At one end of the street is the Piazza Matteoti where you will find the Teatro Olympico, the Museo Civico in the Palazzo Chiericati and the tourist information office. You can see both the major sites in the piazza on a 7 euro combination ticket. The Teatro is a Palladian masterwork. You really must see it. . . a wooden and plaster theatre filled with classical statuary and columns. Its triumph is also the stage as an exercise in perspective. It really defies description. One must enter and then sit down and gape like a fool at the fact that this exists at all.

The Museo Civico gives you two things: a palazzo in which ceilings and murals are still intact in some of the rooms and an extensive collection of artwork. There are the usual religious works but there is also a fair amount of 16-18th century art with classical and pastoral themes.

The Corso Palladio is a pedestrian way. You need only walk a block deep on each side to see a number of Palladio’s masterpieces. In the large Piazza Biade/Erbe/Signori, a city showcase, you will find the Basilica Palladiana and the Loggia del Capitanito. A little further down the street is the duomo in the piazza Duomo.

On the other side of the Corso Palladio, you can see the Palazzo Leoni Montanari which houses exhibitions and the Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, where for 5 euros you can see and architectural display of Palladio’s work.

As I say, take a chance, a walk down and street will reveal examples of Palladio’s work or the work of his contemporaries. The Corso Palladio appears to be the focal point of Vicenza. Its shops don’t sell trinkets for tourists; they sell designer clothes and high-end things. It is interesting. . . but it won’t take a long, long time.

Start at the medieval Scaligeri fortress of Castelvecchio. The sphere of influence of this warring clan extended far into the Veneto and Lombardia, and one can still find fairy-tale perfect castles, with the classic fish-tail battlements in Malcesine, Sirmione and Soave. But this castle is unique for its beautiful bridge, which arcs over the Adige. Never mind that it was built by the Scaligeri warlords as a last-ditch retreat for them. Today the Veronese love it, and they dredged the river to rebuilt it after WWII, when the retreating Nazis blew it up.

After walking over the bridge, you go along Lungadige Campagola, admiring the views of the city across the river. You can walk either on the sidewalk by the street or, if the water level is low, go down along the path on the banks of the river. You will pass by Ponte Victoria and Ponte Garibaldi. After this, the walk becomes pedestrian-only, as we go by San Giorio in Braida, one of the few Renaissance Rotunda churches of Verona.

You end up at Ponte di Pietra, the white part of which remains from Roman times. From here we return to the Citta Antica to walk along Via Ponte di Pietra to Piazza Bra Molinari. This little piazzetta offers benches with marvelous views of the hill with the Teatro Romano, Museo Archeologico, and Castel S. Pietro. Relax and enjoy the views.