Vicenza, Italy 

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Vicenza is another one of the great towns of Italy, most famous for the architecture of native son, Andrea Palladio, who lived here 500 years ago. But in today's program, we are focusing on the people and the streets of this beautiful city.
google map of walking route: bit.ly/3zWyckY
With a population just over 100,000, it has a small town feeling and a high quality of life.
It's a very easy place to visit on a daytrip because the old town center is quite small, about one square kilometer, with many pedestrian lanes and beautiful historic sites.
It is not one of those touristic places. You'll see mostly locals out taking a stroll, furnishing an authentic experience.
The town is like an outdoor museum, with a large collection of important historic buildings, beautifully preserved, such as this old gateway through the medieval walls.
Founded by the Romans over 2000 years ago, with continuous occupation reaching its artistic peak in the works of Andrea Palladio, especially the Basilica on the main Piazza Signori, surrounded by beautiful cafés.
We are going to take you on a walk through some of the pedestrian lanes of town, but first it would be nice to drop anchor and have a spritz, join the local crowd at the little Pizzetta Andrea Palladio, next to the Basilica.
You could easily miss it because it's the smallest of the four piazzas that surround the great building, and yet it's one of the coziest and most charming with these arcades and loggia all around.
Next to it, also adjacent to the Basilica which you see towering above, on top of those steps, is Piazza delle Erbe, serving up more spritz, that favorite local drink.
The Tower of Torment was originally a home for a noble family in the 13th century and then became a prison for torture.
Although Palladio called his building a Basilica, based on ancient Roman structures, it was not a church. It was used for civic functions like meetings, and festivities, and judicial proceedings.
Today it is famous for the many jewelry stores all around the street level loggia. The copper-vaulted roof resembles the hull of an upended boat.
From the piazza we're heading north two blocks to the main pedestrian street, walking along the lovely Contrà Santa Barbara, one of many intriguing side lanes.
The main street of town is 700 meters long and lined with shops and cafés, local tailors, designers, big name brands like Zara and H&M, many of them housed in what had been palaces back in the days of the Renaissance.
It's the favorite place for locals to come out for a stroll, especially during the afternoon passeggiata, that fine Italian tradition of people-watching and greeting friends.
Another favorite Italian tradition is trying to figure out which variety of gelato to order.
Or perhaps enjoying a spritz is more to your liking, while sitting at a sidewalk café and watching the people glide by.
This block has the largest palace along the Corso. It's the magnificent Palazzo Trissino-Baston, home of that noble family in the 17th century, and more recently the City Hall.
The most spectacular palace along the street is found at the east end. It's called Palazzo Chiericati, designed by Palladio in 1550 in that Renaissance style, and completed in the late 17th century. Now it's the Civic Museum, with a collection of paintings, prints, and drawings, and medieval, and modern statues.
The same piazza also has another important building designed by Palladio, the Teatro Olimpico. It's a faithful reproduction of the ancient style of Roman theater, its permanent stage front decorated with statues, columns, triumphal arch and tricks of the illusion. Palladio was 72 when he designed this, which became his final work. He never lived to see it built.
The theater is housed in the Palazzo del Territorio, with 19th-century statues in the garden done in the ancient Roman style.
The Tourist Information Office is also found in this Palazzo, a very helpful source of information and tickets.
"The work of Palladio, based on a detailed study of classical Roman architecture, gives the city its unique appearance," according to a statement by UNESCO, which designated the city of Vicenza as a World Heritage Site because of the works of Palladio.
The United States Congress adopted a resolution honoring Andre Palladio in the year 2010, celebrating the 500th anniversary of his birth.
Stating the following: " He has shaped much of the architectural image of Western civilization and served as a primary source for classical design of many buildings in the US from Colonial times to the present."
As UNESCO described it, "Vicenza is the city of Palladio."
Posted signs and maps can help steer you to the various sites. And you'll find that there are some fascinating side streets that branch off from the main Corso, like these next couple of streets reserved for pedestrians and leading back to the Piazza dei Signori.