Treviso (US: /treɪˈviːzoʊ/ tray-VEE-zoh,[3] Italian: [treˈviːzo] ⓘ; Venetian: Trevixo [tɾeˈvizo]) is a city and comune (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy.
Treviso is rarely mentioned by ancient writers, although Pliny writes of the Silis, that is the Sile River, as flowing ex montibus Tarvisanis.
Tradition records that St. Prosdocimus, a Greek who had been ordained bishop by St. Peter, brought the Catholic faith to Treviso and surrounding areas.
Treviso went through a demographic and economic decline similar to the rest of Italy after the fall of the Western Empire; however, it was spared by Attila the Hun, and thus, remained an important center during the 6th century.
Immediately after the Gothic Wars, Treviso fell under the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until 568 AD when it was taken by the Lombards, who made it one of 36 ducal seats[10] and established an important mint.
The latter was especially important during the reign of the last Lombard king, Desiderius, and continued to churn out coins when northern Italy was annexed to the Frankish Empire.
Struggles between Guelph and Ghibelline factions followed, with the first triumphant in 1283 with Gherardo III da Camino, after which Treviso experienced significant economic and cultural growth which continued until 1312.
[10] Having returned to Venice, the city was fortified and given a massive line of walls and ramparts, still existing; these were renewed in the following century under the direction of Fra Giocondo, two of the gates being built by the Lombardi.
The waterways were all navigable and "barconi" would arrive from Venice at the Port of Treviso (Porto de Fiera) pay duty and offload their merchandise and passengers along Riviera Santa Margherita.
Fishermen were able to bring fresh catch every day to the Treviso fish market, which is held still today on an island connected to the rest of the city by two small bridges at either end.
The citizens, still at heart loyal to the fallen Venetian Republic, were displeased with imperial rule and in March 1848, drove out the Austrian garrison.
During World War II, one of several Italian concentration camps was established for Slovene and Croatian civilians from the Province of Ljubljana in Monigo, near Treviso.
[15] In January 2005, a bomb enclosed in a candy egg and attributed to the so-called Italian Unabomber detonated on a Treviso street.
The city is situated some 15 km (9 mi) south-west the right bank of the Piave River, on the plain between the Gulf of Venice and the Alps.
[17] As early as 1231 the city was looking for a doctor able to teach a course in Treviso, but it was not until 1269 that the canon Florio de' Dovari of Cremona was appointed, probably the first professor of law.
[22] There is also no shortage of private schools in the city such as the "collegio vescovile Pio X", or the "Istituto Canossiano Madonna del Grappa".
In addition to various museums, the city also offers important exhibition areas such as Palazzo dei Trecento, the city council's headquarters, Ca' dei Carraresi, owned by the Fondazione Cassamarca, and Palazzo Bomben, the headquarters of the Fondazione Benetton Studi e Ricerche.
[26] Going in order, the most typical appetizer is the soppressa, a soft cured meat cut into thick slices, usually accompanied by polenta and radicchio.
Furthermore, in Treviso and its province, some of the most famous Italian wines are produced, such as Prosecco, Cabernet, Tocai, Merlot, Raboso and other well-known varieties.