Palazzo Chiericati

The façade of Palazzo Chiericati, in Vicenza.

Palazzo Chiericati is a Renaissance palace in Vicenza (northern Italy), designed by Andrea Palladio.

History

The Palazzo was commissioned to Palladio by Count Girolamo Chiericati. The architect started building the architecture in 1550, some further work was completed under the patronage of Chiericati's son and heir Valerio. However, the palazzo was not finally completed until about 1680, possibly by Carlo Borella. Palladio also designed a country home, the Villa Chiericati, for the family.

The palace was built in an area called piazza dell'Isola ("island square", currently Piazza Matteotti), which housed the wood and cattle market. In that period 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.

Architectural details

The palace'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 superimposed orders of columns, Doric on the lower level with Ionic above. The roofline is decorated by statuary.

Conservation

Since 1855 it has been the Museo Civico ("Town 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. (The site originally designated was "Vicenza, City of Palladio" which included the city of Vicenza and its immediate surroundings. In 1996 UNESCO 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").

External links

• Great buildings online retrieved 18.VIII.06
• Palazzo Chiericati – Vicenza – (1550) Description, photographs and location map Template:It icon Template:En icon

Gallery

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  Detail of the roofline
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  Painted ceiling in the open loggia
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  Ceiling panel in the vestibule
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  Drawing: Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi
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  Ceiling fresco paintings and ornamental stucco
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  Intricate ceiling coffers and frescos
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