Vicenza: attractions, their description and photo

Vicenza is a picturesque city, which is located in the north-east of Italy. It is often called Palladio in honor of the great architect Andrea Palladio. The city of an area of eighty square kilometers is in the Veneto region. The nearest major settlements are Verona, Venice and Padua.

The number of inhabitants does not exceed one hundred and ten thousand people. The climate is moderately warm. Quite a lot of precipitation falls during the year. The city has a machine-building, textile industry, jewelry made of precious stones and metals. For modern women of fashion, the town is known as the birthplace of famous clothing brands: Dainese, Bottega Veneta, Gas Jeans.

It is famous for architectural masterpieces by Andrea Palladio Vincenza. Attractions form a complex that is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

From the history of the city

Researchers of the history of the city find it difficult to name the exact date of its foundation, but are inclined to the fact that it was founded between the 17th and 11th centuries BC. E. From the year 49 BC. E. The town belonged to the Roman Empire. After its fall Vincenza was ruled by the Lombards, and a little later by the Venetians. In 1797 the city was captured by the French. A year later, it already belonged to the Austrians. Only in 1866 Vicenza became part of the Italian Empire.

Sights of Vicenza

The town is famous for its natural, historical, cultural and historical monuments. They are carefully guarded by the city authorities and local residents. Every year thousands of tourists visit Vicenza. Many people visit the sights by themselves, "armed" with the city guide. Although, of course, it is more interesting to see memorable places in the tour group.

It is unlikely that when you visit Vicenza, the map with the sights will give you a complete idea of the memorable places of the city. A seasoned tour guide will tell you many interesting facts from the history of the city and its development.

Olympic Theater

Many tourists, visiting Vicenza, are beginning to study the sights from the oldest active indoor theater in the world. It was built in 1585 by the design of the great Andrea Palladio. The building was the last creation of the master. The magnificent decor of the stage is created in the technique of trompley, which was thought by the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi, who had to finish the theater after the death of Palladio.

Surprisingly, today these oldest decorations in the world are also used.

Villa Godi

Attractions Vicenza in Italy is striking in its diversity, although most of them are created by one master - Palladio. For example, this aristocratic residence is one of the first creations of the famous architect. The villa was commissioned by the brothers Pietro, Marcantonio and Girolamo Godi.

Construction work began in 1537 and was completed after five years. Later the appearance of the facades and gardens was slightly modified. Today, tourists arriving from all over the world in Vicenza, can see sights (description, photo) in the colorful guidebook, which can be purchased at all the newspaper booths of the city.

The building of Villa Godi and the surrounding scenic garden of tourists can be inspected throughout the year. On the ground floor is the Archaeological Museum. Villa Godi is a monumental building, which consists of three separate parts. In the main hall, where guests are met has nothing in common with the decoration with living quarters.

A staircase span the balustrades, and its width corresponds to the width of the middle arch in the loggia. The interior of the villa is decorated with frescoes by Giovanni Dzelotti, Gualtiero Padovano and Battista del Moro.

La Rotonda

The country residence, which was built for the official from the Vatican Paolo Almerico by the architect Andrea Palladio, also has a second name - Villa Capra. It rises above Vicenza, on a hilltop, and is one of the city's most popular attractions.

The owners of the villa in 1591 were the brothers of Capra, from where the second name came. In the image and likeness of this building, buildings were built around the world - the Monticello estate (USA), the Sophia Cathedral (Tsarskoye Selo, Russia), Merworth Castle (England) and many others.

Palladian Basilica

Like most of the monuments of Vicenza, the attraction is connected with the name of Andrea Palladio. This Renaissance building is located in the center of Piazza dei Signori square. Its main feature experts consider a loggia with one of the first samples of the so-called Palladian window, which was designed by a very young Andrea Palladio.

In 2007, a large-scale project on the restoration of the ancient basilica started. The roof of the building was dismantled, removing the reinforced concrete ceilings that were installed after 1945, and replaced them with lighter ones, from laminated veneer lumber. The facade of the basilica was thoroughly cleaned, strengthened and equipped with new illumination. Completion of the restoration was planned for 2008 - the 500th birthday of Andrea Palladio, but the terms of the restoration work were extended. The restoration project cost the city's treasury fifteen million euros.

Picture gallery

And now we invite you to visit one of the main cultural attractions of Vicenza in Italy. The building, designed also by Andrea Palladio (1550), was intended for Girolamo Kierikati. The magnificent palace was completed only at the end of the XVII century. In 1839, the city authorities bought it from the family of Kierikati and arranged a collection of works of art in it. Later the building was renovated by the architects Miloranza and Berti.

