I had three things on my list of things to do during my last full day in Treviso – visit the church I saw the other day that was only open for a couple of hours in the morning, visit the Museo di Santa Caterina, and check out the fish market.
First though, I stopped in the bank not to from my B&B. This bank happened to be a partner with my bank in Colorado. I wanted to change some of my larger bills for smaller bills. The guard would not let me get to a teller. He told me that I needed to go to another bank (can’t remember the name now) to do this. Not a big deal. I just thought it would be cool to visit this bank.
After leaving the bank, I walked by a display being set up at La Loggia dei Cavalieri (Lodge of Knights). It was a ceramic art exhibit by students in the middle school. It was not going to be open until the afternoon. I took note to return to see the display later in the day.
I stopped at a little bar for my caffè macchiato as I headed towards the street that I thought the church was on. Instead, I found a different church there, one I had already visited. I guess I should have taken a photo of the church I was searching for or at least wrote down the name of the street where it was located.
As I continued to search for the church, I ended up at the museum I had on my list of things to do. I went inside, checked the hours, and decided to return in the afternoon, knowing that I should find that church before it closed and get to the fish market in the morning.
I described what I could remember about the church to the woman and man at the museum desk, emphasizing that it was a church that was only open for a couple of hours in the morning. They had no clue. They did give me directions to the fish market.
As I searched for the fish market, I found the church! Chiesa di Sant’ Agostino – open Tuesday through Friday from 10-12 and Saturday/Sunday from 3:30-5:30 with Mass on Sundays from 9-noon.
This tiny little church was very cool inside. A woman who works at the church came out of a room on the side to provide information to the few tourists visiting this church. She went on and on about every detail until a couple of people came in inquiring about a wedding scheduled that weekend. She was very animated and seemed to really enjoy her job. This beauty of this church was difficult to capture in photos.
After leaving the church, I found fish market. It was almost over by the time I arrived.
The fish marked ended up not being too far from the Calnale dei Buranelli area. Everything sort of connects in Treviso in some way. I took a bunch of photos in the area, including a couple of waterwheels. I also ran into another school group touring the area.
I discovered this interesting place for lunch, called Basilico Tredici. You can either order something off of the menu or choose from a bunch of choices displayed behind the counter to make up a plate. I wasn’t sure if the food was weighed or how it was priced. A couple from Australia was also there at the same time trying to figure out how it worked. After a long explanation in Italian, I think I figured out that the cost ended up being whatever you chose as your most expensive item. I explained this to the couple from Australia and then we all chose items for our plates. YUM!! Great place to eat! Bread also comes with the meal.
After lunch, I returned to La Loggia dei Cavalieri to see the middle school ceramic art exhibit. I was very impressed.
After leaving the exhibit, I returned to the Museo di Santa Catarina.
This building was originally a noble family’s palace. It then was rebuilt as a convent and a church. It then went on to be used as barracks and a military warehouse with major alterations done to the architectural structure of the building. It suffered damage during the bombings of WWII. The damage from the bombings led to the discovery of frescoes hidden under the plaster that covered the walls. After major restoration of the buildings, this museo or museum now houses a fresco section in the church, an archeological section in the basement and ground floor of the convent and a medieval art, renaissance art and modern art display on the first floor of the convent (US 2nd floor).
When I entered the museum, the two people that I spoke to in the morning were no longer there. An older man at the museum desk told me to wait there while he radioed for someone. Another man arrived. He accompanied me throughout my visit. It was sort of like my own private tour. There was another couple visiting this museum while I was there. They were accompanied by a young woman. The museum guard who accompanied me spoke in rapid Italian explaining every piece of artwork. At times I could understand most everything and at other times, I could only understand about 1/3rd of what he was saying. He was very nice though and seemed to be very proud of everything in the museum.
There was a special project celebrating 500 years since the death of Giovanni Bellini called Luce su Giovanni Bellini taking place while I was in Treviso throughout the Veneto region of Italy. Each church, museum or collection displayed at least one of Bellini’s works known as the “Giambellino”. The Museo di Santa Caterina was exhibiting a painting of the Madonna and Child. If I understood correctly, this painting is not permanently housed in Treviso. A photographer was closing down a section part of the art display of the museum to photograph this special painting. The museum guard made sure to get me up to that area to see this beautiful painting before they closed that section of the museum. Later, the painting was moved next to what I believe was another Giovanni Bellini painting of the Madonna and Child.
Below on the left is the painting the photographer was photographing and on the right is the painting moved and displayed next to the painting housed in this museum. (click on each for larger views).
Here are a few more photos I took in the museum. The terra cotta statue looks large in the photo, but it was a tiny statue. It is believed to have been created between the 4th and 2nd century BC.
There also was a very old beautifully painted harpsichord in the museum. Not sure why I did not take a photo of this instrument. There was also a story about this harpsichord but I can’t remember it now.
To get to the church, you walk through the beautiful cloister…
Inside the church, the Cappella degli Innocenti was amazing!! The guard smiled as he saw my reaction when he took me there. It’s sort of around a corner from the entrance to the church, so you do not see it right away.
The church itself was filled with more frescoes, both on the wall and lined up in rows on display. I was also fascinated with the details of the brick arch. The man in the blue shirt in one of the photos below was the very nice man who accompanied me throughout my visit.
Outside the museum, you will find an installation on a wall dedicated to Mario Botter. Up close, you can see that it is made out of metal.
There was one more thing I wanted to see before leaving Treviso. I saw photos of the beautiful Porta di San Tomaso on the front cover of a book about Treviso in the window of a bookstore. I went into that bookstore and asked for directions to this porta. I found out that it was right by the wall and big market I visited on Tuesday. So close! But it was also not too far from the museum, so I walked there after leaving the museum.
As I headed back to my B&B, not far from the Porta di SanTomaso, I walked by a doorway with a sign saying Unione Ciclisti Trevigiani. I wondered if it had anything to do with the Giro d’Italia. I peeked inside. Two older men were inside. They were thrilled to see me and proceeded to show me every cup, jersey, photo, trophy, etc. in the small little area of this cycling club. They also gave me a magazine type book of their club and a 2016 planner! They were very nice and were thrilled when I asked if I could take their photo.
As I walked back to my B&B, I took a different street and discovered an interesting restaurant called Gustolia.
I made a reservation, went home and showered and did a little bit of packing and then returned for dinner. OH MY GOSH!!! This ended up being one of the most delicious dinners of my trip! This was a very unique restaurant. Almost all of the choices on the menu are served in jars. I ordered the salmone al basilico di Pra’, which was a salmon steamed in a jar with basil, vegetables, and ligurian olive oil. I also ordered the green amaranto bio, which was organic amaranth with goat cheese, eggplant, baby spinach and flaxseed. Both were soooo good!!!! YUM YUM YUM!!! My only regret was not knowing about this place sooner instead of discovering it the last night of my stay in Treviso!
I enjoyed my time in Treviso and would love to return there again some day.
Next stop… MODENA!!!
**Review of my B&B. I stayed at B&B Avogari. It was in a great location. The room was large, beautifully furnished, lots of storage space, with a nice bathroom. The wifi was secure and included for no extra charge. There was air conditioning but I found that it did not always keep the room as cool as I would have preferred. This was my splurge stay as the B&B was more expensive than what I usually prefer to pay for a room. I chose not to include breakfast as it was an extra charge, so I cannot comment on the breakfast, but there was a nice little refrigerator in the room to store breakfast items such as yogurt or fruit.
shave ice & gelato 