Day Trip to Vicenza

 Do you know about Andrea Palladio? We didn't but after a day trip to Vicenza we know quite a lot about this amazing man.

He was born in 1508 in Padua and was a Renaissance architect who worked mainly in the Venice region. His designs were influenced mainly by Greek and Roman architecture and he is widely considered to be one of the most influential persons in the history of western architecture.

Vicenza, the pearl of the Renaissance,  is World Heritage listed thanks to the amazing work of Palladio, twenty six of his buildings in town and three suburban villas stand testament to his great skill. He died in 1580 and his funerary monument is in the Chiesa di Santa Corona  in Vicenza. There are forty seven registered Palladio  buildings in the Veneto region.

The term Palladian is a recognised architectural style which displays symmetry, perspective and the principles of formal classical architecture.

We arrived in Vicenza by train and walked through the Porta Castello gate, and immediately our heads were swivelling. The architecture of the beautiful city of 112,000 people just 'blows you away!'

Piazza dei Signori is the centrepiece of Vicenza with magnificent buildings all the way around, plus several statues, some towers, a clock and the stunning Basilica Palladiana. This not a church but an exhibition space.

The ground floor of the Basilica Palladiana now houses the Museum of Jewellery and the art of goldsmithing.

The elaborate Palazzo Thiene is considered the peak of Palladio's conception.

The  Basilica Palladiana has a double set of loggias, a beautiful copper roof shaped like an upturned hull of a ship.

We bought Vicenza Cards which gave us entry into any four of the eleven entry paying buildings open to view. The Teatro Olimpico was our first visit and absolutely our favourite. Neither words nor pictures can do this justice.

The theatre was opened in 1585  and is Palladio's last work and masterpiece. It is the oldest roofed theatre in the world. It is famous for its perspective scenery of the Streets of Thebes designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi. We just sat there for ages, being amazed, and every place we moved to created another unbelievable perspective. Seven wooden trompe l'oeil scenes fan out from the  doorways to create these illusions.

Next, the Chiesa di Santa Corona which is a Dominican complex, and houses some important art works. Also found here is the Valmarana Chapel by Palladio.

'The Baptism of Christ' by Veronese.

Back to the Basilica Palladiana where our ticket allowed us to visit three levels of this great building. Walking around the loggia gave pretty street views and a close look at the construction of the walkways around the Basilica.

Another level higher and we walked around the rooftop terrace with a view of the clock tower, more Palladio buildings in the countryside and the impressive roof.

Down to the first floor exhibition space and a good look at the upturned boat ceiling.

Our fourth entry was used at the Palladio Museum, Palazzo Barbarano which was an urban dwelling. Here we learnt about Palladio's life, his mentors and sponsors, his methods and new ideas like country homes, and how he became so successful.

There were many rooms, in various stages of restoration but the main interest was in the many models of the Palladio buildings and information on how he made economical buildings, the materials he used and his ideas for housing being relaxed but very functional. He was aware of the relationship between buildings and landscape.

Through all this fascinating stuff we had forgotten about lunch but eventually information overload kicked in and it was time to leave.

We joined the queue for the daily gelato, then walked back to the train station and headed home.

We shall remember Andrea Palladio, an amazing man whose greatest asset was his ability to think outside the square, a genuine creative.

By the way, if you ever get the chance to visit Vicenza, do it!