The classic
Vicenza, Palladio's city
Teatro Olimpico, Corso Palladio, Santa Corona and the Basilica Palladiana on Piazza dei Signori: the essential walking tour for understanding Vicenza.
Discover the tour
Private guided tour · About 3 hours
Palladio's palazzi in Vicenza
Six buildings, six patrons, one architect: a route to understand how Andrea Palladio reinvented the sixteenth-century noble residence.
- Guiding since 2008
- Licensed guide no. 05000058
- Private tours only
- IT · EN · FR
At a glance
What do you see on the tour of Vicenza's Palladian palazzi?
The tour of Vicenza's Palladian palazzi is a private walking visit of about 3 hours among the residences Andrea Palladio designed in the historic centre. You see Palazzo Thiene, Palazzo Barbaran da Porto with the Palladio Museum, Palazzo Valmarana Braga, Palazzo Porto, Palazzo Chiericati with the civic art gallery (Pinacoteca civica) and the Loggia del Capitaniato. It is designed for those who have already seen the centre or love architecture and want to understand its language.
Practical information
The tour in brief
- Duration
- About 3 hours, on foot
- Meeting point
- Historic centre, agreed when you book
- Languages
- English, Italian, French
- Ideal for
- Architecture lovers, students, returning visitors to Vicenza
- Admission
- Palladio Museum and Pinacoteca charge admission, not included; we help you book
- Interiors
- Some palazzi are private or open only on certain occasions
How to read a Palladian palazzo
Before Palladio, Vicenza's palazzi were Gothic houses with Venetian-style mullioned windows. From the 1540s the city's aristocracy, cultured and ambitious, asked a young architect trained on the monuments of Rome for a new language: that of classical antiquity, adapted to the life of a noble family.
During the tour we will learn to recognise three key elements:
- The architectural orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian (and Composite) stacked storey by storey or, in the late works, a single giant order running the full height of the façade.
- The façade as a manifesto: rustication, columns, statues and pediments speak of the patron's rank and aspirations.
- The interior space: colonnaded atria and courtyards recreating the "house of the ancients" described by Vitruvius, as Palladio illustrated in his Four Books of Architecture (1570).
The route
The stops among the Palladian palazzi
The order may vary depending on opening times and the meeting point.
Palazzo Thiene
Built from the 1540s for the brothers Marcantonio and Adriano Thiene, with an initial design linked to Giulio Romano and then developed by Palladio. The massive rustication and the courtyard speak of the ambition of one of the city's most powerful families. Visits inside are possible only by booking and on limited dates: we check case by case.
Palazzo Barbaran da Porto and the Palladio Museum
Designed in 1569 for Montano Barbarano and built between 1570 and 1575, it is the only large town palazzo that Palladio managed to complete in full. Note the atrium with its Ionic columns and the stuccoes by Lorenzo Rubini. Today it houses the Palladio Museum of the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio, with models, drawings and reconstructions that make the master's method easy to grasp.
Palazzo Porto
On Contrà Porti, designed for Iseppo da Porto in the mid-1540s. It is one of Palladio's first town palazzi: a rusticated ground floor and a piano nobile marked out by Ionic half-columns, following a model that recalls Bramante and Raphael. It is a private building, best appreciated from the outside.
Palazzo Valmarana Braga
Commissioned by Isabella Nogarola, widow of Giovanni Alvise Valmarana, under a contract of 1565; work began in 1566. Six giant pilasters rise through both storeys and, at the ends, figures of warriors support the cornice: a late, restless, almost Mannerist work. Damaged by bombing in 1945 and restored in the 1960s, it is privately owned and opens only on special occasions.
Palazzo Chiericati and the Pinacoteca civica
Begun in 1550 for Count Girolamo Chiericati on what was then Piazza dell'Isola, now Piazza Matteotti, it was completed only towards the end of the seventeenth century. The façade of two superimposed loggias, Doric below and Ionic above, opens the palazzo to the square like a public building. Since 1855 it has housed the Museo Civico and today the Pinacoteca, with works by Venetian masters from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century.
