Descrizione
Since 6 September 2021, the Municipality of Vicenza is officially the owner of Palazzo Thiene, original exemplar of renaissance architecture, conceived by Giulio Romano and built between 1542 and 1558 by Andrea Palladio, who is also the author of the executive design.
It has been inscripted in the "City of Vicenza and Palladian Villas of the Veneto" since 1994, and has been recognised since 2016 as being of exceptional cultural interest.
Formerly the headquarters of Banca Popolare di Vicenza since 1872, the palace was subsequently acquired by the company Immobiliare Stampa, from which the Municipality purchased it to give it back to the citizens after nearly five years during which it remained closed.
It is now part of the city’s museum system together with Teatro Olimpico, Basilica Palladiana, Museo Civico di Palazzo Chiericati, Chiesa di Santa Corona, Museo Naturalistico Archeologico and Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza. It is run by the management of the Musei civici and Conservatoria Monumenti of Vicenza, as organised in the Cultural and Museum Activities service.
Palladio’s palace, with its important collections, is in fact the product of the vocation in support of culture pursued by the former banking institution and represents an artistic expression closely tied up with the city and its history, consistent with and similar to the city’s museum and monumental realities.
Besides the precious palace, the interiors rich in decorations and frescoes make it a wonderfully preserved example of renaissance art, one representative of the highest artistic and architectural tradition of Veneto.
The palace was first open to the public by the Municipality of Vicenza on 25 September 2021 through a free-of-charge open day. From 26 September to 26 December 2021, entrance was allowed on Saturdays and Sundays through guided tours by appointment, handled by the qualified tour guides group of Vicenza and by Consorzio Vicenza è.
From 15 January 2022, the Galleries of Palazzo Thiene are open four days a week, from Thursday to Sunday, and have officially become part of the city’s museum circuit.
9th June 2022 closed
Visitors can see:
- the ground floor halls, with the art gallery exhibition
- the halls on the main floor, with the art gallery exhibition, the ceramics of the Antonibon manufacture, and the collections of Veneto’s popular nineteenth century dishes
- the halls of the attic with the collection of the Remondini’s prints and Arturo Martini’s sculptures