Loggia Valmarana

Loggia Valmarana is a Palladian-style loggia in Vicenza, located on the northeastern corner of the Salvi Gardens (Giardini Salvi), opposite the main entrance from Viale Roma.

Since 1994, together with the other Palladian buildings in Vicenza, Loggia Valmarana is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto.

SHORT HISTORY

The land adjacent to the walls of Piazza Castello was acquired in the 16th century by the Valmarana family, and Giacomo Valmarana himself designed the arrangement of the garden, around the middle of the 16th century.

The gardens were inaugurated in 1592 by Leonardo Valmarana, but soon were closed and reopened to the public only in 1909.

Inside the gardens, there are two Palladian-style loggias: one from the 17th century, with three arches, known as Loggia Longhena, on the western side of the park, and the second, built at the end of the 16th century, known as Loggia Valmarana, structured as a hexastyle temple.

Loggia Valmarana was probably built in 1591 by a pupil of Andrea Palladio, and not by Palladio itself, as it was once thought.

ARCHITECTURE

Loggia Valmarana rises above the waters of the Seriola Canal, at the point where the watercourse, coming from the west, turns towards the south.

The loggia has a hexastyle facade with six Doric columns which rests on arches supported by sturdy pillars emerging from the water. The facade is crowned by a triangular pediment, placed above the three central sections.

On the back side, the loggia has three rooms joined to the remains of the Scaliger walls. The western facade of the loggia has a tympanum on top and opens onto the garden through an arched portal.

HOW TO GET THERE

Loggia Valmarana is located about 650 meters away from the Vicenza railway station. The closest bus stop is Contra’ Cantarane 34, located about 100 meters away, on the bus Line 20. Another bus stop nearby is in Piazza Castello 1, on the bus Lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 17.