Province of Vicenza
Vicenza is the Veneto province that bears the name of its most illustrious genius, Andrea Palladio, and preserves his legacy in a...
Updated 11 July 2026
Province of Vicenza
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The story
The story of Province of Vicenza
Vicenza, the City of Palladio, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Vicenza's historic centre is an open-air museum dedicated to Andrea Palladio, the Renaissance architect who transformed the city in the sixteenth century with palaces and churches that became a model for Western architecture, from the United States to Russia. In 1994 UNESCO inscribed Vicenza and the Palladian villas of the Veneto on the World Heritage List, recognising a legacy that includes more than twenty buildings in the city designed by the master. Strolling along Corso Palladio, the main street lined with noble palaces, means crossing centuries of history in a few hundred metres, passing Palazzo Chiericati, Palazzo Barbaran da Porto and Palazzo del Comune. Vicenza is also a lively, human-scale city, with a compact centre that is easy to explore on foot, historic cafés and an elegant atmosphere that has made it one of the most loved destinations for cultural tourism in the Veneto.
The Teatro Olimpico and the Basilica Palladiana
The Teatro Olimpico, Palladio's last work, completed after his death by Vincenzo Scamozzi, is the oldest surviving permanent covered theatre of the modern world: its fixed wood-and-stucco stage set depicts the streets of ancient Thebes in a scenographic perspective of extraordinary optical illusion, an absolute masterpiece of Renaissance stagecraft. In Piazza dei Signori, the heart of the city, stands the Basilica Palladiana, not a church but the public palace of sixteenth-century Vicenza, wrapped in the famous two-tier loggias that Palladio designed to reinforce and ennoble a pre-existing medieval building. Beside it rises the Bissara Tower, over eighty metres tall, while the Basilica's panoramic terrace, now open to visitors, offers an unrivalled view over the city's rooftops and the surrounding hills.
The Palladian villas and La Rotonda
Scattered across the Vicenza countryside and throughout the Veneto, the villas Palladio designed for the nobility of his time represent a revolution in residential architecture, blending agricultural function with classical ideals. The most famous is Villa Almerico Capra, universally known as La Rotonda, just outside Vicenza: a centrally planned villa with four identical porticoed façades, inspired by the Roman Pantheon, which has influenced generations of architects worldwide. Nearby, Villa Valmarana ai Nani houses fresco cycles by Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo among the most important of the eighteenth-century Veneto. The province counts dozens of other Palladian villas open to visitors, from Villa Godi in Lonedo, the master's first work, to Villa Pojana, ideal stops on an itinerary through architecture, art and the Veneto's rural landscape.
Bassano del Grappa, the Ponte degli Alpini and grappa
Bassano del Grappa is one of the Veneto's best-loved small towns, set on the banks of the Brenta river at the foot of Monte Grappa. Its symbol is the Ponte degli Alpini, a covered wooden bridge designed by Andrea Palladio in 1569 and rebuilt several times after floods and wartime destruction, today dedicated to the memory of Italy's Alpine troops. At the foot of the bridge, historic distilleries such as Nardini, Italy's oldest still-active distillery, let visitors discover the art of distilling grappa, the spirit that symbolises the area. The historic centre, with Piazza Libertà and Piazza Garibaldi, is home to workshops selling Bassano ceramics decorated with floral motifs, weekly markets and the Museo Civico with works by Jacopo Bassano. Bassano is also an ideal base for exploring the Brenta Canal and the surrounding hills.
Marostica and the Living Chess Game
Marostica is the city of chess: its main square, paved like a giant chessboard, hosts the famous Living Chess Game every two years, on the second weekend of September in even-numbered years, a Renaissance-costumed re-enactment of a chivalric challenge fought move by move instead of sword by sword to win a lady's hand. The spectacle, with hundreds of performers, flag-wavers, horses and fireworks, draws visitors from around the world. The town is dominated by two castles linked by crenellated walls climbing the hillside: the Castello Inferiore on the square, and the Castello Superiore, reachable on foot via a scenic walk. Marostica is also famous for its cherries, celebrated every spring with a dedicated festival, and for the perfectly preserved lanes of its historic centre.
