Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Palazzo Chiericati; 0444 22 28 11;
www.museicivicivicenza.it
; Piazza Matteotti 37/39; adult/reduced
incl Teatro Olimpico €10/8; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun)
This civic art museum is housed in one of Pal-
ladio's finest buildings, designed in 1550 with a colonnaded ground floor and double-
height loggia. The frescoed ground floor includes the ultimate baroque party room: the
Sala dal Firmamento (Salon of the Skies), with Domenico Brusasorci's ceiling fresco of
Diana the moon goddess galloping across the sky to meet a bare-arsed Helios, god of the
sun.
Upstairs galleries present works by Vicenza masters in the context of a handful of ma-
jor works by Venetian masters such as Veronese, Tiepolo and Tintoretto.
La Rotonda
( 049 879 13 80;
www.villalarotonda.it
;
Via della Rotonda 45; villa/gardens €10/5; gardens 10am-
noon & 3-6pm Tue-Sun mid-Mar-mid-Nov, to 5pm mid-Nov-mid-Mar, villa open Wed & Sat only)
No
matter how you look at it, this villa is a show-stopper: the namesake dome caps a square
base, with identical colonnaded facades on all four sides. This is one of Palladio's most
admired creations, inspiring variations across Europe and the USA, including Thomas Jef-
ferson's Monticello.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Villa Valmarana 'Ai Nani'
( 0444 32 18 03;
www.villavalmarana.com
;
Stradella dei Nani 8; adult/reduced €9/6;
10am-12.30pm & 3-6pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-12.30pm Tue-Fri, 10am-12.30pm & 2.30-4.30pm Sat &
Sun Nov-Jan)
From La Rotonda, a charming footpath leads about 500m to the elegantly neo-
classical Villa Valmarana 'ai Nani', the interior of which shelters 1757 frescoes by Giam-
battista Tiepolo and his son Giandomenico. Giambattista painted the Palazzina wing with
his signature mythological epics, while his son painted the Foresteria with rural, carnival
and Chinese themes.
Nicknamed after the 17 statues of gnomes ('ai Nani') around the perimeter walls, this
estate is a superb spot for the occasional summer concert; check dates online.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Sleeping
Scores of hotels in greater Vicenza are listed on the tourism board website
(
www.vicenzae.org
)
and a dozen or so B&Bs can be found at
www.vitourism.it
.
Ostello Olimpico
HOSTEL
€
