The main architectural works of Treviso are located in Duomo Square, which was called, by the Treviso writer Giovanni Comisso, "the little Vatican" since most of the religious buildings are concentrated here. In fact, it is possible to see: the "Church of Saint John the Baptist", an interesting example of Romanesque architecture used today as a baptistery, "the parsonages", where the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, the Capitoline Library and, finally, the majestic Cathedral of San Pietro Apostolo or the Treviso Cathedral, the main place of worship in the city.
The latter, built around the eleventh century, stands on the foundations of an early Christian temple of which traces remain in via delle Canoniche, subsequently it was almost completely destroyed in the mid eighteenth century, and then rebuilt, designed by Giordano Riccati in neoclassical style. Its majestic facade was built with a large staircase that supports an imposing pronaos of six Ionic columns, that is, which resembles the ancient Greek and Roman temples in shape or style.
On the sides of the staircase we can admire two fountain lions, made of red Verona marble, which supported the old portal of the pre-existing Romanesque building. Its interior has three naves, with chapels along the sides and seven hemispherical domes on the top, five of which are placed on the central nave, crowned by lanterns that embellish the ceiling.
Among the numerous works that we find stands out the Annunciation by Tiziano, positioned to the right of the main altar in the Malchin chapel in perfect Renaissance style, on the left we can admire the Adoration of the Magi, the Visitation, the Dream of Augustus, St. Peter and San Paolo and finally San Liberale masterpieces by the Italian painter Pordenone, dating back to 1520.
Under the Cathedral, to witness the most ancient history, there is the crypt with the tombs of the city's bishops, all enriched by columns and capitals, each one different from the other. In the apse is the Ark of San Liberale, a Roman soldier from nearby Altino who converted to Christianity and finally became a hermit, is now patron of Treviso.
