Palazzo del Capitaniato, Vicenza, Italy

The palazzo del Capitaniato was designed by Andrea Palladio in 1565 and built between 1571 and 1572. The palazzo is currently used by the town council. It was decorated by Lorenzo Rubini and, in the interior, with frescoes by Giovanni Antonio Fasolo. Since 1994 the palace has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the 'City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto'.

The Palladian loggia replaced an analogous building which had stood on the same site from the Middle Ages, and which had already been reconstructed at least twice during the Cinquecento: a covered public loggia on the ground floor and an audience hall on the upper storey. The new construction became economically viable in April 1571 and works began immediately. Palladio supplied the last drawings for the moulding templates in March 1572 and by the end of that year the building would have been roofed, since Giannantonio Fasolo could paint the lacunars of the audience hall while Lorenzo Rubini could execute the stuccoes and statues.

While the upper hall displays a flat, coffered ceiling, the ground-floor loggia has a sophisticated vault covering, certainly to better sustain the weight of the hall. The overall design is extremely sophisticated, as witnessed for example by the portals which open within the niches and follow their curvature.

User Reviews

Gokhan Cndngl (3 years ago)
Beautiful Building

Ognian Dimitrov (6 years ago)
An interesting building designed by Paladio. Located on Piazza dei Signori. In the past, it was a palace, now the municipal offices are here.

Alessandro Zorzi (6 years ago)
Il palazzo del Capitaniato, noto anche come loggia del Capitaniato o loggia Bernarda, è un palazzo di Andrea Palladio che si affaccia sulla centrale Piazza dei Signori a Vicenza, di fronte alla Basilica Palladiana, attualmente sede del consiglio comunale cittadino. Fu decorato da Lorenzo Rubini, e all'interno i dipinti sono di Giovanni Antonio Fasolo. Il palazzo fu progettato nel 1565 e costruito dal 1571 al 1572. Dal 1994 è, con le altre architetture di Palladio a Vicenza, nella lista dei patrimoni dell'umanità dell'UNESCO. Nella catalogazione dei beni culturali, in Italia, questo palazzo è un'opera d'arte che viene catalogata nei tipi di beni immobili, architettura di tipo A.

DAVID SNYDER (7 years ago)
Outstanding.

D S (7 years ago)
Must see in Vicenza

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Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

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There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

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