Day 1 – To Vicenza: Fly from London
Gatwick to Verona with British Airways.
Arrive and transfer to Vicenza for a 3-night
stay at the Hotel Campo Marzio. Afternoon
walking tour to see Palladio’s major works in
his adoptive city of Vicenza. See the Teatro
Olimpico, the oldest and first enclosed theatre
in the world, the 16th-century Chiericati
Palace, built in Renaissance style, and the
Palladio Museum in the Barbaran da Porto
Palace. Evening welcome dinner. (B, D)
Day 2 – Veneto: Full-day tour to see three of
Palladio’s greatest villas for Venetian nobles.
Drive to the Villa Cornaro at Piombino Dese,
which was to become a blueprint for villas all
over the world after Palladio illustrated it in
his masterwork, The Four Books on Architecture. Continue to Dolo for an afternoon river cruise
on the Brenta river where you will make stops
at two more villas, the exquisite 18th-century
Villa Windman and Palladio’s imposing Villa
Malcontenta. (B)
Day 3 – Veneto: Today, take a short drive into
the Venetian countryside to visit the Villa
Rotunda. The best known and most unusual of
his works, drawing a heavy inspiration from the
Pantheon in Rome, Palladio placed this lavish
building among his town houses rather than
his villas in the Four Books. Continue to Villa
Barbaro in Maser. With its unsurpassed frescoes
by Paolo Veronese, it was designed by Palladio
for Cardinal Daniele and Marcantonio Barbaro,
of whom the former was ambassador to Queen
Elizabeth I in the mid-16th century. This
afternoon, visit Villa Emo, the most complete
of Palladio’s agricultural villas, with its Greekstyle facade and splendid frescoes by Zelotti. Farewell dinner at a local restaurant. (B, D)
Day 4 – To London: This morning, visit
the Villa Godi, Palladio’s first commission,
which also features extensive gardens and an
archaeological museum. Enjoy lunch here
before a mid afternoon transfer to Verona
airport for a return flight to London Gatwick
with British Airways. (B, L)
Accessibility: Coaches cannot always drive
to the front of the villas and therefore some
10-15 minute walks may be involved from the
coach park.
Meal Basis: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner, (N) = No Meals
