Dee and Werther's Wedding in Italy

Ryanair operate daily flights from Dublin direct to Venice Marco Polo airport.  

Aer Lingus also fly direct from Dublin to Venice Marco Polo airport.  The flight time is 2 hours.

Ryanair also fly Cork to Venice Treviso twice weekly. The flight time is 2 hours and 35 minutes. 

Castelfranco Veneto is approximately 1 hour by car from Venice Marco Polo airport and 30 mins from Venice Treviso airport. 

Castelfranco Veneto is a small town located in the province of Treviso and in the region of Veneto. 

Firstly a note on naming: “Veneto” is the name of the region (such as Leinster in Ireland, or the West Midlands in the UK). “Treviso” is both the name of the province (such as Kilkenny county or Oxfordshire), and also the name of the city within it after which the province is named. Hence the town of Castelfranco Veneto is in the Treviso province, itself in the Veneto region.

There are lots of points of interest within Castelfranco Veneto, and very many in the surrounding area. Let this page inspire your itinerary!

Castelfranco Veneto 

Castelfranco Veneto is a medieval town of approx. 33,000 people. Its most famous “VIP” is Giorgione, the Renaissance painter who is believed to have taught Titian. There are paintings by Giorgione at the National Gallery in London, and the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, and some have appeared in movies over the years. However, arguably his most famous painting, the “Pala”, is in the Duomo of Castelfranco Veneto, the very church where we are getting married in, in the town centre of Castelfranco Veneto. Big deal!

Some things worth seeing in Castelfranco are the Duomo itself, the Giorgione museum* which is right next door, the park that surrounds and belongs to Villa Revedin-Bolasco (the Villa itself sadly cannot be visited), the theatre, and the castle walls. The town website for tourists has a list of things to see and events happening, and there is also a smartphone app that may be useful when walking around town. Lots of restaurants, bars, and little shops. Guided tours in English must be pre-arranged, so please let us know if you would like to go on one and we can set things up for you.

Outside of Castelfranco Veneto 

In rough order of distance, there are a number of lovely places to visit. Buses are very rare, both within and to/from Castelfranco, but trains are very good, and there is a train station about 15 min walk from the town centre. Please check opening times before setting off. All of these places are 15-90 min distance from Castelfranco:

Asolo, a very small town perched on a nearby hill. The queen of Corfu (the Greek island) used to own the town/castle here. Excellent views of the whole area from here! Lots of Americans there nowadays, because one of the Rockefellers got married here a few years ago; Dame Freya Stark DBE is also buried here. You should have an aperitif with a view here, see the town centre*, and the fortress (quite steep to get to, you’ll sweat!). Best to drive to get there (about 15-20 min), though you cannot quite park in the town centre itself, so you’ll have to walk uphill for the last stretch. You could stop to visit the Brion tomb, a masterpiece of post-modernist architecture, on the way.

Possagno, a town on the hills. This is where Antonio Canova, the great neoclassical sculptor, is from. There is a great museum* of his plaster casts, which include Cupid’s kiss (the marble of which is in the Louvre), George Washington’s bust, and Napoleon’s sister’s bust. There is also his Temple, a beautiful round church that you can climb on top of to get a great view of the surround areas. Not great if you’re afraid of heights!

Bassano del Grappa. A lovely city on the hills, with a famous covered bridge (“Ponte Vecchio”) over the river Brenta. Get there by car.

Cittadella and Treviso, cities at either side of and similar to Castelfranco, but larger. Get to either by car. In Cittadella you can walk all around the tall castle walls (which you cannot do in Castelfranco). In Treviso there is, among other things, a fountain that consists of a naked woman squeezing water out of her nipples. I know.

Padua. Get there by train from Castelfranco. The great Italian University city, where Galileo taught, it is twinned with Oxford and Boston. Visit the Scrovegni Chapel to see Giotto’s frescoes, and there are also St Anthony’s basilica, and the University’s botanical gardens (three UNESCO World Heritage Sites). Lots of other things to see. This is where the Roman writer Livy and the great Renaissance architect Palladio are from. Undergrads everywhere!

Venice. Needs no introduction. Get there quickly by train from Castelfranco.

Vicenza. Drive, or get the train. Lots of buildings by Palladio, but during the weekend of our wedding there is a rally of mountain infantrymen, so visit at your peril.

Verona. A bit further away than the above. Get there by train, about 2 hr. You’re better off spending the night there if visiting, but you can see the whole city over 1-2 days.

There are also lots of villas you can drive to, though in some cases (e.g. Villa Chiminelli) you may have to book in advance to be able to visit or they will be shut, as they are all privately owned. A lot of the villas are by the great Renaissance architect Palladio, and are UNESCO World Heritage Sites (though perhaps a bit run down nowadays). A selection, again in rough order of distance from Castelfranco:

• Villa Chiminelli
• Villa Emo *
• Villa Barbaro (Villa di Maser) *
• Villa La Rotonda
• Information on many other villas

Please ask us if you have any questions or would like further suggestions, Werther will be very happy to help!

* Entry price to all of these is reduced if you have already purchased a ticket to any other one of them. More information here.