Vicenza - Two Villas and a Walk with a View

Today we visited two villas just outside Vicenza. The first was La Rotonda, the original and most famous of the villas designed by Andrea Palladio, reflecting his love of symmetry and classical design. The villa was started in 1550, and its style has been copied in many places around the world. Thomas Jefferson borrowed the design for his summer home at Monticello. It is only possible to go inside the villa on Wednesdays and Saturdays so we were lucky to spend some time examining its beautiful interior today. There is a central dome patterned after the Pantheon in Rome and covered with beautiful frescoes in rich colours. Photos are forbidden inside but we took quite a few shots of the exterior. We had taken a taxi to La Rotonda which was a good thing as I am sure we would still be looking for it. However, we walked for the rest of our excursion and left La Rotonda along a stone path to Villa Valmarana ai Nani. It is less formal than La Rotonda, but very elegant in its own way with lovely grounds and views over the countryside. We ate lunch there at their little cafe on a quiet terrace under the shade of a tree, surrounded by Tuscan-like landscape.  From this villa, we followed a cobbled road which eventually led to a regular street leading up the hill to the Basilica di Monte Berico. From this church there is a panoramic view over Vicenza. Near the church was a lovely statue dedicated to motherhood. We descended from Monte Berico via a long arcaded walk which came out on the street leading to the train station. From the train station, it was an easy walk back to our hotel. Another wonderful day under sunny, warm Veneto skies!