castelfranco veneto tour

CASTELFRANCO VENETO TOUR

📍 STOP 1: Inside the Gardens (In front of the Walls)

Hi everyone and welcome to Catelfranco Veneto! I We are going to spend a couple of

hours together exploring this place. First of all, Castelfranco is a very strategic city. We

are right in the middle of the Veneto region: Padova is to the south, Treviso to the east,

Vicenza to the west, and the beautiful Dolomite mountains (like Cortina) are to the north!

We have about 33,000 inhabitants, and we are surrounded by greenery and rivers, like

the Muson river.

How would you translate 'Castelfranco' into English?

It means 'Free Castle' (Castello Franco). Why 'free'? Because in the Middle Ages, the

people who came to live here didn't have to pay taxes! (so they were free = franco). The

only condition was that they had to defend the castle if enemies attacked. Not a bad deal,

right?

Look now at these massive walls. They were built around 1199 by the city of Treviso to

defend against their enemies, especially Padova and Vicenza. This castle is special: it's a

Castle without a king. It wasn't built for a royal family, but for the citizens to hide inside

and protect themselves. It's perfect square. See the 'teeth' on top of the walls? Those are

called merli (merlons), and the little holes are feritoie (loopholes) where soldiers could

shoot arrows or even... pour boiling oil on the enemies!

📍 STOP 2: Turning towards the Civic Tower and the "Girone"

We’re now in front of the Torre Civica (Civic Tower). It was the main entrance for

pedestrians and heavy wooden carts. Up there, you can see the symbol of a winged lion.

That is the Lion of Saint Mark, the symbol of Venice! It holds a book that says 'Pax tibi

Marce' (Peace to you, Mark). It means Venice conquered this city later on.

Look up at the ceiling, do you know what is this? It’s a red cart: the symbol of the

Carraresi family, the Lords of Padova. For a short time in the 14th century, they

conquered Castelfranco and left their 'signature' here to show everyone who was the

boss. It’s like a medieval logo!

Here, as you can see there is the Girone. It was built in 1246 by a very cruel lord named

Ezzelino da Romano. It’s literally a fortress within the fortress. If enemies passed the

outer walls, the Girone would close and block them.

STOP 3: Up on the Walls (Right after the Girone)

I give you now some 15 minutes to go up to the medieval walls and look at the beautiful

landscape! Enjoy your time!

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📍 STOP 1: Inside the Gardens (In front of the Walls) Hi everyone and welcome to Catelfranco Veneto! I We are going to spend a couple of hours together exploring this place. First of all, Castelfranco is a very strategic city. We are right in the middle of the Veneto region: Padova is to the south, Treviso to the east, Vicenza to the west, and the beautiful Dolomite mountains (like Cortina) are to the north! We have about 33,000 inhabitants, and we are surrounded by greenery and rivers , like the Muson river. How would you translate 'Castelfranco' into English? It means 'Free Castle' (Castello Franco). Why 'free'? Because in the Middle Ages , the people who came to live here didn't have to pay taxes! (so they were free = franco). The only condition was that they had to defend the castle if enemies attacked. Not a bad deal, right? Look now at these massive walls. They were built around 1199 by the city of Treviso to defend against their enemies, especially Padova and Vicenza. This castle is special: it's a Castle without a king. It wasn't built for a royal family, but for the citizens to hide inside and protect themselves. It's perfect square. See the 'teeth' on top of the walls? Those are called merli (merlons), and the little holes are feritoie (loopholes) where soldiers could shoot arrows or even... pour boiling oil on the enemies! 📍 STOP 2: Turning towards the Civic Tower and the "Girone" We’re now in front of the Torre Civica (Civic Tower). It was the main entrance for pedestrians and heavy wooden carts. Up there, you can see the symbol of a winged lion. That is the Lion of Saint Mark , the symbol of Venice! It holds a book that says 'Pax tibi Marce ' (Peace to you, Mark). It means Venice conquered this city later on. Look up at the ceiling, do you know what is this? It’s a red cart : the symbol of the Carraresi family , the Lords of Padova. For a short time in the 14th century, they conquered Castelfranco and left their ' signature ' here to show everyone who was the boss. It’s like a medieval logo! Here, as you can see there is the Girone. It was built in 1246 by a very cruel lord named Ezzelino da Romano. It’s literally a fortress within the fortress. If enemies passed the outer walls, the Girone would close and block them. STOP 3: Up on the Walls (Right after the Girone) I give you now some 15 minutes to go up to the medieval walls and look at the beautiful landscape! Enjoy your time!

📍 STOP 4: Outside the Walls (Walking the Garden Path) Originally, right outside the castle walls, there were only bushes and poor farmers' houses called bastie. But around the 1500s, rich families started building beautiful palaces here, like Palazzo Soranzo Novello. During the 1900s it became a very famous local bank , which unfortunately, in 2017, it went bankrupt. People lost their money, and this building was closed and abandoned for years. Despite everything, today the city turned it into the new Civic Museum and created a project called 'Porto Franco'. They opened the empty building to modern artists, creating a cool mix of contemporary art and our school organizes projects for us! Look closely at the walls of the old houses. What can you see? Castelfranco was known as the Urbs Picta , which means 'The Painted City'. Rich people painted beautiful frescoes on their houses to show everyone how wealthy and important they were. You can still see some colours today! 📍 STOP 5: Piazza Giorgione Welcome to Piazza Giorgione! This huge square was historically and even nowadays the place for the market , where people traded animals and food. Today it takes place on Tuesday and Friday in the morning. And look at that statue. That is Giorgione. He was an incredibly famous painter born right here in Castelfranco during the Renaissance. We will see his masterpieces very soon." 📍 STOP 6: Re-entering the Walls (Ubik Door) -> Casa Barbarella & Casa Costanzo One is Casa Barbarella , where people Giorgione was born. Let me tell you a secret about him. Because of the name of this house, for centuries people believed Giorgione belonged to a very rich family called 'Barbarelli'. His nickname is 'Giorgione', what does it mean to you? It literally means 'Big George' , because he was a tall, handsome, and spent his time with rich aristocrats. So, everyone thought: 'He must be born rich!'. But guess what? It's a fake myth! He came from a very humble family. He became rich and famous ONLY because he was an absolute genius with the paintbrush! And look at this beautiful building right here. This is the Conservatory of Music. Hundreds of young students come here from all over the world to study piano, violin, opera singing, and even jazz and electronic music. And nearby is Casa Costanzo. This belonged to a very powerful family. The father, Tuzio Costanzo , was a famous military captain. But a terrible tragedy happened to him: his young son, Matteo , died in battle when he was only 23 years old. The father was totally broken-hearted. So, to honour his dead son, he gave a lot of money to Giorgione to paint a masterpiece: “La Pala di Giorgione”. We’re going to see it in a few minutes.

📍 11:30 AM - Museo Casa Giorgione (Conclusion) This is Museo Casa Giorgione. Inside, another guide is waiting to show you some beautiful artworks and tell you more about Giorgione. I hope you had fun and learned something new about Castelfranco. Thank you so much for your attention, bye!

castelfranco veneto tour, Guide, Progetti e Ricerche di Inglese

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CASTELFRANCO VENETO TOUR