The fifth day of our trip to northern Italy landed us in the town of Vicenza. The town is dominated by the works of Andrea Palladio. Perhaps the most notable being Villa Capra. Palladio is well known and respected due to his contributions to High Renaissance Architecture. His knowledge and strict use of proportioning is evident in most all his projects. He is an extremely influential figure in architecture and influenced many of today's best architects. We also visited got to visit his Teatro Olimpico where we were fortunate enough to enjoy a light show with some music (very cool).
The following day we boarded a train and headed west to the town of Verona. We made a quick visit to the Arena di Verona before heading out to see the works of Italian born Carlo Scarpa. The first was his project for the Banca Popolare di Verona. We then spent the rest of the afternoon at the Castel Vecchio where we sketched our favorite "Scarpesian" details. The building is a medieval castle turned art museum by Scarpa. It is intriguing to see how he implanted his architecture around an existing structure while still being very respectful of the existing structure.
The last (and in my opinion) most beautiful stop on our Northern Italy trip took us to the city of Venice (Venezia). Upon leaving the train station we were greeted by the grand canal as well as a light rain leaving a very eerie but potent image of this amazing city. As we snaked our way up and over canals and through extremely narrow alleys we finally arrived at our hotel. The next morning we started the day by taking the "aqua metro" to the Doge's Palace and the Basilica San Marco on the other side of the city. We later went to check out another Scarpa project right off of Piazza San Marco. Perhaps the most intriguing element of the building was the mini-reflection pool and "shifting" staircase. The final day we went to see two of Palladios churches in Venice, San Giorgio Maggiore, and Il Redentore. We also saw another Scarpa project, Fondazione Querini Stampalia. There was exquisite detailing everywhere, notably in an outdoor courtyard. The perfect end to a perfect trip.
Nicholas Darin and Chris Derks
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