Loggia del Capitaniato
Built in 1571 as the residence of the Venetian captain on Piazza dei Signori, and left unfinished. The giant half-columns and stucco decoration celebrate the victory of Lepanto: this is the mature Palladio, more sculptural and theatrical, a few steps from the measured loggias of the Basilica.
Palazzo Chiericati, a palazzo facing the square
Palladio raised the building on a high base to protect it from the flooding of the nearby rivers and conceived it almost as a loggia open to the square. Inside, the Pinacoteca lets you combine architecture and painting in a single visit.
The Palladio Museum: understanding the method
In the rooms of Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, wooden models and drawings show how Palladio designed: proportions, symmetries, relationships between rooms. It is the ideal stop for anyone who wants to go home with the tools to "read" any classical architecture.
Palazzo Thiene and the birth of a style
The dialogue with Giulio Romano, a pupil of Raphael, brought the lessons of Renaissance Rome to Vicenza. The rustication and courtyards of Palazzo Thiene are the starting point of a journey that would culminate in the villas and the Teatro Olimpico.
Before you book
What's included and good to know
Included
- Private visit with a licensed tour guide (National Register no. 05000058)
- A route built around your interests
- Help with booking admissions and visits by appointment
Good to know
- Tickets for the Palladio Museum and the Pinacoteca at Palazzo Chiericati are not included in the guide's fee.
- Palazzo Thiene, Palazzo Valmarana Braga and Palazzo Porto are privately owned or have limited opening: their interiors can be visited only when there are openings by booking or events.
- We always check opening days when you enquire.
- A personalised, transparent quote before you confirm.
Who it's for
Who the palazzi tour is designed for
Returning visitors
Already seen the Teatro Olimpico and the Basilica? Here we go into detail.
Architects and students
A direct comparison of the phases of Palladio's career, a few steps apart.
Painting lovers
The Pinacoteca at Palazzo Chiericati adds the great Venetian masters to the route.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about Vicenza's Palladian palazzi
How many Palladio palazzi are there in Vicenza?
The historic centre has several residences designed by or attributed to Palladio, as well as the Basilica, the Loggia del Capitaniato and the Teatro Olimpico. On the tour we see six of the most significant, chosen to tell the story of how his style evolved.
Can you go inside all the palazzi?
No. Palazzo Chiericati (Pinacoteca) and Palazzo Barbaran da Porto (Palladio Museum) are museums open with a ticket. Other palazzi are private or open only on limited dates: we see them from the outside or, when possible, by booking.
What can you see at the Palladio Museum?
Architectural models, drawings, reconstructions and multimedia material on the work of Andrea Palladio, in the rooms of Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, the only large town palazzo the architect completed in full.
What is at Palazzo Chiericati?
Vicenza's civic art gallery, the Pinacoteca civica, with paintings by Venetian artists and works from different periods. The palazzo itself, with its façade of superimposed loggias, is one of Palladio's masterpieces.
Can this tour be combined with the historic centre visit?
Yes. With a full day you can combine the guided walking tour of the historic centre in the morning with the palazzi and a museum in the afternoon, avoiding repetition.
Gallery
Images from the tour
Booking request
Book this tour
Choose a date and the number of guests: you will receive a summary by email straight away, and Daniela will reply personally with availability and a written quote. The request is not yet a confirmed booking.
Keep exploring
Related tours
To complete your Palladian journey: the Basilica Palladiana and Piazza dei Signori, the Teatro Olimpico and all our guided tours of Vicenza.
Villas and Tiepolo
La Rotonda and Villa Valmarana ai Nani
Palladio's most famous villa and the Tiepolo frescoes, linked by a green walk on the edge of the city.
Discover the tour
UNESCO heritage
Palladio's villas in the Veneto
Villa Godi Malinverni, Villa Caldogno, Villa Emo and Villa Barbaro at Maser: the Venetian villa between farming, architecture and frescoes.
Discover the tourPrivate visit
Palladio's palazzi with Daniela
Tell us your dates, interests and number of people: we will check opening days and send you a route with a clear quote.
