The guided tour of Vicenza will make you discover one of the most beautiful towns in the Veneto linked to its most illustrious citizen Andrea Palladio, the greatest architect of the Venetian Renaissance who with his beautiful buildings was an inspiration all over the world such as for the construction of the White House in the United States.
It starts from the Olympic Theatre which we will visit only on the outside, the oldest stable covered theatre of the modern era designed by Palladio and in the same square we can admire the splendid Chiericati Palace, also by Palladio, dating back to the 16th century; the elegant building with its characteristic staircase is embellished with large loggias on the level of the noble floor and today houses the Civic Museum with works of great artistic value.
We continue along Corso Palladio, the high street that crosses Vicenza and that introduces us to its historic centre, a street full of important historic buildings designed by Palladio, churches, medieval towers, shops of various types and the inevitable cafes where you can try the famous spritz and taverns with typical products of the Venetian tradition. The tour continues discovering Piazza dei Signori, the meeting point of Vicenza and the centre of commercial and social power with its most characteristic buildings such as the Basilica, the Bissara Tower, the Monte di Pietà Palace, the Church of S. Vincenzo and the Captain's Palace starting from the two columns dedicated to the Serenissima, or Venice, one with the Lion of San Marco and the other with Christ the Redeemer.
The most famous building dominates the square, the Palladian Basilica which is not a true religious basilica but was defined in this way by Palladio in homage to Roman antiquity because the building housed the municipal councils and was erected on the ancient Palace of Reason. We explore the Basilica externally with a marble staircase, the beautiful loggia and the green copper covering that makes it one of the symbols of the town. Next to it we admire the Bissara Tower which with its 82 metres high is visible in every part of Vicenza and always in the elegant square we find another building designed by Palladio, the Captain's Palace, from the Renaissance period decorated with columns, statues and decorations, today seat of the Town Council.