Verona - Vicenza Travel Guides | Verona | Sub Regions | Verona - Vicenza

Some of Italy’s finest and most influential Renaissance architecture, much of it built by Palladio is in the beautiful, compact, UNESCO-listed, pedestrianized centre of Vicenza. Only just over half an hour by train from Verona it makes an excellent day trip. From the station a 5-minute walk up viale Roma takes you to piazzale de Gasperi and through the della Scala built Porta Castello to the beginning of corso Palladio, the city’s main shopping street and an architectural feast, with many buildings by the eponymous architect himself. To the south, the city’s Duomo was also designed by the great man, as were several buildings on and around the spectacular central square, piazza dei Signori. Palladio’s masterpiece is considered by many to be the Teatro Olimpico, the theatre at the far eastern end of corso Palladio, a blueprint for most of the world's subsequent theatres. Nearby, Palladio’s Palazzo Chiericati is used as the city’s art gallery.

Sights

As in Verona, the layout of Vicenza follows the original Roman street pattern and corso Palladio was once the decumanus maximus of the Roman town of Vicetia. Aside from the route, however, little Roman remains and the emphasis is firmly on the Renaissance, and on 21st-century shopping. Palazzi especially worth dragging your eyes away from the smart shoe shops for include Palazzo Bonin Longare, Palazzo Thiene (designed by Palladio) and Casa Cogollo.

piazza Duomo, T 0444 320996. Mon-Fri 1000-1200, 1530-1730, Sat 1030-1200, Sun 1000-1200.

To the right off corso Palladio as you walk from the porta Castello end is the Duomo, a large striking brick construction sitting in its own piazza. the building was damaged in the Second World War but has been restored. Palladio’s dome, built between 1588 and 1574, was joined onto the medieval body of the church, as was the apse in the previous century. A Christian basilica stood on this site as early as the 5th century. Reconstruction and modification was also carried out in the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th centuries before its later Gothic and Renaissance makeovers.

Opposite the Duomo, in the courtyard of the neoclassical Bishop’s Palace, is the Loggia Zeno. Built by Bernardino da Milano in 1494 of local stone, it is one of the most elegant examples of Renaissance architecture in Vicenza.

Vicenza’s centre is also its most spectacular spot. You might be forgiven for thinking that these two piazzas, along the northern flank of the hulking Basilica, were in fact one. The theoretical dividing line is marked by two pillars near the eastern end of the space, modelled on those in piazza San Marco in Venice. Piazza dei Signori was probably the site of the Roman forum, and remains the focal point of the city today.

The Basilica, also known as the Palazzo della Ragione, dominates the piazzas. A judicial rather than religious building, the original Gothic barrel-vaulted structure was built in the mid 15th century by Domenico da Venezia. Palladio’s two-storey reinforcing loggia around the building was added a hundred years later, and not finished until 1614, 34 years after his death. His design for the imposing structure includes Doric columns on the ground floor and Ionic columns on the first floor. The hall itself is now used for exhibitions, and is closed at other times.

Opposite the Basilica, the Loggia del Capitaniato is smaller, but equally striking. Also known as the Loggia Bernarda, Palladio was given the commission to design it in 1571, to mark victory in the Battle of Lepanto. Originally intended to stretch further along the northern side of the square, the building never reached the extent of its design. Erstwhile base of the Venetian rulers of Vicenza, the building is now home to the city council.

The tall slim clock tower of Torre di Piazza was originally built in the 12th century but was added to at various points thereafter, reaching its current height of 82 m in the 15th century.

To the south of the Basilica, a third piazza, piazza Erbe, has a tower, Torre del Tormento, which was a prison and place of torture in medieval times. To the west, the small piazzetta Palladio has a statue of the man himself.

South of Vicenza’s central piazzas, the Retrone river is crossed by a number of bridges, notably Ponte San Paolo, the original version of which was Roman and carried the cardo maximus. There are good views of Gothic buildings and what was once the city’s port area.

piazza Matteotti 11, T 0444 222800. Jul-Aug, Tue-Sun 0900-1900, Sep-Jun 0900-1700. Joint ticket also covers Museo Civico Palazzo Chiericati and the Museo Naturalistico Archeologico, valid for three days, E7. For music and drama information and ticketing, contact the tourist information office in piazza Matteotti . At the far eastern end of corso Palladio, off piazza Matteotti.

Embodying just about all the aspects of Renaissance architecture, Palladio’s masterpiece, designed just before his death in 1580 and completed posthumously by his son Silla, is seen as the world’s first modern theatre. The architect’s use of perspective is strikingly innovative, converging lines creating a convincing optical illusion of a stage which recedes far into the distance. There are classical motifs and statues, but it is the sense of space which is the theatre’s most enduring legacy, the proscenium arch format copied countless times since. After the banning of theatrical productions by the counter-Reformation in the late 16th century the theatre was not regularly used again until after the Second World War. It now hosts regular summer seasons of music and drama.

Joint ticket also covers Teatro Olimpico and the Museo Naturalistico Archeologico, valid for three days, E7.

Another grand masterpiece by the ubiquitous architect, the Palazzo Chiericati, also known as the Pinoteca, holds the city’s art collection. Innovative in its design, Palladio turned around many of the Venetian traditions of layout, for example by placing the hall parallel to the façade instead of perpendicular to it.

The art collection, arranged chronologically, is mainly made up of 16th-century Veneto Renaissance work. Highlights include Lorenzo Lotto’s Madonna col Bambino, and a crucifixion by Hans Memling, both on the ground floor, and several works in the great hall upstairs, including Veronese’s Madonna and Tintoretto’s depiction of St Augustine healing the cripples. The hall itself is a deceptively simple room, much admired for its light and sense of space.

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