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Romeo’s Castle on its wooded hill seen from the air, with Juliet’s Castle behind and the plain beyond

Things to see

Things to see in and around Montecchio Maggiore

The castles of Romeo and Juliet on the hill, Tiepolo’s frescoes at Villa Cordellina, Palladio’s Vicenza and its villas, and Verona, Lake Garda, Venice and Marostica a short trip away. Here are the places worth your time.

Montecchio Maggiore

The town spreads across the plain below a wooded hill crowned by two medieval castles, a few hundred metres apart. Villa Cordellina and its Tiepolo frescoes are at the foot of the hill, and the natural history museum is in the town centre.

The square stone tower and long white walls of Romeo’s Castle on a green hilltop under a blue sky Castle

Romeo’s Castle

The Castello della Villa

The larger of Montecchio’s two castles, the Castello della Villa, a 14th-century fortress with a tall tower and long walls on the hilltop, linked by tradition with Romeo.

The tall tower of Juliet’s Castle lit at dusk under a blue sky Castle

Juliet’s Castle

The Castello di Bellaguardia

The smaller castle on the hill, the Castello di Bellaguardia, with a slender tower and wide views over the plain. Linked by tradition with Juliet, it now has a restaurant inside its walls.

A pale stone arched gateway and outbuilding in the grounds of Villa Cordellina Lombardi Villa

Villa Cordellina Lombardi

Tiepolo’s frescoes

An elegant 18th-century villa by Giorgio Massari, whose grand hall is painted with frescoes by Giambattista Tiepolo. It is used for events and opens to visitors on set days.

Glass cases of fossils and minerals in the Museo Zannato Museum

Museo Zannato

Fossils, minerals and archaeology

The town’s museum of archaeology and natural history, with fossils, crystals and minerals from the hills around Montecchio and finds from the area’s early history.

Vicenza and Palladio

Vicenza, about 13 km east, is the city of Andrea Palladio, the most influential architect of the Renaissance. The city and the Palladian villas of the Veneto are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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

Vicenza

Palladio’s city

An elegant small city of Renaissance palaces, with the Basilica Palladiana on its main square, Corso Palladio and the hilltop sanctuary of Monte Berico, about 20 minutes from Montecchio.

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.

Further afield

Montecchio Maggiore sits between Verona and Venice on the main railway and motorway across the Veneto. Verona and Lake Garda lie to the west, Venice to the east and the hill towns of Marostica and Bassano to the north.

The Roman Arena of Verona seen from above, surrounded by the city’s rooftops City

Verona

Romeo and Juliet’s city

The city where Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet, with a Roman Arena that hosts opera in summer, Juliet’s House, medieval squares and bridges over the Adige, under an hour away.

The Scaliger castle of Sirmione rising from the water of Lake Garda Lake

Lake Garda

Italy’s largest lake

Italy’s largest lake, with the castle town of Sirmione, lakeside villages and mountain views, about an hour west by car or by train to Peschiera del Garda.

The Grand Canal of Venice with gondolas and the dome of the Salute church City

Venice

An hour by train

The city of canals, about an hour by train from Vicenza, with St Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace, the Rialto and endless lanes to explore on a day trip.

The chessboard square of Marostica below the castle walls climbing the hill Town

Marostica

The town of the living chess game

A walled town north of Vicenza with two castles and a giant chessboard in its main square, where a chess game with costumed players is held in September of even-numbered years.

Planning your route

In Montecchio Maggiore itself, the castles and Villa Cordellina fill half a day. The real joy is using the town as a base: Vicenza to the east, Verona and Lake Garda to the west, and Venice an hour away by train.

In town

  1. Start at Villa Cordellina, at the foot of the hill, if it is open.
  2. Walk up to Romeo’s Castle for the view over the plain.
  3. Continue along the ridge to Juliet’s Castle, perhaps for lunch or dinner.
  4. Back in town, visit the Museo Zannato for fossils and minerals from the hills.

Vicenza

Vicenza deserves a full day: the Basilica Palladiana, the Teatro Olimpico, Corso Palladio, Monte Berico and Villa La Rotonda.

Day trips

Verona and Lake Garda make a great pair. Venice and Padua are easy by train, and Marostica and Bassano del Grappa are an hour north by car.

Good to know

Many museums close on Mondays, and some villas open only on set days. Check before you travel, and read our one-day itinerary.

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Romeo’s castle, Palladio’s villas and Venice by train

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