EstatePiù! is also a synonym for culture and discovering our territory. This time we went to the city of the famous architect Palladio, Vicenza, where most of his masterpieces were built. It’s also thanks to Andrea Palladio’s work that Vicenza was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We left from the Campings with the bus and we reached our first stop, the Olympic Theater, the oldest masonry theater in the world. The building, installed in 1585, represents the highest expression of the famous Renaissance architect. As soon as you enter, you feel like being in front of the facade of a palace, not inside of a theater. The place gave an impression of greatness, but it was also harmonious and very simple.

This theater is undoubtedly a majestic work with classical finishings that made me feel breathless. The bleachers that enclose the beautiful stage set are perfect in their lack of decoration.

We left the beautiful Olympic Theater to continue with our trip, heading to the Basilica Palladiana, that we reached through Corso Palladio.

We immediately climbed to the first terrace, from which we enjoyed the breathtaking view on Piazza dei Signori. The colonnade that embraces this piazza is astounding, but we couldn’t wait to climb to the observation deck. The panorama was incredible: the rooftops of Vicenza and Monte Berico were simply marvelous to admire. We almost felt like we could touch the bell tower with our hands!

For photography lovers, this place is definitely a can’t-miss, with either good or cloudy weather – as it was that day.

Before we decided to continue to Villa Valmarana ai Nani, we stopped at the “Antica Osteria Penacio” on the Berici Hills, where we had a pleasant and cheerful lunch with all the guests from Camping Village Dei Fiori and Camping Village Mediterraneo. As soon as we entered the restaurant, in a room with big windows we found a huge table set for us. There we tasted some delicious dishes, we toasted with some good wine and we had hazelnut ice cream with fresh-baked biscuits.

Satisfied with our meal, we stepped on the bus heading to Monte Berico; a guided tour in Villa Valmarana was waiting for us.

To reach the Villa we had a pleasant short walk through various houses and villas. Luckily the weather was still decent: it was not raining yet.

As soon as we reached the Villa what stroke me the most was its beautiful garden, which made the building look even more elegant. We walked through it, we climbed the stairs and we reached the front door, then we entered and we started visiting the various rooms. In this beautiful Villa it’s possible to admire various Tiepolos’ paintings, considered some of their greatest works.

The Valmarana family owns two different palaces that we visited: the Palazzina and the Foresterie, both frescoed inside.

When we finished our tour it was already 6pm, so we went down Monte Berico to reach our bus.

We started our ride home towards the Campings with the sound of the rain, after a very intense day, that enabled us to discover a lot of things with all the Campings’ guests.