Just beyond the border between the provinces of Belluno and Treviso, the Venetian village of Serravalle opens the Val Lapisina towards the Alpago and the Belluno Prealps: an art-and-history stop for anyone arriving at the Dolomites from the south.
A geographical note: Serravalle is the old northern quarter of Vittorio Veneto, in the province of Treviso, not Belluno. We include it here because, via the Val Lapisina and the Fadalto pass, it is the most natural crossing point between the Belluno area and this important Venetian art town.
From the Da Camino family to the Serenissima
Serravalle was born in Roman times as a military outpost controlling the Val Lapisina, on the route towards the Alps. In 951 Emperor Otto I granted the Bishop of Ceneda the title of count, launching a long period of temporal rule by the diocese over the territory. Between 1154 and 1335 the fief was governed by the Da Camino lords, who in 1226 had a new set of walls built, encouraging the town’s expansion. In 1337 the Republic of Venice definitively acquired the fief, giving new economic and craft impetus to the village, which still preserves the appearance it took on between the 15th and 16th centuries under Venetian rule.
On 22 November 1866, by grant of Victor Emmanuel II, Serravalle was joined with neighbouring Ceneda to form what is today Vittorio Veneto.
The Cathedral and the Castle of San Martino
The village’s main monument is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nova, built in the 14th century and rebuilt in 1776, which holds on its high altar a painting by Titian depicting the Madonna and Child in Glory with Saints Andrew and Peter. Overlooking the village is the Castle of San Martino, or Episcopal Castle, of ancient origins, destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries, still an episcopal seat and open to visitors on the first Sunday of the month.
Piazza Flaminio and the Loggia Serravallese
The civic heart of the village is Piazza Marcantonio Flaminio, redesigned in the 16th century with Istrian stone paving and surrounded by Renaissance palaces and porticoes. Here stands the Loggia Serravallese, rebuilt between 1462 and 1476, once the seat of the town government and today home to the Museo del Cenedese, with Roman and medieval finds. Also of note is the church of Santa Giustina (1227) and the Chapel of San Lorenzo dei Battuti, with 14th- and 15th-century frescoes attributed to Jacobello del Fiore and Nicolò di Pietro.
A gateway to the Alpago
Through the Val Lapisina and the Fadalto pass, Serravalle connects Vittorio Veneto directly to the Alpago and Lake Santa Croce, historically serving as a gateway to the Belluno Prealps: an ideal stopping point for those combining art, Venetian history and dolomitic landscape in a single itinerary.
Sources: Wikipedia, Comune di Vittorio Veneto, Touring Club Italiano.