Located in the heart of Treviso, the Loggia dei Cavalieri is one of the most characteristic historic residences in the whole of Veneto.
It is a unique building that arose during the flourishing architectural period of the 1200s.
But how much do we know about it?
A bit of history
The Loggia was commissioned by the podestà Andrea da Perugia in the second half of the thirteenth century in order to affirm the power acquired by the nobles in the period of the Free Towns.
Generally, it was used for the playful encounters between nobles during the summer until the city was conquered by Venice in 1388.
From that moment on, the structure was abandoned until a house was built inside the Loggia itself in the middle of the sixteenth century.
In the years that followed, it was used as a warehouse several times, and there was often talk of demolishing it, but the Loggia remained standing thanks to the intervention of Abbot Luigi Bailo, who lived between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, and was a great admirer of artistic and cultural heritage.
In 1889 it became the property of the municipality of Treviso, which took care of its restoration from that date onwards.
The architecture
The building was influenced by the Byzantine architecture, which saw the structure develop into a trapezoidal layout enhanced by three facades with five arches, while by contrast the north-west side is solid.
The internal open space is characterised by a column placed in the centre, made half from violet granite and half from Istrian stone, which bears much of the weight of the pyramidal pavilion roof. All the columns rest on stone blocks and have truncated pyramid capitals with bevelled corners.
The paintings
Almost the entire structure is plastered and enriched internally and externally with frescoes representing figurative, plant and even geometric motifs.
The course of history has seen two overlapping phases of frescoes: the first dating back to the end of the thirteenth century (1276/1277) depicting more naturalistic scenes, and the second dating back to a few decades later (1313/1314) with a battle theme, inspired by the Trojan War, although the warriors in this case wear typically medieval clothes.
Fun facts
Between the 1970s and 1980s, the Loggia dei Cavalieri was a particularly popular place because of two commercial activities that took place right inside it.
In fact, in those years the Tarantola family decided to open a fully fledged used book market, while Tiziano Torzo, known as the dwarf of the Lodge, took advantage of the place for his business selling flowers, antiques and toys.
Tourism
Currently the Loggia is a fairly famous tourist site, and a must stop for anyone who wants to visit Treviso. Small concerts and initiatives of all kinds take place in the historic medieval courtyard, attracting tourists and passers-by.
However, the historical beauty of the Loggia dei Cavalieri remains the only real reason to visit it.
Like any self-respecting tourist city, however, it is difficult to drive in Treviso, especially in terms of parking.
The advice is always to reach it by bus that offers the possibility of reaching it easily and at reasonable prices.
The ATVO transport company, in fact, connects in an extremely efficient way the main cities of the Eastern Veneto guaranteeing a very comfortable service for anyone who wants to travel in freedom.
Discover the Loggia dei Cavalieri in Treviso for yourself!
