Castelfranco Veneto

Castelfranco was founded by Treviso between 1195 and 1199 to guard its frontier against Padua and Vicenza. A moat fed by branches of the Muson surrounded the new castle, and Treviso settled a hundred families of free inhabitants within it. Their exemption from taxes gave the place its name, the free castle. Its walls and towers still define the old town, birthplace of the Renaissance painter Giorgione.