Feltre: Discover culture and routes

Feltre brings together traces of different eras and routes through urban and natural areas. When planning your trip, you can first decide whether to focus mainly on architecture, archaeological remains and cultural history, or also take in landscapes and routes. The sites offer different insights into history through their architectural forms, preserved rooms, a literary connection and the interpretation of Roman remains.

Culture and history in Feltre

The Palio di Feltre commemorates the city of Feltre joining the Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia on 15 June 1404. Each edition lasts three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend in August. Check the dates for the relevant edition if you are planning your trip around it. The Museo Civico archeologico is housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Villabruna. Feltre Cathedral preserves an 11th-century crypt and a Gothic apse that survived the destruction of 1510. The Teatro de La Sena is on the first floor of the Palazzo della Ragione, a 16th-century palace with large Palladian arcades on Piazza Maggiore.

Roman remains in the state archaeological area of Feltre include rooms along a paved street, interpreted as shops. A large building is thought to have served as the prestigious headquarters of one or more professional associations. Towers, too, tell of different phases in the city’s history: the Torre dell’Orologio was the historic entrance to the Castello di Feltre and contains a virtual reconstruction of changes to the castle and Piazza Maggiore. The Torre del Campanon rises about 34 metres above the Colle delle Capre; its construction history includes a late Romanesque and a late medieval phase.

The Antiche prigioni in the Palazzo Pretorio preserve heavy prison doors with fittings, viewing windows and double bolts, as well as cell numbers, inscriptions and graffiti. The building continued to be used as a prison until 1965. Carlo Goldoni offers a link to literary history: he came to Feltre in 1729 as an assistant in the criminal court office and wrote his first plays there. The collection at the Galleria d’arte moderna Carlo Rizzarda includes paintings, sculptures, decorative art objects, furniture and works of art from Carlo Rizzarda’s Milanese home.

Landscapes and routes

Established in 1971, Vincheto di Celarda covers 92 hectares of wetlands. These include still and flowing waters, riparian woodland, meadows and scrubland. The focus here is therefore different from that of the historic buildings and collections: water, vegetation and the area’s various habitats.

The Anello del Rio Musil circular route follows waterways in the area around Feltre and Pedavena for about five kilometres. It can be explored on foot or by bicycle from the centre of Feltre. As trail conditions can change, check them in advance. The Percorso urbano dei “conventi perduti” runs partly through Feltre and partly through the natural areas around Monte Telva and Monte Miesna. Its final stop is the 11th-century sanctuary on Monte Miesna, dedicated to the Holy Martyrs Vittore and Corona. The Anello delle Ville di Cart-Vellai circular route takes you past numerous Venetian villas in a green natural setting.

The routes differ in their stated focus: for the Rio Musil, the approximate length and the option to explore on foot or by bicycle are given; for the “conventi perduti,” the route is defined by its mix of urban and natural sections and the sanctuary at its final stop. The Anello delle Ville di Cart-Vellai focuses on Venetian villas in a green setting.

Discover more destinations: Malga Ciapela, Cibiana Di Cadore, Dont, San Gregorio Nelle Alpi, Longarone, Cortina D'ampezzo, Seren del Grappa, Garna

For the broader travel overview: Belluno.