Castelfranco Veneto ( vec, Casteło) is a town and ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' of
Veneto
Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona.
Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
, northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, in the
province of Treviso
The Province of Treviso ('' it, Provincia di Treviso'') is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso. The province is surrounded by Belluno in the north, Vicenza in the west, Padua in southwest, Venice in the so ...
, by rail from the town of
Treviso
Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...
. It is approximately inland from Venice.
History
The town originates from a castle built here by the commune of Treviso in the course of its strife against
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
(1195). In 1246, it was captured by
Ezzelino III da Romano
Ezzelino III da Romano (25 April 1194, Tombolo7 October 1259) was an Italian feudal lord, a member of the Ezzelino family, in the March of Treviso (in modern Veneto). He was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II ( r. 1220–1250), and ruled ...
, returning to Treviso after his death in 1259. In 1329, it was acquired by
Cangrande I della Scala, lord of
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
. Ten years later, together with Treviso, it was handed over to the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
, to which it belonged until 1797. Castelfranco Veneto then followed the history of
Veneto
Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona.
Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
. Indeed, the hand over to the "
Serenissima
aSerenissima ( heMost Serene) may refer to:
Certain countries
* , a name for the Republic of Venice
* , the official Latin name of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Art, entertainment, and media
* La Serenissima (musical ensemble), a Britis ...
" closes over a century of war events for the town. With its lands finally quiet and safe, some of the richest Venetian patrician families began undertaking several investments, laying down the foundations for the development of a relatively large area that will start one of its most prominent economic and cultural booming from the early decades of the sixteenth century. Almost freed from the rigid military dimension of the castle during the sixteenth century, Castelfranco Veneto transformed itself in a "quasi-city" (the expression was created by the historian
Giorgio Chittolini), through a dynamic process of evolution of its economic fabric, as well as its redevelopment and thickening of its public and private building heritage.
Main sights
![CastelfrancoV mura](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/CastelfrancoV_mura.jpg)
The older part of the town is square, surrounded by
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
walls and towers constructed by the people of Treviso in 1211 (see
Cittadella
Cittadella ( vec, Sitadeła) is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around ...
).
![Giorgione - Pala di Castelfranco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Giorgione_-_Pala_di_Castelfranco.jpg)
Castelfranco Veneto was the birthplace of the painter
Giorgione
Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
, and the cathedral, named il Duomo (1723), located inside the walls, contains one of his finest works, the ''
Madonna with St. Francis and Liberalis'' (1504), but more commonly called ''Pala del Giorgione''. In the background, the towers of the old town may be seen.
The painting was being restored in Venice, Italy; however, ceremonies were held for the return of 'La Pala' near the end of 2005.
The cathedral itself was designed by
Francesco Maria Preti, over an ancient Romanesque church.
Other artpieces include seven fragments of frescoes by
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...
.
Transport
Castelfranco Veneto railway station, opened in 1877, is a
junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
of three railway lines, the
Trento–Venice railway
The Trento–Venice railway is an Italian state-owned railway line connecting Trento, in Trentino-Alto Adige, to Mestre, a suburb of Venice, in the Veneto region. At Mestre, it connects to the main line from Verona.
The line is managed by RFI, ...
, the
Vicenza–Treviso railway and the
Calalzo–Padua railway
The Calalzo–Padua railway is a railway line in Veneto, Italy.
The section from Camposampiero to Padua was opened in 1877 as a part of the Bassano–Padua railway. In 1886 it followed the section from Belluno to Camposampiero. The final secti ...
, respectively. As such, it is one of the busiest railway junctions in Veneto.
People born in Castelfranco Veneto
*
Giorgione
Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
(1477–1510), painter
*
Agostino Steffani (1655–1728), Catholic bishop, diplomat, and composer
*
Francesco Maria Preti (1701–1774), architect
*
Paola Drigo
Paola (''née'' Bianchetti) Drigo (4 January 1876 – 4 January 1938) was an Italian writer of short stories, novellas, and novels. Her first collection of short stories, ''La fortuna'', was published in 1913 and caught the attention of literary c ...
(1876–1938), writer
*
Tina Anselmi
Tina Anselmi Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (25 March 1927 – 1 November 2016) was a member of the Italian resistance movement during World War II who went on to become an Italian politician. She was the first woman to hold a ministerial positi ...
(1927–2016), prominent member of the
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...
, later politician, first woman to hold a ministerial position in Italy
*
Donatella Rettore
Donatella Rettore, also simply known as Rettore (born 8 July 1955, in Castelfranco Veneto, Province of Treviso) is an Italian singer and songwriter.
Rettore started her singing career in 1973. Her early recordings was oriented towards Italian ...
(born 1953), singer and songwriter
*
Francesco Guidolin
Francesco Guidolin (; born 3 October 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player, most recently the manager of Premier League team Swansea City. He has coached various Italian club sides in Serie A, winning the 1996–97 Coppa Ital ...
(born 1955), football manager
*
Pia Parolin (born 1965), biologist and tropical ecologist
*
Manuela Giugliano
Manuela Giugliano (born 18 August 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Roma in Italy's Serie A and the Italy women's national football team.
Club career
Giugliano played for ACFD Pordenone before joining ...
(born 1997), football player
Twin towns
*
Guelph, Ontario
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Well ...
, Canada
References
External links
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Veneto