Art and culture
Surprising culture, from the plains to an altitude of one thousand metres
Vicenza is the cultural heart of the province. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994, the city is home to the Teatro Olimpico—the world’s first covered theater—the Basilica Palladiana, and a concentration of Renaissance palaces unique in Italy. Palladian villas radiate from the city center toward the countryside, dotting the Berici Hills and Pedemontana with masterpieces of civil architecture.
Marostica preserves its medieval city walls intact and every two years transforms the central square into a living chessboard with the historic Chess Game. Bassano del Grappa is home to the Civic Museum, featuring works by Jacopo Bassano and an internationally renowned ceramics collection, as well as the famous Ponte degli Alpini bridge over the Brenta River.
On the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni, the Cimbrian culture—a minority of Germanic origin who settled in the Middle Ages—survives in local museums and in some communities. The Asiago Astrophysical Observatory, founded in 1942 by the National Institute for Astrophysics, is one of Italy’s leading astronomical research centers and is open to the public.
