  We present broad-band photometry of eleven planetary transits of the hot
Jupiter WASP-74b, using three medium-class telescopes and employing the
telescope-defocussing technique. Most of the transits were monitored through I
filters and one was simultaneously observed in five optical (U, g', r', i', z')
and three near infrared (J, H, K) passbands, for a total of 18 light curves. We
also obtained new high-resolution spectra of the host star. We used these new
data to review the orbital and physical properties of the WASP-74 planetary
system. We were able to better constrain the main system characteristics,
measuring smaller radius and mass for both the hot Jupiter and its host star
than previously reported in the literature. Joining our optical data with those
taken with the HST in the near infrared, we built up an observational
transmission spectrum of the planet, which suggests the presence of strong
optical absorbers, as TiO and VO gases, in its atmosphere.
