Vicenza in May Day 2 - Loggia Valmarana, the cathedral, Santuario di monte Berico, Parco Querini

The weather forecast for Monday is good so we get out quite early to make the most of it. Although, like many cities in Italy everything a tourist might hope to see in the way of museums and monuments is firmly closed on Mondays. I’m not sure why. Do they hope tourists will go home after the weekend, or could they maybe leave something open to encourage them to stay longer?

It isn’t really a problem. We take our usual route towards the centre below the portici 

but turn right to reach Giardini Salvi where there is the Loggia Valmarana. It’s a small park with a few benches, several rather decadent statues, some enormous ‘monumental’ trees, a stream which runs below the Loggia and some rose bushes. A relaxing place in the heart of the city.

From there it’s just a few steps to the cathedral, Santa Maria Assunta, which is striking, apart from its sheer size in the piazza, for the Venetian Gothic façade with its cream and pink geometric pattern of squares, diamonds and crosses and, of course, its high apse topped by a copper-clad dome designed by Andrea Palladio.

Inside, the feeling of warmth and order and tranquility continues. Dating back to the 13th century on the site of a much earlier basilica, traces of remaining frescoes were lost during the bombings of 1944-45, but there are some nice paintings including the  Polyptych of the Dormitio Virginis by Lorenzo Veneziano (1366) and an altarpiece by Bartolomeo Montagna.

From the cathedral we follow the ‘urban hiking route’ number 91 in the direction of the Santuario di Monte Berico walking next to a pretty river with some fine views of old palazzi and bridges and trees and flowers but after the busy main road is crossed, we abandon the official route to walk up following the long line of porticoes which leads to the sanctuary.

The Basilica of Monte Berico overlooks Vicenza town from the foothills of the Colli Berici and rises on the spot where the Madonna is said to have appeared in 1462. The present church dates back to the end of the seventeenth century, hiding the fifteenth-century heart at the back. We had planned to spend some time looking at the paintings, but Mass is just about to start so we have a quick look round and then stop for a while. 

Before returning downhill in search of lunch we stop to enjoy the warm sun on Piazzale della Vittoria, where there is a stone balustrade, with indications of the most important elements of the panorama.

For lunch, after some indecision, we go to Righetti Self service just to the side and rear of the Duomo. It’s warm enough to sit outside and very pleasant too. A waitress/assistant explains what we have to do: you ‘lay’ your own table with cutlery and a paper placemat and then go to collect water, wine, bread and whatever you want to eat. There are some cold dishes ready and a choice of three or four first course and second courses and a generous selection of vegetables.

We’re in Vicenza so it’s almost compulsory to try Baccalà alla Vicentina con polenta. Good,  but I have a friend who used to make it better. Once that’s out of the way we have another two second courses – being a self-service you can eat exactly what you want in the order you want – the people next to us have pasta for a first course and pasta as a second course. We have ossobuco, and pesce spada with vegetables, with a side of some delicious aubergines and broccoli and caulitflower. With water, wine, bread and coffee the total comes to 47 euros. I’m also so full I can hardly move!

We head left when we leave the restaurant following the river in search of the romantic Ponte di San Michele. Vicenza is quiet on this sleepy Monday early afternoon and we decide the best course of action is relaxation. It’s just a quarter of an hour’s walk to Parco Querini which has an enormous lawn,  unusually in Italy worthy of the name – perfectly cut grass as far as the eye can see. There’s also a pond with some ducks and a round ‘island’ with a small Ionic temple, a fine neoclassical piece of architecture of 1820, on the top. In the background there’s the white church of Araceli and there’s a long straight path lined by statues and benches (Vicenza is not otherwise generous with its benches) towards the temple. The ideal place to sit and nap or relax on a warm May afternoon. And we do both.

Eventually we get up and on our way out see the reason for the perfect grass – a robot lawnmower is busy recharging ready for closing time.  We return to Antica Pasticceria Sorarù for an extra coffee and just to sit and relax next to the Basilica Palladiana with the statue of Palladio for company. We finish the afternoon by looking at a few shops, go to the local Eurospar for white asparagus and soppressa, both typical of the area, for supper and then head back to base to collapse!