Piazza dei Signori
Last updated on September 7, 2026Piazza dei Signori is Vicenza's main square and the stage for its most famous building. The Basilica Palladiana fills one long side with the white marble loggia Andrea Palladio wrapped around the medieval town hall from 1549; facing it stand the Palazzo del Capitaniato, one of his last works, and two tall columns carrying the lion of Venice and the Redeemer.
Visiting tips and strategy
When to go
Early morning and late evening are best, when the low sun rakes across the loggia and the marble goes from white to gold. The square is floodlit after dark and is arguably better then than by day.
A market fills it on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, which is worth catching for the life of it but does hide the architecture.
Getting there and getting in
Open public square, free and always accessible. The Basilica's upper loggia and exhibition hall are ticketed separately and keep museum hours; walking the loggia at first-floor level, out over the square, costs little and is the best view in Vicenza.
The square sits mid-way along Corso Andrea Palladio, a ten-minute walk from the railway station. Cafés line the arcades on the shorter sides.
Quick facts
- Type: Square/Plazza
- Local name: Piazza dei Signori (vedi la pagina italiana)
- Architectural style: Renaissance
- Palladio thirty years apart: The Basilica loggia of 1549 and the Palazzo del Capitaniato of 1565-72 face each other across the square -- the young architect and the old one.
- The two columns: The winged lion of St Mark and Christ the Redeemer, the same pairing as Venice's own Piazzetta, marking four centuries of Venetian rule.
- UNESCO World Heritage Site: Yes
Where it is
Get directions Open in Apple Maps
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Visit responsibly
This is a working civic square, not a monument precinct -- the buildings house municipal offices and the market serves residents. Visiting on market days means sharing it with the people it is actually for, which is the point.
Paying to go up into the Basilica's loggia funds the maintenance of a building that was rebuilt once already after 1945.