The Asiago Plateau and the Seven Municipalities
The Asiago Plateau, also known as the Plateau of the Seven Municipalities, is a vast tableland over a thousand metres above sea level, framed by fir forests, pastures and small alpine lakes, a destination for summer holidays and winter sports. Asiago, the main town, gives its name to the famous DOP cheese, still produced in high-altitude mountain dairies according to centuries-old traditions and celebrated with festivals and tastings. The plateau preserves an original culture linked to the Cimbrian community, a linguistic minority of Germanic origin that settled here in the Middle Ages, attested by unique place names and traditions. The area was also the scene of ferocious fighting during the First World War: monumental military cemeteries such as the Asiago Shrine, restored forts and trenches still recount that chapter of history today, making the plateau a destination that combines nature, gastronomy and historical memory.
Pasubio, Monte Grappa and the Great War
The mountains of Vicenza province were among the bloodiest fronts of the First World War, and today preserve a heritage of memory unique in Italy. On Monte Pasubio, the legendary Strada delle 52 Gallerie, carved by Italian Alpine troops into the living rock between 1917 and 1918, climbs for over six kilometres through tunnels, bridges and panoramic trenches, today walkable as one of Italy's most spectacular historic treks. Not far away, Monte Grappa, the scene of decisive battles, is home to the imposing Military Shrine, which holds the remains of over twenty-two thousand Italian and Austro-Hungarian fallen, alongside a museum and a network of trenches and tunnels open to visitors. These places, now immersed in lush nature, offer hiking trails and panoramas stretching from the Dolomites to the Veneto plain, combined with powerful historical and commemorative value.
The Vicenza goldsmithing district
Vicenza is among the world's capitals of goldsmithing: its jewellery district, concentrated mainly around Bassano del Grappa and the Agno-Chiampo Valley, is one of the leading production and export hubs for gold jewellery in the world, with an artisan tradition dating back to the Middle Ages and a supply chain covering the entire production cycle, from design to manufacturing. Twice a year the city hosts Vicenzaoro, one of the most important international trade fairs in the jewellery sector, drawing buyers and professionals from around the world to the Vicenza Exhibition Centre. The bond between the city and gold is also reflected in the goldsmith workshops of the historic centre, where Vicenza's artisan mastery can still be admired, and in a museum dedicated to the history of local jewellery-making, testimony to a productive identity that stands alongside, without ever overshadowing, the city's artistic and architectural vocation.
Vicenza's flavours: baccalà and more
Vicenza's cuisine finds its signature dish in baccalà alla vicentina, made from stockfish (despite the name) slow-cooked in milk with onion, anchovies and cheese, celebrated every September in Sandrigo by the Confraternita del Baccalà with a festival that defends the traditional recipe. Alongside baccalà, Vicenza's table offers polenta, an essential accompaniment, rice in many varieties grown in the plain's countryside, mountain-dairy cheeses from the Asiago Plateau, cured meats such as soppressa, and of course Bassano grappa to close the meal. Wines from the Vicenza hills and Val Liberata are not to be missed either, with DOC labels that pair well with hearty, local dishes. Markets, village festivals and historic restaurants preserve recipes handed down through generations, in a cuisine of land and mountain far removed from the clichés of lagoon Veneto.
When to go
The province of Vicenza can be visited pleasantly all year round, but each season offers different experiences. Spring and early summer are ideal for the city of Vicenza and the Palladian villas, with mild weather and long days for exploring on foot or by bicycle. Summer is perfect for the Asiago Plateau, a cool refuge from the plain's heat, and for hikes on Pasubio and Monte Grappa. September is the month of events: Marostica's Living Chess Game, in even-numbered years, and the Baccalà Festival in Sandrigo. Autumn paints the forests of the plateau and the Piccole Dolomiti in warm colours, ideal for trekking. Winter turns Asiago into a destination for cross-country skiing and snow sports, while Vicenza, Bassano and Marostica offer Christmas markets and a cosy atmosphere far from the summer crowds.
Experiences not to be missed
- Climb the Basilica Palladiana and admire Vicenza from its panoramic terrace
- Attend a performance at the Teatro Olimpico, the oldest covered theatre of the modern world
- Visit Villa La Rotonda and Villa Valmarana ai Nani with its Tiepolo frescoes
- Cross the Ponte degli Alpini in Bassano del Grappa and taste Nardini grappa
- Walk the Strada delle 52 Gallerie on Monte Pasubio
- Stroll between Marostica's two castles, the town of the living chessboard
- Taste baccalà alla vicentina and Asiago DOP cheese in a high-altitude mountain dairy
- Visit the Military Shrine of Monte Grappa and the Great War trenches
To see
What to see in Province of Vicenza
Routes · Trovido Route
