Vicenza

A city in north-eastern Italy is the capital province in Veneto. Vicenza is approximately 60 km west of Venice and 200 km east of Milan. Vicenza is a thriving and cosmopolitan city, with a rich history and culture. It also has many art galleries, museums, piazzas, villas, churches and elegant Renaissance palazzi. You can also see the famous Teatro Olimpico. Which was designed by the great architect Andrea Palladio in the 1580. You can also find the Palladian Villas of the Venetto in the surrounding area. As of December 2008, Vicenza had an estimated population of c. 115,927, and a metropolitan area of 270,000. Vicenza is indeed a beatiful and wonderful place. During the Roman Age, they call it “Vicetia” or “Vicentia” meaning victorious.

People would wear masks during the “Mask Festival”. In the middle ages, people would wear masks to conceal or hide their identity and they used to walk on streets undetected. This invents the “mask culture” and mask carnivals within the city. In the 16th century spontaneous wearing of masks was a form of fashion and style. There are various mask designs, each mask represents elegance and beauty, while others display aggression and evil. A person usually chooses his or her mask that represents her character. It is even said that other people choose four masks of which each mask represents the “stages” of their lives, usually from youth to adulthood.

Living in this great city is indeed a wonderful experience. Whether you’ll have a vacation or a permanent stay, you’ll enjoy various Villas and other  huge establishments within the city. Most of them are designed by Palladio himself. Vicenza is also known  for its simple dishes, and often famous cheeses, fruits, ingredients and wines, such as Asiago cheese and the Marostica cherries. If you want to explore a wonderful place, then Vicenza is a way to go. You’ll definitely enjoy your time. There are a lot of tourists who would want to experience the beauty of art and theater. Plays like the famous “Rome and Juliet” are also the main attractions here, which is often presented in Teatro Olimpico. The “Water City of Vicenza” , where there are more than 150 streams criss cross together with 400 bridges that form a mysterious maze, is also a tourist attraction. You’ll also see people singing in their small boats. This is usually popular with couples or lovers, the one who steers the small boat usually sings beautiful love songs.

If you love to travel and have plans to go to Europe. Make sure you go and visit Vicenza, you’ll have a good time and seeing its beauty is absolutely worth it. Traveling is always fun, and seeing establishments that are historical are all amazing experience. Experiencing these things in your lifetime is indeed a diamond that’s worth cherishing. Having the chance to experience and travel through parts of the world will definitely lift heavy stones on from chest. Experience life and travel the beautiful city of Vicenza.

Teatro Olimpico

Teatro Olimpico is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy, and was constructed in 1580-1585. The theatre was designed by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. However, Andrea Palladio wasn’t able to see the theatre’s complete design, as the theatre was completed after his death. The Teatro Olimpico is the last work by Palladio, and ranks amongst his highest masterworks. The Vicentine architect had returned to his native city in 1579, bringing with him a lifetime of detailed study into all aspects of Roman architecture, and a more detailed understanding of the architecture of classical theatre than any other living person. Palladio died after 6 months after construction, this became a sad day. Despite the huge loss, the construction is still continued, and this time Palladio’s son, Silla is now taking charge of the project. After some time, they also called Vincenzo Scamozzi, another prominent Vicentine architect, to help finish the project. The Design of the theatre has been one of Palladio’s greatest works and is also his final work before his death. His designs are really amazing and clearly one of the world’s best. Aside from a single sketch of the scaenae frons, Palladio left no plans as to what kind of scenery should be used onstage. His illustration of an idealized Roman scaenae frons for Barbaro’s edition of Vitruvius had shown perspective street views similar to those which would later be built in the Teatro Olimpico. But the sketch of the proposed scaenae frons for the Teatro Olimpico shows no such street scenes; the space behind the central archway and the doors to each side is blank. The simplest explanation for the absence of any street scenes in this drawing is that the Academy had not yet obtained the land on which the scenery would later be built. However, the land was aquired in 1582 thus they were able to extend the building. They even made a petition to the government for additional land anticipated that if acquired, the space would be used to create perspective scenery. Over the centuries, the Teatro Olimpico has had many admirers, but relatively few imitators. Its unique design and beautiful street scenery makes it more one of a kind. Shakespeare’s famous play, “Rome and Juliet” has been done in this theatre a lot. Many tourists up t this day visit this place. Those who admire literature and the arts are always astonished with Palladio’s beautiful work. The successful completion of Palladio’s experiment in reconstructing the ancient model meant that there was no longer any need to pursue the objective of recovering the Roman past; it was now possible to start making innovations, starting with eliminating the rigid and unchangeable scaenae frons and the unchanging perspective views. Many known actors and actresses visit the place, one of them is Takeru Satoh(starred as Kenshin Himura in the Ruruoni Kenshin Live Action movie in 2012). He went to Italy  be a part of a “Romeo and Juliet” play in 2011. He played as Romeo, and it made him have the opportunity to visit Teatro Olimpico. He even got permission to practice on stage, and he read his Romeo’s lines too. The theatre is absolutely beautiful. Many critics and other artists love the design and beauty of this theatre despite being almost five hundred years old. A critic once said:

“In the history of theatre design, the Teatro Olimpico was a temporary hiatus, for succeeding generations adopted the proscenium arch and painterly stage sets. Palladio’s ideas are closer to the spirit of the modern theatre, which favors the relationship of audience to action.”

Andrea Palladio’s work is indeed one of the most beautiful things that we have ever seen. It stood the test of time and is indeed one of the most well designed theatres in the whole world. Preserving this beauty is a must. This will certainly help other people appreciate art and theatre. Theatre acting can never be so without experiencing the beauty of Teatro Olimpico.