Vicenza is located at the foot of the Berici mountains, at the confluence of the Retrone and the Bacchiglione rivers on a flat fertile part of the upper Venetian plain.
The town dates back to Roman times. After the Barbarian invasions, it came under the Lombards and Franks. Subsequently (11th-12th century) it became a free municipality forming part of the Verona League and the Lombard League against Barbarossa. In the 13th and 14th centuries it came under various rulers: first Ezzelino da Romano, then the Carraresi, Scaligeri and Visconti until in 1404, it was conquered by Venice, sharing its fortunes until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797. Following the Napoleonic period and Austrian rule it was united with the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.
Many of the sights date from the 16th century, the town's age of splendour. The main sights include The Basilica Palladiana, considered Palladio's masterpiece, the Loggia del Capitanio, Monte di Pietà, Palazzo Chiericati, the Teatro Olimpico Palladio's last work, as well as several monumental buildings such as the Porto Fontana, Porto-Breganze, Casarotti, Da Schio and the Casa del Palladio.
The Duomo dates form the 14th century. It's a beautiful example of Gothic-Renaissance with a polyptych by Veneziano. The Basilica di Monte Berico is from the 17th-early 18th century and has paintings by Veronese.
