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serravalle |
| SERRAVALLE , wedged up against the mouth of the gorge between the
Col Visentin and the Cansiglio, is an entirely different proposition
from its reluctant twin. Once through its southern gate you are into a
town that has scarcely seen a demolition since the sixteenth century,
though the effect is spoiled by the main road which tears right through
the centre. Most of the buildings along Via Martiri della Libertà, Via
Roma and Via Mazzini, and around the stage-like Piazza Marcantonio
Flaminio, date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries - the
handsomest being the shield-encrusted Loggia Serravallese. This is now
the home of the Museo del Cenedese (May-Sept 10am-noon & 4-6.30pm; Oct-April
10am-noon & 3-5pm; closed Tues; same ticket as Museo della Battaglia) ,
a jumble of sculptural and archeological bits and pieces, detached
frescoes and minor paintings. The Palazzo Minucci de Carlo (daily 9am-noon;
tel 0438.571.93) has a ragbag collection of minor paintings, tapestries
and old furniture, but you'll need to make an appointment to get inside.
Your time will be more profitably spent in San Lorenzo dei Battuti (daily except Tues: May-Sept 3-4pm; Oct-April 2-3pm; same ticket as Museo della Battaglia) , immediately inside the south gate, which is decorated with frescoes painted around 1450. Uncovered in 1953 and restored to rectify the damage done when Napoleon's lads used the chapel as a kitchen, this is one of the best-preserved fresco cycles in the Veneto. If it's closed, ask at the museum for the (rather grumpy) custodian; at present he won't open the church while he's looking after the Museo del Cenedese, but you can be more certain of gaining access on a Sunday, or if you ring ahead. |