Palladio's Basilica

Palladio's Basilica is fascinating in its lines, its play of light and shade. The double row of white Piovene-stone loggias is beautiful in its elegance and solemnity: the structure seems to ascend endlessly, the alternation of light and shade seduces the eye. The first core of the palace called "della Ragione" was built in the mid-15th century by joining two older buildings: the "Palatium Vetus" and the "Palatium Communis".
At the end of the century it was decided to give the building a new facade and to create covered spaces for the markets that stood around it. The architect Tommaso Formenton designed loggias around the building. These were built and gave the palazzo a new appearance, similar to the palazzo of the same name in Padua. But their construction was faulty, and only two years after completion they collapsed, creating a problem of reconstruction. There was no rapid solution, even though great artists like Sebastiano Serlio, Michele Sanmicheli and Giulio Romano were called in. Fifty years were to pass before they finally chose the design of one Andrea della Gondola, later known as Palladio. He designed the loggias with a series of identical architectural modules: the Serlian window.
UNESCO Monument

Source: taken from "Vicenza, City of Palladio", Vicenza City Council, Cultural and Tourist Council Department

Address: Piazza dei Signori