Vicenza in Veneto
Wednesday, 6 October 2021 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische UnionCategory/Kategorie: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time: 4 minutes Vicenza is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Venice and 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Milan.
Vicenza is a thriving and cosmopolitan city, with a rich history and culture, and many museums, art galleries, piazzas, villas, churches and elegant Renaissance palazzi. With the Palladian Villas of the Veneto in the surrounding area, and his renowned Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theater), the “city of Palladio” has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.
In December 2008, Vicenza had an estimated population of 115,927 and a metropolitan area of 270,000. Vicenza is the third-largest Italian industrial centre as measured by the value of its exports, and is one of the country’s wealthiest cities, in large part due to its textile and steel industries, which employ tens of thousands. Additionally, about one fifth of the country’s gold and jewelry is made in Vicenza, greatly contributing to the city’s economy. Another important sector is the engineering/computer components industry (Federico Faggin, the microprocessor‘s co-inventor, was born in Vicenza).
- Villa Almerico Capra (also known as “La Rotonda”), located just outside the downtown area
- Basilica Palladiana, centrally located in Vicenza’s Piazza dei Signori, of which Palladio himself said that “it might stand comparison with any similar work of antiquity”
- Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theater), designed for the Accademia Olimpica (Olympic Academy) and begun to be built in 1580, when Palladio died. The wooden scenes are by Vincenzo Scamozzi.
- Palazzo Chiericati, home of the city pinacotheca
- Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, home of the Museo Palladio
- Palazzo del Capitaniato, home of the city council
- Palazzo Porto
- Palazzo Porto in Piazza Castello (incomplete)
- Palazzo Thiene Bonin Longare (built by Vincenzo Scamozzi)
- Palazzo Thiene
- Villa Gazzotti Grimani, in the frazione Bertesina
The surrounding country is predominantly agricultural. Major products are wine, wheat, corn, olive oil (in the Barbarano area) and cherries and asparagus are a particularity of Bassano. There are also quarries of marble, sulphur, copper, and silver mines, and beds of lignite and kaolin; mineral springs also abound, the most famous being those of Recoaro. Massive industrial areas surround the city and extend extensively in the western and eastern hinterland, with numerous steel and textile factories located in the Montecchio Maggiore, Chiampo and Sovizzo area in the west and Camisano Vicentino and Torri di Quartesolo in the east, areas characterised by a disorganised and extensive cementifaction. Elitè sectors are the jewelry and clothing factories. Important vicentino clothing firms include: Diesel, Pal Zileri, Marzotto, Bottega Veneta, Marlboro Classics etc. The Gold Exposition is world-famous and it takes place in Vicenza twice a year (January and September). Other industries worthy of mention are the woollen and silk, pottery, tanneries, and musical instruments. The headquarters of the bicycle component manufacturer Campagnolo and the protective wear for sports manufacturer Dainese are located here.
Read more on Vicenza, Wikivoyage Vicenza and Wikipedia Vicenza (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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