The 5 Best History Museums in Vicenza, Veneto

The Palazzo Chiericati has been the historic home of the Civic Museum since 1855 and now houses the city's collections of paintings, sculptures and applied arts from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries. A masterpiece of Palladio's early maturity (1550), the building not only has decorations from that period but also holds important documents on Vicenza's art history. The Museum of Palazzo Chiericati reopened the Palladian wing on December 2013, after the restoration works. On the main floor, the visitor can enjoy the works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, contemporary to the construction of the building. The attic hosts the Bequest of Marquis Giuseppe Roi: his personal collection of paintings, drawings and engravings from the fifteenth to the twentieth century, set in a charming display of house-museum. On the ground floor the visitor can admire, in a temporary exhibition, a selection of masterpieces of the collection not currently on display: Paolo Veneziano, Memling, Montagna, Fogolino, Sansovino, Tintoretto, Maffei and Pittoni. In the basement are located the works donated to the museum by the sculptor Nereo Quagliato.

Magnificent example of 14th century Gothic architecture in the heart of Vicenza. Palazzo da Schio, the Ca' d'Oro, is home to the important archaeological collection of Giovanni da Schio (1798-1868). Guided tours, hospitality, tastings, events, photo sets, gift shop.

Villa Fracanzan Piovene is a magnificent 18th century villa with a large italian garden. The villas pristine rooms share the vibrant lifestyle of the past centuries. The kitchen is host to a renowned collection of copper pots and utencils but it is most famous for the 16th century sink designed in red Verona marble. Designed by the Veronese architect, Farinati, legend has it that the sink narrowly missed being part of the Louvre for Napoleon. In the prestigious barn of the Barchessa visitors can see the rare collection of early agricultural engines and tractors. A stroll in the “giardino all’italiana” is not to be missed with its long avenues and lush park surrounding the villa.

The Risorgimento and Resistance Museum is closely linked to the traditions, culture and moral life of the city and province. The material held and the location of the museum itself explain why it contains memories of important Italian events and people that were at the centre of the city’s history. The Ambellicopoli hill, the site of the museum’s Villa Guiccioli premises, was where the heroic resistance of 1848 took place. The people of Vicenza defended the city from here with volunteers from various other parts of the peninsula. The collections held by the museum are extremely varied and interesting; even a short list can help give an idea of this wealth. The main nucleus of the documentation consists of printed publications, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, portraits, pictures, prints, diaries, announcements, proclamations, decrees, private deeds, coins, medals, decorations, civil and military maps, firearms, bayonets, swords, flags and various kinds of military object. It is not difficult to identify a common historical thread in such materials. The documents and mementoes in the collections provide interesting evidence of historic local, national and in some cases European events from the time of Napoleon’s first Italian campaign in 1796 to the end of the Second World War and the fight for liberation (1945). This one and a half century period transformed the political, social, economic and moral nature of Italy and Europe several times.