The very first section of the St. Anthony Walk in Camposampiero is in Piazza Castello, where one can find the present-day Town Hall and the town’s medieval tower. Palazzo Tiso – the present-day Town Hall but once the residence of the town’s feudal lords – was originally part of a castle that had walls, defence towers and a moat created by splitting the course of the river Vandura. Within the walls were not only the feudal residence but also a military training ground, barracks, warehouses and few houses.
The complex was built around 1085 by Tiso II and Gherardo I. The facade of the palazzo as we see it is divided into two levels: at the lower level, there is a repetition of stone slabs with a cusped decorative motif above the windows, whilst the upper level has plaster-faced stonework. Alongside stands the Torre Civica [Town Tower], which stands 32 metres high and has a square floor plan. The lower part is original and the upper part the result of later modifications, carried out around the year 1600 by order of Giacomo Salomone; it has round-arched windows on the exterior and a brick-built arch inside. On the outside of the south wall of the tower is a sundial with an inscription in Latin, two Venetian crests of the period and a 1962 painting of the Madonna and Child by Fulvio Pendini.
The original bell dated from 1556 can be seen within Palazzo Tiso and has been replaced by a copy on top of the Tower.
