VICENZA, ON THE TRACKS OF PALLADIO

For the “Vicenza, on the tracks of Palladio” tour, take the train from Venice or Verona and meet your guide there.

In 1994 Vicenza was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is internationally known as “the city of Palladio”.
Therefore, we begin our tour with the Piazza dei Signori, once the political and commercial center, today a concentration of highlights.

The great Renaissance architect was the author of two imposing buildings, known as Loggia del Capitaniato and Basilica, or Palazzo della Ragione.

It was built in the mid-14th century as a Government seat and was entirely renovated a hundred years later by Andrea Palladio. He added an elegant double loggia all around the building, renamed Basilica, and used for the Justice administration.

In 1571-72 the master designed the Loggia del Capitaniato, on the northeast side of the square, a massive façade with four half-giant columns ending with big Corinthian capitals topped by a jutting entablature.

During “Vicenza, on the tracks of Palladio” we stroll along the main street Corso Palladio, which looks like a movie set flanked by a row of tall Renaissance buildings, once distinguished dwellings for the most prominent aristocrat families.

Among them, we cannot miss Palazzo Chiericati, commissioned by Girolamo Chiericati to Palladio in 1550, and Palazzo Barbaran da Porto designed by the architect in 1569-71 for Montano Barbaran.

The façade displays two overlapped rows of Ionic and Corinthian columns decorated with rich festoons and stucco bas-reliefs: in the modern age, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage purchased the building. Currently, it hosts a Palladio Museum and the International Center of Study Andrea Palladio.

A few steps away from the main street stands the church of Santa Corona, founded by the Dominicans in the 13th century.

The King of France Louis IX bequeathed the Bishop of Vicenza one Saint Thorn of Christ. Such rare relics needed an appropriate sanctuary for both the holy treasury and devotees.

We admire two masterpieces, the “Adoration of the shepherds” by Paolo Caliari called the Veronese, a stunning canvas dating from 1573, based on the contrast between the vibrant light emanating from the newborn baby and the night all around.