The Palazzo Chiericati is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

palace in

Vicenza 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 west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

(northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

), designed by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of ...

History

Palladio was asked to design and build the palazzo by Count Girolamo Chiericati. The architect started building the palace in 1550, and some further work was completed under the patronage of Chiericati's son, Valerio. However, the palazzo was not fully finished until about 1680, possibly by Carlo Borella. Palladio also designed a country home, the Villa Chiericati, for the family. The palazzo was built in an area called "piazza dell'Isola" (island square, currently Piazza Matteotti), which housed the wood and cattle market. At that time, it was an islet surrounded by the Retrone and Bacchiglione streams, and to protect the structure from the frequent floods, Palladio designed it on an elevated position: the entrance could be accessed by a triple Classic-style staircase.

Architecture

The palazzo's principal façade is composed of three bays, the central bay projecting slightly. The two end bays have logge on the piano nobile level, while the central bay is closed. The façade has two

superposed order Superposed order (also superimposed) is one where successive storeys of a building have different orders. The most famous ancient example of such an order is the Colosseum at Rome, which had no less than four storeys of superposed orders. The sup ...

s of columns, Doric on the lower level with Ionic above. The roof line is decorated by statuary. File:Palazzo Chiericati pianta Bertotti Scamozzi 1776.jpg, Floor plan (drawing by Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi, 1776) File:Palazzo Chiericati sezione Bertotti Scamozzi 1776.jpg, Cross section (Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi, 1776)

Conservation

Since 1855 the building has housed the Museo Civico ('City Museum') and, more recently, the city's art gallery. It has received international protection since 1994, along with the other Palladian buildings of Vicenza, as part of a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. (The site originally designated was "Vicenza, City of Palladio" which included the city of Vicenza and its immediate surroundings. In 1996,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

expanded the World Heritage Site to include villas outside the core area and renamed it " City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto").

Gallery

File:Vicenza, Palazzo Chiericati.jpg, The double loggia. File:Beelden daklijst palazzo Chiercati.jpg, Detail of the roofline File:Palazzo Chiericati (Vicenza) by night.jpg, By night File:Villa Chiericati ceiling beams 2.jpg, Painted ceiling in the open

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

File:Palazzo Chiericati Vicenza vestibule ceiling.jpg, Ceiling panel in the vestibule File:Palazzo Chiericati cherub ceiling 3.jpg File:Palazzo Chiericati ceiling 2.jpg, Ceiling fresco paintings and ornamental stucco File:Onamental ceiling Palazzo Chiericati Vicenza.jpg, Intricate ceiling coffers and frescos File:Palazzo Chiericati ceiling 3.jpg

External links

* www.museicivicivicenza.it
Great buildings online
retrieved 18.VIII.06
Palazzo Chiericati – Vicenza – (1550)
Description, photographs and location map {{Authority control Houses completed in 1680 Chiericati Andrea Palladio buildings World Heritage Sites in Italy 1680 establishments in Italy Museums in Vicenza