The cathedral and Battuti room, Conegliano

A few steps away from the central square of Conegliano, named after its most famous citizen, the Renaissance artist Giovanni Battista Cima, if you head west along Via XX Settembre you will find an elegant arcaded building, the Sala dei Battuti, cadenced by nine arches and elaborately frescoed.

This glimpse of unexpectedly rich decoration is a prelude to the artistic wonders preserved in the Conegliano cathedral complex. The cathedral itself is hidden behind this painted façade, which certainly does not look like the entrance to a church. 

Both buildings, secular and sacred, were built by the Battuti congregation, a group of workers from medieval Conegliano who, after finishing the church, decided to create the private space that is now known as the Battuti room.

On the walls of the cathedral, dedicated to St Leonard, the patron saint of Conegliano, you can see the harmonious forms of a series of Renaissance paintings, notably on the altarpiece placed on the high altar. This is the only original work by Cima to remain in the artist's birthplace. Many of his masterpieces are now to be found in museums and galleries around the world.