JUNE FUN

Per usual, I am trying to catch up on all of our adventures. About 3 weeks ago we spent a weekend actually in Italy. We had no plans and nothing important to accomplish, so we decided to hang around town and to load up our traveling pup and head to Asiago.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed with Asiago. Maybe we hit it at a bad time [as I hear it is more of a winter destination] but the area was empty. It looks as though it is a winter ski town with extremely noticeable Austrian influence. I have also read that they have a professional ice hockey team, so maybe PJ can find a pickup league there. Besides a few things it was a successful trip seeing as we had a delicious cheese platter with our lunch. We will definitely head back there this wintertime. [update – I have asked some locals and they have confirmed that it is more of a winter destination!]

We have also been fortunate enough to run into some great free events around town, one of them being 'Concerts in the Villas'. PJ and I were heading out for the night and heard some music being played in the Palazzo Barbaran da Porto. “Vicenza Brass” was playing and we were able to sit by the singular tree in the courtyard as the sun was setting and the candles flickered.

We also decided that it was about time we checked out the Basilica Palladiana located within Piazza dei Signori. We haven’t gone into the actual museum yet, but they were letting people walk along the loggias for free, so that is where we headed. The original Basilica was built in the 15^th century and was of Gothic design. After it collapsed in the late 1400’s, Palladio won the task of a new design after a public competition. His design incorporated Doric columns on the lower portion and Ionic along the upper loggia. Each bay of the loggia has an arch with 2 lintels that is supported by 2 columns. This is interesting because the bays are not all equal in dimension, so Palladio kept the arch the same dimension, while varying the rectangular openings on either side of the arch, thus giving a more consistent illusion. The copper inverted hull-like roof is also a distinguishable characteristic of the Basilica, which was completed in 1617, 30+ years after Palladio's death.

The Tower of Bissari is located next to the Basilica and stands tall at 82 meters.