The city of Palladio
Vicenza is the city of Andrea Palladio (1508 to 1580), the architect who more than any other influenced Western architecture, from the English country houses to the White House in Washington. Born in Padua, he worked mainly here, and the city, with its 23 buildings by Palladio, together with the Palladian villas of the Veneto, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The heart of the city is Piazza dei Signori, dominated by the Basilica Palladiana. It was not a church but the Palazzo della Ragione, the medieval seat of the city government, whose Gothic arcades had collapsed: in 1549 the young Palladio won the commission to rebuild them, and wrapped the old building in a double order of white marble loggias with the so-called "Serliana" or "Palladian window", an arch flanked by two narrower rectangular openings, which became his signature. The great hall with its keel-shaped roof hosts major exhibitions, and the terrace offers views over the square. Facing it are the Loggia del Capitaniato, also by Palladio, and the tall Torre Bissara. The main street, Corso Andrea Palladio, is lined with his palaces and those of his followers, such as Palazzo Chiericati, which houses the civic art gallery.
Tip: the Palladio Museum in Palazzo Barbaran da Porto explains his work with models; the terrace of the Basilica has a café.
Where it is
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