SPECIAL ITINERARIES
Content
Palazzo Chiericati - Civic Museum
- Piazza Matteotti.
The building (1551) is the great architect's masterpiece; it
has been the home of the Civic Museum since 1855. It houses
the Picture Gallery; the sixteenth- and eighteenth-century
exhibition rooms will be closed until Spring 1990 for
restoration work; meanwhile the mediaeval section of the
Picture Gallery and the historic rooms on the ground floor
may be visited.
Content
Valmarana Chapel (Temple of Santa Corona)
- Contrà S. Corona.
The chapel (1597) is situated in the area under the choir
and was designed by Palladio as a tomb for A. Valmarana;
the plan and the front view are reminiscent of the chapel of
the Redeemer on the island of Giudecca in Venice.
Content
Palazzo Porta-Festa
- Contrà Porti, 21.
This belongs to the early years of Palladio's activity
(1552) and is noteworthy for its Raphaelesque imprint; G.B.
Tiepolo worked here in the eighteenth century and some of
his frescoes can still be seen.
Content
Palazzo Barbaran-da Porto
- Contrà Porti.
A magnificent palace built by Palladio for Count Montano
Barbarano (1570) now the property of the Ministry for the
Cultural Heritage which is concluding restoration work; it
is intended to become the home of the Palladian Museum.
Content
Palazzo Thiene
(headquarters of the Banca Popolare Vicentina)
- Contrà Porti.
This was begun by Palladio for Marc'Antonio Thiene between
1552 and 1554 and was to have become the most grandiose
residence in the town, however it was never quite completed.
In the interior there are rooms with stupendous decorations
and, on the first floor, the beautiful "Rotonda" with a
domed vault and statues by O. Marinali.
Content
Loggias of the Basilica
- Piazza dei Signori.
The marble Loggias (1549-1617) are the only Palladian
construction in hard stone in Venice and surround the pre-
existent "Palatium Vetus" of the Commune, in the Gothic
style, with the typical motif of the Serlian arch. The
Loggias are concluded by a balustrade with statues behind
which rises the immense copper keel that covers the inner
hall.
Content
Loggia del Capitaniato
- Piazza dei Signori.
This unfinished work by Palladio is the headquarters of the
Town Council. On the side facing Contrà del Monte there are
statues and stucco decorations by V. Rubini to commemorate
the victory in the Battle of Lepanto (October 7 1571). The
frescoes in the Bernarda Room were originally in Villa Porto
at Torri di Quartesolo.
Content
Cathedral
- Side door on Contrà Lampertico.
This is one of the few examples of an intervention by
Palladio in sacred architecture in Vicenza, along with the
dome on the high deep tribune in the apse of the Cathedral.
Content
Palazzo Valmarana
- Corso Fogazzaro, 16.
Begun in 1566, it has a façade with gigantic pilaster strips
topped by an attic; at the end are two statues of men in
armour in high-relief. In the courtyard, which is
unfortunately unfinished, there was to have been another
loggia corresponding to the present one, beyond which there
was to have been the entrance to the garden.
Content
Palazzo Bonin-Longare
- Corso Palladio.
Attributed to Palladio and carried out by V. Scamozzi (1602)
it is now partly owned by the Association of Industrialists
of the Province of Vicenza. It has a scenic façade looking
onto the inner courtyard; on the upper floor is a large hall
decorated by neoclassical artists (Lorenzi, Guidolini).
Content
Palazzo Porto-Breganze
- Piazza Castello.
The attribution of the original design to Palladio is
certain; it was built towards the end of the sixteenth
century by V. Scamozzi and is characterized by very high
bases on which rest elegant composite half-columns.
Content
Palazzo Civena-Trissino, Eretenia Nursing Home
- Viale Eretenio, 12.
This is one of Palladio's early works (1540), inspired by
the tradition of Bramante and Raphael. Palazzo Civena,
composed with style and elegance, is already interwoven with
all those harmonious effects of chiaroscuro that were to
return with greater vigour in the more mature works of the
great architect.
Content
Arch of the Scalette
- Piazzale Fraccon.
The triumphal Arch was built in 1595 by the Captain of
Vicenza, G. Bragadin; the idea of the work is certainly
Palladian, the actual realization is attributed to the
Albanese family of architects. Beyond the Arch, 192 steps
lead up to Monte Berico.
Content
Villa Capra-Valmarana known as La Rotonda
- Via della Rotonda, 29 (bus no. 8 and no. 13).
This is Palladio's most famous villa, indeed one of the most
famous in the world. It was begun in 1550 and completed
around 1599. The exterior of the villa presents four
perfectly identical façades with pronaoi preceded by solemn
flights of steps, all in perfect harmony with the
surrounding countryside. The villa made a very deep
impression on innumerable artists, especially in the neo-
classical period, in Europe and America.
Content
Villa Marcello-Curti
- Bertesina (bus no. 1).
This is an unfinished work by Palladio; the villa has all
the characteristics of a rural building. The façade, with
three central arches topped by a pediment, places it in
Palladio's early period.