Vicenza and Bassano del Grappa: Palladio and the Alpine Bridge
The Teatro Olimpico and Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza in the morning, Palladio's wooden bridge and grappa in Bassano in the afternoon.
Vicenza is the city of Andrea Palladio, the 16th-century architect who taught the world to build villas and palaces like ancient temples: the city and Palladian villas of the Veneto have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. In the morning you'll visit the Teatro Olimpico, the Basilica Palladiana and Corso Palladio. After lunch you head up towards the mountains to Bassano del Grappa, with its wooden bridge designed by Palladio over the River Brenta.
När åkaAll year round (the Teatro Olimpico is closed on Mondays)
Programmet från Castrocaro Terme
Avresa från Castrocaro Terme mot Vicenza2 h 30 körning, 216 km
Vicenza2 h 05 besök: The Teatro Olimpico, Corso Palladio, Piazza dei Signori and the Basilica Palladiana
Lunch i Vicenza1 h 00 besök: in the centre: baccalà alla vicentina with polenta, bigoli, risotto with white asparagus from Bassano in spring, Asiago cheese.
Kör vidare till Bassano del Grappa45 min körning, 46 km
Bassano del Grappa1 h 40 besök: The Ponte degli Alpini, The squares and grappa
Återresa till Castrocaro Terme2 h 55 körning, 256 km
Tillbaka i Castrocaro Terme
Tiderna är vägledande: körtider beräknas utan trafik, sedan kommer besöken och tio minuter vid varje stopp för parkering. På sommaren mot kusten och i rusningstid räkna med extra tid.
Vad du ser
1Vicenza
The Teatro Olimpico 45 min
This is Palladio's last work, which he designed in 1580, shortly before his death; Vincenzo Scamozzi completed it, and it was inaugurated in 1585 with Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. The tiered cavea imitates Roman theatres. Behind the stage the set is fixed, made of wood and stucco: seven streets of Thebes that seem endless but are only a few metres deep, a masterpiece of perspective. It's considered the oldest covered theatre in the world still in use.
Admission charge; closed on Mondays.
Corso Palladio, Piazza dei Signori and the Basilica Palladiana 45 min
Corso Palladio, the main street, is lined with noble palaces. You reach Piazza dei Signori, where the Basilica Palladiana stands: it's not a church, it was the Palazzo della Ragione, the law courts. In 1549 the young Palladio won the competition to clad it with white marble loggias, and that commission launched his fame. From the rooftop terrace you can see the whole city, as far as the sanctuary of Monte Berico.
The square is free; the terrace and exhibitions in the Basilica have an admission charge.
2Bassano del Grappa
The Ponte degli Alpini 30 min
The covered wooden bridge over the Brenta was designed by Palladio in 1569, replacing one destroyed by a flood. It has been rebuilt many times, always the same, after floods and wars: the last time it was blown up in 1945 and rebuilt with the help of the Alpini, which is why it now bears their name. Below flows the river, and towards the mountains you can see Monte Grappa.
Free.
The squares and grappa 40 min
Piazza Libertà and Piazza Garibaldi are the heart of the centre, with arcades and frescoed houses. Bassano is the city of grappa: at the head of the bridge is the Nardini grapperia, open since 1779, one of the oldest distilleries in Italy, where grappa is drunk at the bar. In the Chiesa di San Francesco and the Museo Civico there are works by the Da Ponte family, the city's dynasty of painters.
The squares are free; the Museo Civico has an admission charge.
Tips
The Teatro Olimpico is closed on Mondays: on that day another trip would be better.
If you have time you can stop at La Rotonda, Palladio's most famous villa, on the outskirts of Vicenza: you can see it from the road, the interiors are only open on certain days.
7 km from Bassano is Marostica, with its chessboard square where in even-numbered years, in September, a chess game is played with living pieces.
Samma tur från andra orter
Hur lång tid det tar från varje ort, med återresan inkluderad. Tryck på en ort för att se programmet därifrån.
Nästan alla gamla stadskärnor har miljözon (ZTL) med kameror: parkera utanför och gå in. Böterna kommer hem, även utomlands. ZTL och parkeringar stad för stad
Den här resan med chaufför
Romagna Transfer hämtar dig på hotellet, släpper av dig framför varje stopp och kör dig tillbaka: ingen parkering, ingen ZTL, och vinet kan du njuta av.
Resor skrivna av vår redaktion utifrån fakta från våra monumentsidor och officiella webbplatser. Öppettider och dagar ändras: notering under varje plats talar om vad du ska kolla innan du åker. Inga priser: du hittar dem på museernas webbplatser.
