About an hour west from Venice Marco Polo Airport is the city of Vicenza. This was one of the towns on our Northern Italy adventure that we adored.
Perhaps the reason we loved it so much was due to our wonderful hotel, the Palazzo Scamozzi, which was actually a converted 1720 palace. Having booked early we were able to reserve one of their rooms containing some of the original frescos on the ceiling. Very nice indeed.
Simply walking around Vicenza’s city-center you can marvel at the vestiges of the old city walls and the facades of many historic buildings. A treat for the eyes.
Vicenza walking itinerary
We started our walk through the lovely Salvi Gardens to take a look at the Loggia Valmarana. While we came to admire the building with an overwater terrace, a sign told us that this park area was initially created in 1592. A lot of history here indeed.
We then walked past the Torrione di Porta Castello which is an impressive and huge ancient tower that remains standing from the wall that originally encircled the entire city.
Next, we headed to the Olympic Theatre where we realized we could buy a combo ticket for a dozen or so attractions for about half the cost of individual tickets. Who doesn’t like a deal. Tip: Get the combo ticket.
Teatro Olimpico
The Olympic Theatre was built in 1585 and is the oldest roofed theatre in the world. The decorations were inspired by Ancient Greek and Roman events and are remarkably well preserved. The stage with its decorations and paintings gives the illusion of depth perspective.
We sat in the wooden seats and we’re just in time to listen to and watch a musical light show that is put on a few times a day. You can’t help but think who might have sat in these very seats over the last 450 years. So much history.
We had also read about a nice park, Parco Querini, off the beaten track and thought we’d give that a quick look before continuing with the city attractions. After making our way there in the grueling sun, we would recommend giving it a pass. Aside from seeing a couple of rabbits and lots of pigeons (and people asking us for money) it was a disappointment. We’d suggest simply keeping to the numerous places of interest within walking distance in the old city center.
Palazzo Chiericati
Next door to the Olympic Theater, there is the Civic Art Gallery of Palazzo Chiericati. The museum houses huge and beautiful paintings, sculptures, and artifacts from the 13th to the 20th centuries.
The palace itself is nice to see and the interior is embellished with colorful frescoes and stuccos. The historic building with colonnades and statues dates back to 1550.
Church of Santa Corona
Also, in the theater area we visited the Church of Santa Corona. The altar caught our eye with its elaborate inlay design made of marble and other types of materials such as lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl.
The church dates back to the 13th century and is one of Vicenza’s most important churches. It seems that the church got its name because it owns a reliquary that contains fragments of the Crown of Thorns, also called the Holy Crown.
Basilica Palladiana
The Palladian Basilica was a jewel of the Piazza dei Signori along with its Campanile clock tower. It reminded us of the Doge’s Palace in Venice with its many arches. Do climb up to the rooftop terrace for some great views of the piazza below.
Church of San Lorenzo
Just a few short blocks away is the Church of San Lorenzo constructed by Franciscan monks in the 13th century, also a must see in Vicenza’s historic center.
A tip, if you want some good pizza, next to the church there’s a pizzeria serving some of the best pizza we had during our Northern Italy trip. The place was popular with locals, so that always a good sign!
Palazzo Thiene
We didn’t know what to expect here but were pleasantly surprised by the ornate rooms and in particular some of the huge fireplaces made to look like open mouths. Incredible! The museum is housed inside a 15th century palace and is well worth a visit.
Other attractions included in our combo ticket
Our ticket also included the Palladio Museum where they wouldn’t even let me enter with my small wallet purse. We laughed making the rounds after bringing our documents back to the hotel safe at how most of the displays were huge paintings and statues displayed in thick glass display cases. Did they think these would fit in my small purse? I guess it was a private collection and the owners set the rules. Either way it was one that we’d skip if short on time.
The Cathedral across the street was also less exciting than the other attractions and the Jewelry Museum, while somewhat interesting, would also be on the tail end of our best effort list. Since we had the combo ticket and were already there, we visited, but we’d prioritize the other attractions in Padua’ historic center over these.
We later walked over to check out some of the small older bridges (Ponte San Michele and Ponte San Paolo) crossing the river into the main city. We even spotted a nutria, a large muskrat-like creature, swimming across the river.
Conclusion
We would definitely recommend Vicenza and while we hustled to do it all in one day, one could easily take a more relaxed pace and easily spend two days with all the attractions here. There are surely other places of interest further afield but there was a lot to do all within walking distance of the old square, Piazza dei Signori.
If staying in Vicenza’s historic center definitely get parking at the hotel if you can. Unlike other cities that had large car parks under the public squares the only parking we saw here was outside the city walls and the lots looked quite small. On top of that it could be quite a hike to your hotel with luggage!