In 1855, it accepted the first visitors as a museum. Today there is a collection of sculptures and paintings, rooms of sketches and drawings, Hall numismatics. The center of the exhibition are images from the church of San Bartolomeo (now nonexistent) and the works of Giovanni Bonconsiglio, Giovanni Sperantz, Cima da Conegliano, Bartolomeo Montagni, and Marcello Fogolino.

Parks

Studying the sights of Vicenza in Italy (photo you can see in this article), you can not ignore the city park, which is four. These are favorite places for rest of townspeople and travelers.

Next to the train station is Campo Marzo, a park that for a long time belonged to the Vicenza commune. It was first mentioned in the 12th century, when it was called Campus Martius. In the beginning it was just a meadow, but in 1816 the western plane trees were planted here in honor of Franz I, the Austrian emperor. Today they form the Viale Dalmatia tunnel. In addition to plane trees, the park is scattered small groves, consisting of trees of other species.

City Park Salvi Garden is located in Piazza de Gasperi. It was opened to the public in 1592. It is created in the Italian style with magnificent flower beds, having the strict geometrical form and labyrinths in the end of park. Today the Salvi Garden is surrounded by a small Seriola stream. Two loggias are reflected in its waters - Loggia Longena (1649), built for meetings of scientists and conducting poetry readings and philosophical debates and Palladian (16th century).

The largest and most popular park of the city is Kverini, located on Viale Araceli. Its green wide lawns are divided by an alley along which statues of the XVII century are located. To her left are the dense thickets of plane trees and acacias.

Be sure to visit another park, if you happen to visit Vincenza. Attractions of this place are fascinating. Villa Guiccioli Park is located on Monte Berico. An ancient villa was built by the architect Selva. Today there is the Risorgimento Museum. A huge and very beautiful park that surrounds the villa, is now available for visiting tourists.

In it you can see about forty species of trees. Their alternation with lawns, various landscapes, lack of symmetry gives this place the look of an original romantic garden. Throughout the territory are laid meandering gravel paths.

Torre Bissar

The famous city tower of Vicenza. It is impossible to imagine the sights of the city without this building. The tower faces the Piazza dei Signori, to the famous Palladian Basilica. It rises to eighty-two meters and is one of the tallest structures of the city.

The first time about Torre Bissar is mentioned in 1174. It was built next to the palace of the Bissari family on their initiative. In 1229 the Vicenza commune redeemed both the palace and the tower. Miraculously survived during the devastating earthquake of 1347, in the middle of the XV century the tower was built to the present height.

Santa Maria Annunchaata

Anyone who plans to visit Vicenza in the near future, sightseeing (description and reviews of tourists confirm this) should be inspected without missing a visit to the Cathedral. His grandiose dome was designed by Andrea Palladio, according to the researchers, he was also the author of the northern side door.

The first church in this place was consecrated in honor of the holy martyr Eufemia, especially revered in the city. Her relics are still in the cathedral today. In the VI century, the temple was first renamed and named Santa Maria. This was due to the fact that after the Third Ecumenical Council (431), at which the dogma of the Virgin Mary was declared, the churches were renamed in her honor. And of course, it affected the Cathedral.

Between the 7th and 8th centuries, the word "Annunchata" was added to the name of the temple, since it was during this period that the celebration of the Annunciation (L'Annunciazione) spread widely.

Church of San Marco

This is a baroque parish church, which appeared in the city in the XVIII century. Today it holds a collection of works of art dating back to the XVIII century, and in the vestry you can see the original furniture of the same era.

The authorship of this structure remains unknown, but there is a suggestion that several architects worked on it. The style of the interior is similar to that of Giorgio Massari, a Venetian architect. Some of the surviving documents mention the name of Giuseppe Marki, the local architect. In addition, it is possible that Francesco Muttoni took part in the construction.

It is precisely known that the facade of the church was designed by the abbot Carlo Corbelli. The building of the temple, was used since 1725, but it was consecrated only in 1760 in honor of the two saints - Teresa of Avila and Jerome.

The facade of the church is Baroque. It consists of two rows of half-columns, placed on a high pedestal. At the top of the tympanum are three figures of saints. And in the lower part there are four niches and two more are located slightly higher. Inside the temple there is a single nave and six tall side chapels. The interior is decorated with paintings by Sebastiano Ricci, Costantino Pascualotto, Antonio Balestra, Ludovico Buffetti and the Maganza brothers.

Vicenza (Italy), attractions: reviews

A wonderful Italian town attracts with its unique monuments of tourists from all over the world. As evidenced by the testimonials of the latter, the sights of the town are in excellent condition, they are regularly restored, which allows tourists to plunge into the atmosphere of old eras. All tourists claim that Vinzenets is a picturesque and very green town, in which there are many parks and squares. Here you can relax very much, enjoying the mild climate and hospitality of citizens, and interesting stories from the life of the city.