Veneto · Vicenza
Vicenza
Andrea Palladio's home city, a UNESCO-inscribed open-air museum of the architect who reshaped Western architecture, with 23 Palladian buildings inside the centro and the Villa Rotonda just outside it.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Vicenza is on our list
It holds UNESCO.
Subscribe and you get Vicenza's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 35 min from Padua
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 110,468
- J8°
- F11°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O20°
- N13°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Vicenza is the city that made Palladio and that Palladio made. Andrea della Gondola, better known as Palladio, was a stonemason's apprentice in Vicenza in the 1520s, was renamed by his patron Trissino after the Greek goddess Pallas Athena, and spent the next 50 years building villas, palazzi and churches for the local Venetian-territory aristocracy. The result: a 16th-century city of unprecedented architectural coherence, UNESCO-inscribed in 1994 as 'The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto'.
The greatest hits cluster inside the walls: the Basilica Palladiana on Piazza dei Signori (his first major commission, 1549; a Gothic medieval town hall wrapped in a white loggia of perfectly proportioned arches), Palazzo Chiericati (now the Pinacoteca), Loggia del Capitaniato, Palazzo Thiene, and the Teatro Olimpico, his final building (1580–1585), the world's oldest surviving indoor theater, with a permanent trompe-l'œil stage set by Scamozzi depicting 'the seven streets of Thebes' in forced perspective. A 20-minute walk south of the centro: Villa La Rotonda (1567), the symmetrical perfect-square villa that every American state capitol and Monticello copied. Vicenza also has Venice's gold and silver: half the gold sold in Italy passes through here annually (it's Europe's largest gold-jewellery district), and Vicenzaoro is the world's biggest gold trade fair. Plus the Veneto kitchen: baccalà alla vicentina (salt cod with milk, anchovies and onions, served over polenta), bigoli with duck ragù, the local Lessini Durello sparkling wine, and Vicenza's own asparago bianco DOP in May.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 1 h 1 min by car.
Treviso (TSF) is about 1 h 6 min away.
By car from the center of Padua 35 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Verona, Venice or Bologna?
Coming by train into Padova? Vicenza is about 34 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Verona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Basilica Palladiana + Piazza dei Signori
Palladio's 1549 wrap of perfect-proportioned white arches around the medieval Palazzo della Ragione: his first major commission, the building that made his name. The rooftop terrace is open and free.
Teatro Olimpico
Palladio's final work (1580–85) and the world's oldest surviving indoor theater. Scamozzi's permanent stage set shows 'the seven streets of Thebes' in trompe-l'œil forced perspective. They still perform here.
Villa Capra 'La Rotonda'
The perfectly symmetrical 1567 villa on a hilltop 2 km south: a square plan with four identical pedimented porticoes, copied by Jefferson at Monticello and every state capitol in America.
Corso Palladio
The straight 700m main street is lined with Palladio's palazzi: Chiericati, Thiene, Barbaran da Porto, Iseppo da Porto. Pinacoteca inside Chiericati.
Monte Berico + Villa Valmarana ai Nani
Climb the 192 portico-covered steps for the Veneto-plain view, then visit the 1669 sanctuary basilica and Tiepolo's frescoes at the nearby villa.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Matteo Grandi in BasilicaRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100) for Matteo Grandi in Basilica, and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
FuoriModena - Cucina km 200Trattoria
FuoriModena - Cucina km 200 carries two Gambero Rosso prawns.
La MeneghinaBistrot
One Gambero Rosso table, at La Meneghina.
1 more place the guides name in Vicenza
Osteria BertolianaRistorante
Osteria Bertoliana holds a Slow Food snail.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Vicenza is a city.
- A city of 110,468 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 110,468, down 1.8% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,400 to €2,050 per m² to buy, €7.40 to €10.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 79% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE), 58 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Venice, 52 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
16% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Serbia and Nigeria, against 9% across Italy. 432 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United States, France and Germany. There are 228 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 15% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Vicenza province ranks 18th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is a major emergency department in the comune. The nearest children's emergency room is in Padua, 30 km away. The nearest IB school is H-Farm International School Vicenza, 1 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.7% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Veneto spends about €2,310 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €490 a year for water, on the Veneto average. In Vicenza, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.37, a meal in a pizzeria €13.86 and a man's haircut €27.50.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 12% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 17% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
UNESCO PALLADIAN CITY
23 Palladian buildings inside the walls + the Villa Rotonda outside: the architect who shaped Western neoclassicism lived and worked here for most of his life.
WORLD'S OLDEST INDOOR THEATRE
Teatro Olimpico (1580–85), Palladio's final building, with Scamozzi's original trompe-l'œil stage set still in place.
EUROPE'S GOLD CAPITAL
Half of Italy's gold jewelry flows through Vicenza's goldsmith district. Vicenzaoro fair (Jan + Sep) is the world's biggest.
BACCALÀ ALLA VICENTINA
Salt cod, onions, anchovies, milk and white pepper over polenta: the city's totemic dish since the 15th century.
Common questions
- What is Vicenza known for?
- Andrea Palladio's home city, a UNESCO-inscribed open-air museum of the architect who reshaped Western architecture, with 23 Palladian buildings inside the centro and the Villa Rotonda just outside it.
- Where is Vicenza?
- Vicenza is a comune in the province of Vicenza, in Veneto, at 39 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Vicenza?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Venice Marco Polo (VCE), about 58 min by car.
- Can you get to Vicenza without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Padua to Vicenza?
- About 35 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Vicenza?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Vicenza?
- Padova, Trento and Mantova.
- How many people live in Vicenza?
- 110,468 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Vicenza a good place to live?
- Vicenza is a city of 110,468 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 79% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 39 m
- Population: 110,468
- Surface area: 80.57 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Vicenza appears in
- The best towns that eat well within an hour of PaduaNear Paduawithin 60 mineats well6 towns · smallest 8,911 residents · closest 3 min away
- The best towns that eat well within an hour of VeniceNear Venicewithin 60 mineats well6 towns · smallest 20,464 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best towns with a World Heritage site within 75 minutes of PaduaNear Paduawithin 75 minWorld Heritage6 towns · smallest 11,719 residents · closest 3 min away
- The best towns that cure their own meat within two hours of BresciaNear Bresciawithin 2 hourscured meat zone7 towns · smallest 244 residents · closest 66 min away
- The best towns that cure their own meat within two hours of PaduaNear Paduawithin 2 hourscured meat zone7 towns · smallest 669 residents · closest 35 min away
- The best towns that cure their own meat within two hours of VeronaNear Veronawithin 2 hourscured meat zone7 towns · smallest 669 residents · closest 46 min away
Featured on
Vicenza appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Vicenza
What all six share with Vicenza: over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Vicenza is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Vicenza comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 67 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.