At the Basilica Palladiana, in the city of Vicenza, Italy

 “For us to go to Italy and to penetrate into Italy is like a most fascinating act of self-discovery.” – D. H. Lawrence

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(in Italy) The city of Vicenza, in the Veneto region at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddles the Bacchiglione River. Approximately 60 kilometers (~37 miles) west of Venice and 200 kilometers east of Milan, Vicenza’s history dates back to pre-Roman times, but it’s a Renaissance figure, Andrea Palladio, with whom the city is most associated. (When Palladio left his native Padua, few would have guessed the humble stonecutter would, within a few decades, transform not only his adoptive city but also the history of European architecture. His genius would turn Vicenza and its surrounding villas into one grand UNESCO World Heritage Site). One of the preeminent figures in Western architecture, Palladio built more than 20 buildings here, including the Basilica Palladiana, the Palazzo Chiericati (home to Vicenza’s museum and art gallery), the Teatro Olimpico and many other palaces and villas.

+ Vicenza is traversed by the Bacchiglione and Retrone rivers, at the eastern end of the valley between the Monti Lessini and the Monti Berici (which connects Lombardy with Veneto), northwest of Padua. Originally a settlement of the Ligurians or Veneti, it became the Roman Vicetia and, after the barbarian invasions, the seat of a Lombard duchy. In 1164 it formed part of the Veronese League against Frederick I Barbarossa and continued through the 13th century to struggle against the imperial power and local tyrant lords. It was ruled by the Scaligers from 1311 until it passed to the Visconti (1387) and in 1404 to Venice, whose fortunes it afterward shared. Although the city suffered widespread destruction in World War II, it has been largely restored.)

+ Depicted here is the Basilica Palladiana -- or the Palazzo della Ragione -- which was built in the 16th century and was designed by Andrea Palladio (the most lauded Western European architect of the last 500 years who is also officially recognized as the Father of American Architecture). The city's most famous building, the massive structure is located on Piazza dei Signori, which is the main square of Vicenza. (There was an ancient clock tower from the earlier building which can still be seen today.) Now a popular venue for world-class exhibitions, the Palladian Basilica is capped with an enormous copper dome reminiscent of the hull of a ship. The building, modeled on a Roman basilica, once housed the law courts and Council of Four Hundred. Palladio was fortunate to have secured the commission in 1549 (it took his patron 50 years of lobbying the council), which involved restructuring the original, 15th-century palazzo and adding a double order of loggias, supported by Tuscan and Ionic columns topped by soaring statuary. (The building is also home to the elegant Museo del Gioiello and its dazzling collection of historic and contemporary jewelry.)