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Conegliano
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North of Treviso, around the amiable town of
CONEGLIANO
, the landscape ceases to be boring. The surrounding hills are patched with vineyards, and the production of wine (
Prosecco
in particular) is central to the economy of the district. Italy's first wine-growers' college was set up in Conegliano in 1876, and there's a large grape festival in the last weekend of September, with parades and a banquet. It's a rewarding place for tourists too, as two well-established
wine routes
meet here: the Strada dei Vini del Piave, which runs for 68km southeast to Oderzo, and the more rewarding Strada del Prosecco, the first to be established in Italy, a 42-kilometre journey west to Valdobbiadene. Access to Conegliano itself is straightforward, as nearly all the regular Venice-to-Udine trains stop here.
The old centre of Conegliano, adhering to the slope of the Colle di Giano, is right in front of you as you come out of the station; just follow the road ahead and climb the steps to Via XX Settembre. This is the original main street, whose most decorative feature is the unusual facade of the Duomo : a fourteenth-century portico, frescoed in the sixteenth century, which joins seamlessly the buildings on each side. The interior of the church has been much rebuilt, but retains fragments of fifteenth-century frescoes; the major adornment of the church, though, is the magnificent altarpiece of The Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels , painted in 1493 by Giambattista Cima, the most famous native of Conegliano. Cima's birthplace, no. 24 Via G.B. Cima (at rear of duomo), has now been converted into the Casa Museo di G. B. Cima (summer Fri 9am-noon & 3.30-7pm, Sat 3.30-7pm, Sun 10am-noon & 3.30-7pm; winter Sat & Sun 3-6pm; L1000/€0.52), which consists mainly of reproductions of his paintings and archeological finds made during the restoration of the house. The painting tradition is kept alive in the Galleria d'Arte Moderna , Palazzo Sarcinelli, on Via XX Settembre, which hosts occasional exhibitions that are more important than you'd expect in a town of this size. More variable in quality, but certainly picturesque, is the art festival held in September, when local painters set up stalls right along the Contrada Granda.
The
Museo Civico
(Tues-Sun: April-Sept 10am-12.30pm & 3.30-7pm; Oct-March 10am-12.30pm & 3-6.30pm; L3000/€1.55) is housed in the tallest surviving tower of the reconstructed castello on top of the hill. It's reached most quickly by the steep and cobbled Calle Madonna della Neve, which begins at the end of Via Accademia, the street beside the palatial Accademia cinema, and follows the town's most impressive stretch of ancient wall. The museum has some damaged frescoes by Pordenone and a small bronze horse by Giambologna, but most of the paintings are "Workshop of … " or "School of … ", and the displays of coins, maps, war memorabilia, armour and so forth are no more fascinating than you'd expect. But it's a lovingly maintained place, and the climb through the floors culminates on the tower's roof, from where you get a fine view across the gentle vine-clad landscape. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Italy,
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