Basilica Palladiana is a palace in Vicenza, overlooking Piazza dei Signori, inextricably linked to the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The architect redesigned the Gothic Palazzo della Ragione by adding the loggias with the famous white marble serliane. A serliana, also known as a Palladian window, is an architectural motif popularized by Andrea Palladio, which consists of a window with three openings, the central one arched and wider than the lateral rectangular ones. Once the seat of the public magistrates of Vicenza, the Palladian Basilica is today equipped with three independent spaces, used to host architecture and art exhibitions. The building was included in 1994 in the UNESCO World Heritage Site City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto. SHORT HISTORY Palazzo della Ragione was built around the middle of the 15th century according to a project by Domenico da Venezia, incorporating two pre-existing public buildings. The Gothic facade of the palace was made of diamond-shaped red and yellow Verona marble, still visible behind the loggias. The building was the seat of the public magistrates of Vicenza and, on the ground floor, it housed a shop gallery. Adjacent to the building is the Bissara Tower, 82 meters in Read more [...]
Tag: Tommaso Formenton in Vicenza
Palazzo Angaran
Palazzo Angaran, also known as Palazzo Magrè Angaran, is a Renaissance-style palace in Vicenza, located in Piazza XX Settembre, in front of Ponte degli Angeli. SHORT HISTORY The palace was built around 1480 at the behest of Battista Magrè, on a piece of land belonging to the family, probably by the Vicentine architect Tommaso Formenton. In 1552, the palace was bought by Giacomo Angaran, a friend of Andrea Palladio, who asked the architect to prepare a sumptuous invention to replace the existing building. Palladio designed the project, but it was never realized. The last owner, Ottavio Angaran Porto, ceded the property to the Municipality of Vicenza, which allowed the building to deteriorate. In 1899, a few years after the disastrous flood of 1882, to avoid further damages caused by the frequent flooding of the nearby Bacchiglione River, the street level around the building was raised, almost completely burying the portico. In the second decade of the 20th century, the building was so badly deteriorated, that the Municipality of Vicenza considered demolishing it. Starting from 1921, however, the restoration began. The palace was dismantled piece by piece and rebuilt to a higher level, replacing only the dilapidated moldings and the Read more [...]