Duomo di Treviso (Cattedrale di San Pietro Apostolo)

Treviso Cathedral, dedicated to San Pietro Apostolo, brings together several centuries of construction. A neoclassical façade with six Ionic columns fronts a nave crowned by seven copper domes; the Romanesque crypt survives below, and the Malchiostro chapel contains Titian's Annunciation and frescoes by Pordenone.

Why it matters

The cathedral is Treviso's principal church and the seat of its bishop. A paleochristian place of worship preceded the Romanesque cathedral, and successive rebuilding left Romanesque, Renaissance and neoclassical elements in the same complex. Giordano Riccati and Giannantonio Selva shaped its present classical appearance. The crypt preserves the Romanesque core, while Renaissance chapels retain major works by Titian and Pordenone.

What to notice

The pronaos has a broad staircase and six Ionic columns. Five domes cover the nave and two the chapels; their copper sheathing gives the roofline a distinctive profile. The crypt contains slender columns with carved capitals, a Crucifixion cycle attributed to Giotto's school, and tombs of the city's bishops. In the Malchiostro chapel, Titian's Annunciation is set among Pordenone's frescoes; works by Paris Bordon and sculptures by Lorenzo Bregno complete the decoration. The complex also includes the baptistery of San Giovanni, a compact Romanesque building, and an unfinished bell tower on a Roman base.

Context and history

The sacred area around Piazza del Duomo was in Christian use in the early centuries. The Romanesque cathedral was rebuilt from its foundations in 1768, with the crypt preserved; the neoclassical façade was completed in 1836. Fifteenth- and sixteenth-century chapels survived this transformation. On Good Friday, 7 April 1944, bombing damaged the cathedral's library, which had collected manuscripts since the Middle Ages. The church was later restored and remains the religious centre of the diocese, alongside the adjacent diocesan museum.