The Palladian Basilica, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1994, is the symbol of the city of Vicenza.
The beating heart of Vicenza's political and economic activity, in medieval times the Palazzo della Ragione was a Gothic building, characterized by a huge hall on the upper floor and animated on the ground floor by an active group of shops.
Following the collapse of the fifteenth-century loggias designed by Tommaso Formenton, in the sixteenth century the City Council found itself discussing the renovation of the building: the great names of the architecture of the time were involved, from Giulio Romano to Sebastiano Serlio, from Jacopo Sansovino to Michele Sanmicheli.
Despite such illustrious opinions, in March 1546 the Council approved the project of a local architect of just thirty-eight, then decidedly little known: Andrea Palladio.
He proposed an "elastic" structure, capable of taking into account the necessary alignments with the openings and passages of the pre-existing fifteenth-century building.
The system was based on the use of the so-called serliana, a structure consisting of a constant-light arch flanked by two rectangular openings, of variable width and therefore capable of absorbing the differences in the width of the spans.
For Palladio's career the construction of the loggias was a definitive turning point.
With this he officially became the architect of the city of Vicenza, author of a grandiose building without equal in the sixteenth century in Veneto.
The work is so representative of the architect's genius that it is known as the Palladian Basilica, which still today presents itself as an ideal place for meeting and culture, an evocative museum venue for hosting exhibitions and events.
Palladian Basilica
Address: Piazza Dei Signori, 36100
Phone: 0444 222811
Site:
http://basilicapalladiana.vicenza.com/Location inserted by
Marco Maragno