‘Piazza Maggiore’ is the crown for the top of ‘Goats’ Hill’, an elevation where throughout the centuries Feltre was built. The citadel is protected by the fifteenth-century walls in which three doors open – Porta Imperiale, Porta Oria and Porta Pusterla.

From Piazza Maggiore it’s possible to admire the buildings that surround it, and particularly Alboino Castle, which stands out in the tallest point of the hill with its two towers visible from all the roads coming into Feltre.

 

The piazza is guarded from above by St. Rocco church. It was built during the 1500s following a vow made by the citizens of Feltre to ward off the epidemics and famines that plagued the city. Below the church are the magnificent Lombardian fountains, built at the end of the 1400s, which used to provide water for the city; decorated with the Feltre crest, a turreted castle, and with the crests of certain venetian Deans that used to govern here, they were stocked with water from the reservoirs that are still hidden behind the great wall today, and which powered the other city fountains as well.

 

Guarnieri Palace stands majestically at the side of the church; fully renovated at the start of the 1800s by the architect Giuseppe Segusini, it’s decorated with elegant neogothic motifs used in the interior decoration as well.

At the entrance of Mezzaterra road the ‘Reason Palace’ can be found, only finished at the end of the 1600s. Residence of the administrative offices of the Venetian republic that governed the city between 1404 and 1797, it presents a long arcade, allegedly designed by Andrea Palladio. On the arcade opens the staircase that goes up to the famous ‘Sena Theatre’ – or, ‘Scene Theatre’ – known as “The small Phoenix” as it was designed and decorated by the same artists of the Phoenix Theatre in Venice.

 

Connected to the palace through a small sheltered bridge is Palazzo Pretorio, home to the venetian Deans; the main hall is decorated with paintings that represent the deans’ crests, the patron saints of the city, Vittore and Corona, and the big St. Marco Lion.

 

To the south are the Da Romagno-Bovio buildings, which present a renaissance face with a long arcade.

 

In the centre of the square are the statues of Panfilo Castaldi (1430 – 1485/95), inventor of printing, and of Vittorino da Feltre, influential humanist and educator of some of the noblest Italian families.

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Every summer this stage hosts the historical parades of Feltre’s Palio and of the Artistic and Traditional Artisanal Exhibit.