Page 159 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

VICENZA  157

R San Lorenzo
Piazza San Lorenzo. Open daily (pm
only on public hols).
The portal of this church is a
magnificent example of Gothic
stone carving, richly decorated
with the figures of the Virgin
and Child, and St Francis and
St Clare. Inside there are fine
tombs and damaged frescoes.
The lovely cloister, north of the
church, is an attractive, flower-
filled haven of calm.
R Monte Berico
Basilica di Monte Berico. Tel 0444 55 La Rotonda (1550–52), most famous of all Palladio’s works
94 11. Open daily (only pm Sun).
Monte Berico is the cypress-clad linking central Vicenza to the about on clouds watching scenes
hill to the south of Vicenza to basilica on top of the hill. The from the epics of Homer and
which wealthy residents once domed basilica itself, built in the Virgil. In the separate Foresteria
escaped, in the heat of summer, 15th century and enlarged in the (guesthouse), the 18th-century
to enjoy the cooler air and 18th, is dedicated to the Virgin frescoes depicting peasant life
pastoral charms of their country who appeared here during the and the seasons, painted by
estates. Today, shady portici, 1426–8 plague to announce Tiepolo’s son Giandomenico, are
or colonnades, adorned with that Vicenza would be spared. imbued with an earthy realism.
shrines, line the wide avenue The ornate interior contains The villa can be reached by a
a moving Pietà fresco (1500) by 10-minute walk from the basilica
Bartolomeo Montagna, a fossil on Monte Berico. Head downhill
collection in the cloister and along Via Massimo d’Azeglio to
The façade statues of Veronese’s fine painting, The the high-walled convent on
stately toga-clad figures Supper of St Gregory the Great the right where the road ends,
are portraits of sponsors (1572), in the refectory. then take Via San Bastiano.
who paid for the theatre’s
construction. P La Rotonda
Via Rotonda 45. Tel 0444 32 17 93.
The courtyard giving Villa: Open 13 Mar–4 Nov: Wed & Sat.
access to the Teatro is & Garden: Open Tue–Sun.
decorated with & ∑ villalarotonda.it
ancient sculptures. With its perfectly regular,
These were donated symmetrical forms, this villa,
by members of the also known as the Villa Capra
Olympic Academy, Valmarana, is the epitome
the learned body of Palladio’s architecture
that built the theatre.
(see pp84–5). The design,
consisting of a dome
rising above a cube,
received immediate
The Baroque hilltop church, the acclaim for the way
Basilica di Monte Berico it blends perfectly with its
surroundings. A pleasant
P Villa Valmarana ai Nani contrast exists between the
Via dei Nani 8. Tel 0444 32 18 03. Open terracotta roof tiles, the white
early Mar–early Nov: 10am–12:30pm, walls and the green lawns.
3–6pm Tue–Sun; early Nov–early Mar: The villa, built in 1550–52,
10am–noon, 2–4pm Sat & Sun. & has inspired many copies in
∑ villavalmarana.com cities as far away as London,
The wall alongside the Villa St Petersburg and Delhi. Fans
Valmarana, built in 1688 by of Don Giovanni will enjoy
Main Antonio Muttoni, is topped by spotting locations used in
entrance figures of dwarfs (nani) which Joseph Losey’s 1979 film.
give the building its name. La Rotonda can be reached
Inside, the walls are covered by bus from town, or on foot,
with frescoes by Tiepolo, in which following the path alongside
the gods of Mount Olympus float the Villa Valmarana ai Nani.

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