Treviso Travel Guide, Italy

Local cuisine

Old in origin but young at hearth, Treviso offers the visitor a great number of restaurants, pizzerias, cafes, wine bars boasting a wide variety of products both from the local and international cuisine.

Of course the most renowned are the pizzerias and as every tourist who comes in Italy you would want to taste some “original” pizzas. And indeed that’s what I did. I was very surprised to have pizzas that even if they were called the same like for example pizza quarto stagioni they definitely tasted different. The first thing I noticed was that nobody brings you any ketchup and if you ask for it the waiter would look either puzzled or annoyed at the thought that you are another of those tourists who have no idea about what a real pizza is about.

Anywhere you go the service is excellent and the atmosphere is really unique. No matter what you order you are served and the dish is prepared and set on the plate as if it was some royal dish. You are surrounded only by typical original stuff and if you happen to dine in an old building you are transported in another world.

But you don’t have to think that pizza is the only thing you can eat around. There are many interesting vegetables that are specific to the area like a kind of red salad. Among other specific dishes you can’t find anywhere else is the “sopa coada”, a kind of soup made with pigeon. It is world known that Italians are not very fond of soups, still they have some and among the most popular is “minestrone” a kind of vegetable soup.

As I was used to eat a lot of soup, every day actually, I kind of missed it. Italians eat pasta as their first course and I got sick of so much pasta every day. It would have been different if they didn’t put parmesan on every type of pasta. Having a strong flavor I had the impression I ate the same thing all the time even if the pasta was different and it had a different ingredient.

Generally Italians do not eat a lot and don’t like combining a lot of ingredients in a dish maybe that’s why you can hardly see overweight people. They enjoy all types of cheese which can be just as expensive as meat. Once I had to eat a sandwich with bread and cheese only which was hard to swallow as I was used to a bit of butter too.

You can buy fresh food at the open market which is not always opened. It is held actually in a big parking lot during the weekend.

Italians especially in this area drink wine a lot maybe just as much as French, due to the many fine wineries. In the region of Treviso there are both great “cantinas” as they call them, but there are many families that have their private “cantina” and it is a family business. To be sure you drink good wine check if D.O.C. is written on the bottle. They drink wine before the meal and after the meal and if you are invited to a meal at a family it is customary to bring a bottle of wine with you.

If you will spend some time in Treviso you will certainly not come home with a few extra kilos but you will definitely eat in style.

Close to the unique city of Venice, even if it does not equal its charm Treviso is a city that has its own appeal and there is some similarity between them as here too you encounter canals that flow together into the Sile, its river and Treviso was in the past annexed to the republic of Venice. But Treviso is a Roman town and there are plenty of proofs around to convince you of that.

Getting here is no problem as the city has an international airport and you can also get here by rail or by car.

The city is located in an area that is renowned for its architectural beauty, history and more. Some of the most excellent wines are made here (Prosecco wine for example) and famous shoe brands have their quarters here.

Treviso is welcoming city that makes you fall in love with it the moment you see it. What made me like it and what struck me the first moment I lay eyes on it as I my plane was landing was that even if it is called a city there are no blocks of flats, no high structures except the churches, at least not in the city center.

It is a city rich in history and boasts a great number of ancient buildings with decorated facades and open air frescos. There is even a part of the city where you can see part of the old Roman street.

It is a real art city. Everywhere you go you can see examples of works of great artists. Tommaso di Modena is one of them and you can see some of his work at the Church of St. Nicolas and the Church of St. Catherine. Art connoisseurs need no introduction; they will recognize authentic works and give the city the credit of belonging next to great treasures. And even those who know little about art and history will soon realize that they stand in front of authentic art and will not question its value.

Because of its historic importance the cars are banned in the city centre and there are few streets where you can drive. Most people use bicycles and I have seen ladies elegantly dressed hop on their bikes. There’s no shame in riding your bike no matter who you are or no matter how you are dressed. But it is also a pleasure to walk its streets narrow but full of personality each having its own story to tell.

There are plenty of parks and green spaces but the ones I liked the most were the ones next to the canals. You could sit on the bench for hours and admire the fish in the water, which is dot deep at all, the ducks pass by and some old building in front of you making you feel like you were some tens of years ago. The architecture can really take you back to the old times as the city centre has changed very little.

Its residents are really proud of their city and there are strict laws concerning buildings and renovations nothing must be changed and in renovation they must use the same materials that were used in the past as much as possible.

There is a very nice gathering place right in the middle of the city called piazza dei Signiori boasting one of the most important buildings in the city, the Trecento Palace. There is also a very nice fish market nearby, important shops like Beneton, a great café, Piazza Rinaldi.

If you choose to come to Treviso you choose to be at the centre of a world with many facetes, rich in opportunities where the quality of life is at the top.

email to a friendAsk our travel experts a question about Treviso