

Eating in Castelfranco is wonderful.  Several restaraunts and bars (and Gelato stands) line both the main strip outside the moat and the streets and alleys within the castel walls.  The food is not geared toward toursits and provides authentic regional cuisine.   An average meal is around 5-7 euros for a first (pasta) course, 7-15 euros for a second (meat) course.  Espresso (caffe) is under one euro as is a scoop of gelato.  House wines cost between two and five euros per liter making them quite a bargin.  Of course pizza is also available and ranges from thin crust with exotic topings to thick slices found in the cafes to street pizza sold by the slice.    

We stayed in the Hotel Alla Torre located accross from the main strip next to the tower (torre).  The accomodations were quite nice and the staff was extremely friendly and professional.  A traditional european contentenal breakfast included with the room was offered each morning.  This included items from the coffee bar such as espresso and cappiccino.  The hotel offers Wi-Fi for a very reasonalble price (1 hour free and 1 euro for 3 hours past that). 

Getting to Castlefranco is a little tricky, but managable.  From Venice a train 45 train ride on Trenitalia will leave you with about a 10 minute walk to the castle walls.  A cab from Marco Polo or Traviso airports can be costly, but there is a shuttle to Mestre station form each airport that is only 2.50 euro.  From Mestre you are one stop from Venice San Lucia in one direction and a little over a half hour from Castelfranco in the other.