Basilica
Palladiana
On the southeast side of the Piazza dei Signori in Vicenza stands the
Basilica Palladiana (1549-1614), Palladio's masterpiece, with open
colonnades of two storys (lower part Doric and upper part Ionic), a very
impressive combination. The basilica was not built as a church but as a
meeting-place for the Grand Council. On the first floor is a hall
52m/172ft long with a wooden vaulted roof. In front of the west end of the
basilica is a marble statue of Palladio (1859).
La
Rotonda
At the bend in the Portici a road runs east, and 2 minutes along this a
footpath goes off on the right and leads past the Villa Valmarana (with
mythological frescoes by Giovanni Battista, 1757) to reach in 10 minutes
the famous Rotonda, a square structure crowned by a dome which was begun
by Palladio about 1550 and completed by Scamozzi in 1606. (The Villa
Valmarana and the Rotonda can also be reached by road from the Strada
della Riviera Berica, which skirts the east side of Monte Berico.)
Piazza
dei Signori (photo - left)
In the heart of the old town of Vicenza is the Piazza dei Signori, the
site of the old Roman forum, with two columns dating from the Venetian
period and the slender Torre di Piazza, 82m/271ft, built in 1174 for
defensive purposes.
Teatro Olimpico
Opposite the Museo Civico in Vicenza is the Teatro Olimpico (damaged by an
earthquake shock in 1976), which was begun by Palladio in 1580 and
completed by Vincenzo Scamozzi in 1584. Built of wood and stucco, this is
a Renaissance adaption of the ancient type of theater. The auditorium,
with seating for 1,000, rises in semi-oval tiers; the magnificent stage
wall offers vistas through three openings of streets contrived to secure
the effect of perspective.
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Basilica
Palladiana
La
Rotonda
Piazza
dei Signori (photo - left)
