Vicenza Off The Beaten Path

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The legend says Virgin appeared to announce that Vicenza would be spared during a plaque in first half of the 15th century.
Three wide symmetrical staircases lead up to the church which, majestic in its huge size and nunerous statues, lifts high over its three facades, like a crown, an airy dome which gives a distinct gracefulness to the building as a whole.

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The 17th century church is work of Vicentine architect Carlo Borella, begun in 1688 and finished in 1703. The work begun at the wish of the city of Vicenza as a symbol and an expression of the continued bond of faith between the city and the Madonna.
The exterior's architecture is repeated exactly of three sides of the Sanctuary, the east, the north and the west.
The originals of the basilica are tied to two apparitions of the Blessed Virgin which occured on this hill: the first one on March 7, 1426, the second one on August 1, 1428.

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The Gothic church on the western side of the complex (see right on the picture) was built in 1428 with the trong support of the local population, convinced they would be miraculously freed of the plague which raged almost a quarter of a century.
The present facade is not the original, an extensive renovation in 1860 has given its appearance a heavier aspect.
This is western side of the Sanctuary with a small 15th century Gothic styled church.

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The Shrine of Our Lady of Monte Berico stands with its distinctive outline at the summitof the hill which overlooks the city of Vicenza.
If you wish to go on foot, it's only a short walk from the town centre, durring which you can enjoy the view of the city. The walkway starts by "scalette", a pitoresque stairway of 192 steps which begins at Piazza Fraccon with the Triumphal Arch attributed to the architect Palladio. This exeptional work was designed and built by Francesco Muttoni, started March 7, 1746.
Its total length is 700 meters consisting of 150 arches, grouped by tens, and each group is divided by a samll landing in a form of chapel to symbolize the 15 mysteries and the 150 Hail Maries in the rosary.

See general tips about Pigafetta's house in Vicenza.
Our only immediate knowledge of Magellan's journey comes from the diary of the Italian Antonio Pigafetta. Antonio was not a member of the crew but an adventurous tourist who volunteered as historian for the voyage. In the following excerpt Antonio describes the death of Magellan on an island of the Philippines.
Searching for a way to control the native population after he leaves the island, Magellan persuades one of the local chiefs to convert to Christianity (referred to by Antonio as the "Christian King"). Magellan hopes to make this chieftain supreme over the remaining local tribes and loyal to the King of Spain. To bolster this chief's local supremacy, Magellan decides that a show of force, particularly the power of his muskets and cannon, against a neighboring tribe will impress the natives into submission.
Magellan orders an attack but miscalculates. He does not take into account that the reefs along the island's beach will not allow his ships to get into effective range for their cannon. As the battle is joined along the beach, the Spanish fire their muskets ineffectively from too far a distance despite Magellan's attempt to order his crew to cease-fire. Emboldened, the natives rush into the water flinging spears at the unprotected legs and feet of the Spanish. The crew abandons Magellan in panic and the Captain is soon overwhelmed:
"When morning came, forty-nine of us leaped into the water up to our thighs, and walked through water for more than two cross-bow flights before we could reach the shore. The boats could not approach nearer because of certain rocks in the water. The other eleven men remained behind to guard the boats. When we reached land, those men had formed in three divisions to the number of more than one thousand five hundred persons. When they saw us, they charged down upon us with exceeding loud cries, two divisions on our flanks and the other on our front.
When the captain saw that, he formed us into two divisions, and thus did we begin to fight. The musketeers and crossbow-men shot from a distance for about a half-hour, but uselessly; for the shots only passed through the shields which were made of thin wood and the arms [of the bearers]. The captain cried to them, "Cease firing cease firing!" but his order was not at all heeded. When the natives saw that we were shooting our muskets to no purpose, crying out they determined to stand firm, but they redoubled their shouts. When our muskets were discharged, the natives would never stand still, but leaped hither and thither, covering themselves with their shields. They shot so many arrows at us and hurled so many bamboo spears (some of them tipped with iron) at the captain-general, besides pointed stakes hardened with fire, stones, and mud, that we could scarcely defend ourselves.
Seeing that, the captain-general sent some men to burn their houses in order to terrify them. When they saw their houses burning, they were roused to greater fury. Two of our men were killed near the houses, while we burned twenty or thirty houses. So many of them charged down upon us that they shot the captain through the right leg with a poisoned arrow. On that account, he ordered us to retire slowly, but the men took to fight, except six or eight of us who remained with the captain.
The natives shot only at our legs, for the latter were bare; and so many were the spears and stones that they hurled at us, that we could offer no resistance. The mortars in the boats could not aid us as they were too far away.
So we continued to retire for more than a good crossbow flight from the shore always fighting up to our knees in the water. The natives continued to pursue us, and picking up the same spear four or six times, hurled it at us again and again. Recognizing the captain, so many turned upon him that they knocked his helmet off his head twice, but he always stood firmly like a good knight, together with some others. Thus did we fight for more than one hour, refusing to retire farther. An Indian hurled a bamboo spear into the captain's face, but the latter immediately killed him with his lance, which he left in the Indian's body. Then, trying to lay hand on sword, he could draw it out but halfway, because he had been wounded in the arm with a bamboo spear. When the natives saw that, they all hurled themselves upon him. One of them wounded him on the left leg with a large cutlass, which resembles a scimitar, only being larger. That caused the captain to fall face downward, when immediately they rushed upon him with iron and bamboo spears and with their cutlasses, until they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide. When they wounded him, he turned back many times to see whether we were all in the boats. Thereupon, beholding him dead, we, wounded, retreated, as best we could, to the boats, which were already pulling off."

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This is an absolutely lovely town for the solitude of it all. Nearby is GArdaland, which we did not go to; mostly for children & parents. It has only 6,200 residents, and the town holds a lot of peaceful scenes. It was a major trade port on the lake. It was from the time of BC that it originated, and was a key stronghold for defending the area by many rulers. That is why the town is surrounded by walls, It has three port entries. Lazise means "place on the lake". The castle was built in the 9th century to protect against the Hungarian invasions. Later occupied by Germans, and in the 13th century the Scaligeri family put up the city walls. In 1405, the town went under Venizian rule until Napoleon came along, and after that defeat, the town went overt to the Austrians. In 1866, with the new democracy, it went to Italy control.
The castle has 5 towers, but is not for touring. There are outer and inner walls and it is real neat walking into what is finally the main core.

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These are some typical views of the castle and the water side. People could be horrific in the summer. The whole peninsula brings them to the point and nowhere to turn but go back. The town is not big enough to hold all that show up, let alone parking. WE parked for 1.80 Euro an ora, and that is normal price within 3-4 blocks of entering old town area.

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The castle was built in late 1200's by the Scaligeri family, probably directed by Mostino I. It was previously a fortress where the Romans controlled the area for 1,000 years, with interludes of losing the territory to Lombards and other attackers of the empire. The castle held the fleet of warships of the family that controlled the region. The views are great inside and around the castle, although there is not much to see inside. It is a shell with no tourist things to see. YOu can walk 150 steps to the top of the ramparts to take in the views.
Open 9-12 15-17 daily except Monday. Cost is 3 Euro