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Piazza dei Signori in Vicenza, with palaces, café umbrellas and a tall clock tower

City

Vicenza

Vicenza, about 20 minutes east of Montecchio Maggiore, is the city of Andrea Palladio. Its centre is lined with the palaces and public buildings he designed in the 16th century, and together with his villas in the countryside it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is compact, elegant and much calmer than Verona or Venice.

Why visit

Andrea Palladio arrived in Vicenza as a young stonemason and became the most influential architect of the Renaissance. He rebuilt the city’s great public hall, designed palaces for its noble families and villas for their estates, and his ideas spread to England, America and beyond. Walking through Vicenza is like walking through his sketchbook.

What to see

  • The Basilica Palladiana: the city’s medieval town hall, wrapped by Palladio in white stone arcades, on Piazza dei Signori. Climb to the terrace for views.
  • The Teatro Olimpico: Palladio’s last work, a Renaissance theatre with a painted street scene. See our things to see.
  • Corso Palladio: the main street, lined with palaces, shops and cafés.
  • Palazzo Chiericati: a Palladian palace that houses the city’s art gallery.
  • Monte Berico: the hilltop sanctuary above the city, with a terrace looking over Vicenza to the mountains.
  • The villas: Villa La Rotonda and Villa Valmarana ai Nani, a walk or short ride from the centre.

Getting there

Buses run between Montecchio Maggiore and Vicenza in about 30 minutes. By car it takes about 20 minutes, but the historic centre is a limited traffic zone (ZTL), so park outside it. Vicenza station is a short walk from the centre.

Tips

  • Many museums close on Mondays. A combined museum card covers the Teatro Olimpico and other civic museums.
  • Do not drive into the ZTL; cameras record number plates and fines follow.
  • Follow our Vicenza in a day itinerary.
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The curved wooden tiers of seats inside the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza Theatre

Teatro Olimpico

Palladio’s last masterpiece

Palladio’s last work, opened in 1585 and the oldest surviving indoor theatre with its original stage set: painted wooden streets that seem to stretch far into the distance.

Villa La Rotonda, a square villa with a temple front, columns and a central dome Villa

Villa La Rotonda

The most copied house in the world

Palladio’s famous domed villa on a hill just outside Vicenza, with a temple front on each of its four sides, a model for houses and public buildings around the world.

The pale front of Villa Valmarana ai Nani behind a garden of roses Villa

Villa Valmarana ai Nani

The villa of the dwarfs

A villa near La Rotonda named after the stone dwarfs on its garden wall, with rooms painted by Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Giandomenico in 1757.

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