Description:

Vicenza, the palladian villas and Asolo; service duration: 8 hours on average

Itinerary

• 09:00 – departure from P. Roma/Mestre city/Venice downtown
• 10:30 stop in Vicenza for 2 hrs walking tour by local guide
• 12:30 p.m. stop at one local trattoria for lunch (we will make the reservation for you – cost not included)
• 3:30 p.m. stop in Asolo, free time to explore the cute town
• 4:30 p.m. Return to Venice

La Rotonda is Palladio’s masterpiece… a short visit (entrance tickets included) is planned at the following times

Included: private boat (if from Venice downtown), car/van, visit and wine tasting (admission and tickets incl.)

Not included: lunch and everything else not reported in the inclusion

Vicenza, in northeastern Italy, was founded in the 2nd century BC but only became a center of primary importance under Venetian rule between the 15th and 18th centuries.

Vicenza’s golden age began in 1540, when the Venetian aristocracy reorganized the city and its countryside and Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, known as Palladio, one of the greatest architects of the time, was commissioned to design new residences for Venetian nobles.

During those years, Vicenza was adorned with marvelous private palaces and public buildings, and extraordinary villas were designed in the countryside.

The buildings designed by Palladio create a continuous dialogue between ancient and modern and are recognizable for their elegance, balance, and symmetry.

With his works, Palladio modified the urban layout of the city and part of the surrounding landscape, creating an original living interpretation of classical antiquity that would profoundly influence the urban planning and landscape of European countries and the whole world.

Palladio’s works recognized as World Heritage Sites consist of 23 palaces in Vicenza and 24 villas in the surrounding area.

The palaces are integrated into the urban fabric of the medieval city and create a picturesque ensemble of Venetian Gothic style and Palladian classicism inspired by classical Roman architecture.

The Palladian Villas of the Veneto, which combine the functional aspects of land management and the self-celebration of their noble owners, are temple-like houses, embellished with monumental staircases and crowned by a pediment supported by the columns of a loggia.

Along the wings that extend from the sides of the facades are porticoes that often end in a tower.

In these villas, rationality and functionality are closely linked to the symbolic and ideological expression that the urban and country villa is intended to convey: it is a center of power, but also a place of pleasure, culture, and beauty.

The Palladian villa is conceived as a humanistic revival of the ancient Roman villa, moving away from the idea of the medieval castle-villa, where the military-defensive function prevailed.

In addition to the intrinsic value of each individual villa, the villas as a whole constitute a very important element within the region, as the formal relationship between the villas and the Venetian landscape reveals a unique quality that gives them universal value.

Palladianism, a far-reaching cultural phenomenon originating from the study of the fundamental themes of Palladio’s work, in which the charm of classicism is combined with an austere simplicity of form, was a stylistic and cultural movement unparalleled in the history of architecture due to the influence that spread from the Veneto region throughout the world, particularly in Western Europe, the United Kingdom, and the western states of the US, where President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) called Palladio’s Four Books the “Bible” of modern architecture. Jefferson himself had two architectural complexes built that closely follow Palladio’s teachings and have been included among the US sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List. They are located in Charlottesville and consist of Jefferson’s own residence, which has an Italian-inspired name, Monticello, and the University of Virginia campus.

On December 6, 2010, the United States Congress passed Resolution No. 259 recognizing Andrea Palladio as the “father” of American architecture, as the ‘Four Books of Architecture’ have been a primary source of classical design for many architects and builders in the United States from colonial times to the present day, and the nation’s most representative buildings, including the United States Capitol, the White House, and the Jefferson Memorial, reflect the influence of Palladio’s architecture through the Anglo-Palladian movement that flourished in the 18th century.

For further information, please visit the official website of the UNESCO World Heritage Center responsible for the inscription of World Heritage sites.

For further historical and artistic information, particularly for teachers and students, we recommend visiting the website of the “World Heritage in Schools” project, an initiative supported by the Italian UNESCO World Heritage Association in collaboration with MIBACT and MIUR to promote the dissemination of UNESCO’s core principles in schools, especially through the educational portal.