Bolzano Vicentino
Bolzano Vicentino is a town of around 6,500 inhabitants on the plain northeast of Vicenza, crossed by the Tesina river, which lite...
Updated 12 July 2026 · Sources: https://www.comune.bolzanovicentino.vi.it/vivere-il-comune/territorio/cenni-storici/ · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolzano_Vicentino · https://www.comune.bolzanovicentino.vi.it/territorio/
The story
The story of Bolzano Vicentino
A plain shaped by the Tesina river
Bolzano Vicentino's territory has a flat profile, with almost negligible changes in elevation, and is divided in two by the course of the Tesina river, which rises just to the north in the territory of Sandrigo. This stretch of plain is marked by a significant presence of risorgive, natural springs that emerge where the water table meets less permeable soil layers, a phenomenon typical of the upper Vicenza plain.
From ancient origins to the Via Postumia
The earliest human presence in the area dates back to the Euganei and later the ancient Veneti, who settled here for around a thousand years. The oldest documented evidence, however, dates from Roman times, specifically to 148 BC, when the Via Postumia was opened, the consular road commissioned by the consul Postumius linking Verona to Aquileia through Vicenza's territory, encouraging land reclamation and cultivation.
The pieve, the Lombards and the Republic of Venice
Between the 5th and 6th centuries, ecclesiastical organisation replaced Roman administration with the establishment of the pieve of Bolzano, a religious reference point for an area wider than today's municipality. In the following centuries the area followed the fortunes of the Vicenza municipality, passing under the Lombards and the Carolingian county, and proclaiming itself a free comune in the 12th century, before coming, after the death of Galeazzo Visconti in 1404, under the Republic of Venice, under which it enjoyed a long period of relative calm.
Villa Valmarana Scagnolari Zen in Lisiera
In the hamlet of Lisiera stands the municipality's main architectural landmark, Villa Valmarana Scagnolari Zen, a work attributed to Andrea Palladio. The villa belongs to the long tradition of country residences built by the Venetian and Vicentine aristocracy on the plain, often tied to the management of surrounding agricultural estates, and today represents a significant example of Palladian architecture outside the provincial capital.
A town between residential and productive life
Over the course of the 20th century, and particularly in recent decades, Bolzano Vicentino has seen strong building expansion, becoming part of Vicenza's residential and productive belt. The name was completed with the adjective Vicentino in 1867, to distinguish the municipality from other Italian places of the same name, while its economy has gradually diversified between plain agriculture, small industry and residential development.
Experiences not to miss
- Visit Villa Valmarana Scagnolari Zen in the hamlet of Lisiera
- Walk along the Tesina river among the springs of the Vicenza plain
- Trace the historic route of the Via Postumia through the municipal territory
- Explore the town's rural hamlets by bicycle along the flat plain roads
To see
What to see in Bolzano Vicentino
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Bolzano Vicentino
Jobs · JobFlow
