When we arrived, the cathedral was closed for the time being. Extensive lunch breaks are not uncommon in Italy, even for important buildings. Even from the outside, you could see that a lot of work was being done here.






You could see the full extent of it inside, the church could only be viewed to a very limited extent.

The last stop was the Diozaesan Museum.

It is a fine but manageable collection.

As I said, I really wanted to eat at Le Calandre. I had a relatively rushed lunch there in 2019, this time I had a relaxed dinner.

If I see it correctly, we had the same table as last time.

There are 3 tasting menus, but you can also eat a la carte. In general, they are very flexible, we put together our own individual menus, which wasn't the slightest problem.




Bread and Amuse Bouche



Smoked fish crudo with tarbagon white sauce with fresh caviar and seaweed bread


Chickpea "Stracchino" with herb oloive oil treviso radicchio, apple and orange salad


Risotto "Passi d�oro" 2.0


Broccoli rabe Mozzarella with vinegared beans, cold tuna belly and beet cream with white truffle

Crispy lasagnetta with cuttlefish liver cream, shellfish guazetto , seafood and mushrooms



Crispy ricotta, mozzarella and stracciatella canneloni with tomato passata

Spaghettoni with shrimp, spillo squid, sardella cruolese and chickpea cream


Coffee risotto, cold cauliflower cram with lemon, capers and bitter barely


Interesting decorations





Grilled calamari with polenta cream, tuscan kale and escarole pesto


Dentex with artichoke sauce, sauted spinach and nduja colatura


Petit fours

White truffle gelato cristallo with apples

Chocolate, hazelnut and coffee

Perhaps next time.....

More petit fours


Without question a great meal that we enjoyed very much. The 3 stars are absolutely deserved. The only fly in the ointment: the bill.

Good things cost good money.

That meal at le Calandre looks fabulous!

The next day we travelled to Vicenza. We started at Villa Valmarana ai Nani.


There are actually 2 villas. Firstly, there is the manor house with frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, probably partly supported by his son Domenico.













We walked through the garden to the guest house.





The guest house was richly decorated by Domenica Tiepolo.















Not the only villa of the day, but more on that later.

​​​​​​​

We went to the centre of Vicenza and started at the Teatro Olimpico.



The theatre dates from the 16th century and is the first work by Andrea Palladio that we are visiting today.

Opposite the Teatro Olimpico is the Palazzo Chiericati, which houses the city's art museum.

Apart from the rooms, which are well worth seeing, the collection is of a very high calibre, including van Dyck, Tintoretto and Tiepolo.

Next came the Chiesa di Santa Corona.


The church belongs to the municipal museums and is richly filled with art.























There is also a cloister

a lower church



a sacristy


a small chapel

and a corridor with information.

Great trip report, which brings back some childhood memories, as my aunt used to live in Vicenza for many years and as child we spent some time in this part of Italy during the summer month visting our extended Italian family.

I still remember (and like) the architecure of Palladio.

Thanks! I really like this part of Italy (as the other parts I visited to be honest) as it's so full of culture.

Vicenza's main square is dominated by the Basilica Palladiana.







You can generally visit them, but there was only limited access to an exhibition and we decided not to. I particularly liked the Loggia del Capitaniato.

The Museo del Gioiello is the first jewellery museum in Italy.

I hadn't really had the museum on my radar before, GF had seen it. I was really pleasantly surprised when I visited, it's a very nice collection. I can really recommend it.

Offerendum, this is an amazing trip report. Thank you for taking the time to post. I love the Veneto and Sud Tyrol part of Italy.

Your girlfriend's tea at Villa Feltrinelli looks amazing.

Was access to the thermal pools included in your room rate at Esplanade Tergesteo?

I've been to the Scrovegni Chapel but I have not been to the Baptistery in Padua. That looked like an amazing tour.

Antler decor is heavily used in accommodations in the US Rockies and the Canadian Rockies. The animals shed the antlers and then the antlers are recycled into furniture or lamps.

Did you make it to Venice?

Thanks!
Access to the pools was included, this is the case for all rooms.
I wasn't in Venice this time, but I had a longer stay in 2019. This time I focussed on the things I didn't know yet.

Now to the cathedral of Vicenza.





The building was unfortunately destroyed except for the fa�ade during the Second World War, but the rest was rebuilt.








There are a number of graves in the crypt.