After heading back for the Christmas holidays to Italy, I decided to do a day trip from Vicenza and visit a few places near my hometown on a fine sunny day. I left with my dad to the city of Schio where we had to get some snowshoes he had brought to repair. I then told him I would stay there and visit and come back home on a train later in the afternoon. I started out the visit to the city center by walking along the main street, sided by nice houses and buildings including the Palazzo Fogazzaro, built in 1810 by Carlo Barrera in the Palladian style, which now hosts the city museum. At the end of the street, I then reached the Piazza Rossi, the central and main square of Schio, where the weekly market was taking place. Vendors and passersby made it lively and colorful and to the east of the square, the imposing structure of the Duomo closed the scenic view. The Cathedral, which stands on the top of Gorzone hill, was unfortunately closed so I could only admire it from the outside. Rebuilt over a preexisting church between the 18th and 19th centuries in the Neoclassical style it looked a lot like an elevated ancient Greek or Roman temple, which was obviously the intention. From the main square, I then walked and decided to head up the nearby hill where the city castle used to stand. The fortification probably dated from the early middle ages and was dismantled in 1412 as the nearby city of Vicenza wanted to keep the territory of Schio under control. Nowadays on top of this hill, only a small deconsecrated church stands, the church of Santa Maria della Neve which dates to the 14th century and whose bell tower is the only remaining feature of the old castle. From that position, I had a good view of the old town below and the rest of the city around as well as of the mountain peaks to the west and north, including the Carega and Pasubio. Continuing on I walked further away from the old town, through the nice western suburbs filled with large and expensive-looking villas on the hills, until I reached the church and convent of San Nicolò. This small and simple church of ancient origins was entrusted to the Capuchin friars in 1536 who refurbished it between then and the beginning of the 17th century in a renaissance style. At that point I then turned around and walked back to the city center, taking a different route this time. I then reached and passed by the Lanerossi factory, founded in 1817 by Alessandro Rossi which became the largest Italian textile industry. The 19th-century building which served as the main seat and headquarters was still there, now used as a museum, and with the impressive construction in terracotta and stone of six floors known as the Fabbrica Alta right next to it, built in 1864 to serve as the main manufacturing plant. Right in front of the factory was the Giardino Jacquard, a late-Romantic English-styled garden realized between 1859 and 1878, on the commission of the industrialist Alessandro Rossi. Walking onwards I re-entered the old town and once there walked the rest of the city. I entered the small church of San Giacomo dating from the 15th century but with a facade and interior remade in the neoclassical style during the 19th century, and right close by the church of the Sacra Famiglia, built at the end of the 19th century in a Neoclassical style and in a nice circular form. Moving on I passed by the Ospedale Baratto, a palace dating back to 1611 used as a hospital until 1807, later as a prison, court, and currently as the civic library. Then past some nice city palaces, including the Casa dei Canarini, a gothic palace remodeled in the nineteenth century, characterized by the fresco decorations on its facade, until I reached the northern end of the old town where the small late gothic 15th century Santa Maria in Valle oratory was located. On a nearby hill, I then passed by the church of San Francesco, built at the beginning of the 15th century and with a nice bell tower, probably the nicest in town. Just below the hill along the main street, I then managed to visit the church of the Santissima Trinità, an 18th-century building that now serves as a military memorial, particularly for those dead in WWI. At this point I was now leaving Schio, heading north towards the town of Santorso. Along the way, I stopped at a supermarket and grabbed some food to eat later for lunch, and continued on my walk. After reaching the town I first passed by the main church, built in 1840 in a Neoclassical style. From here I started walking uphill, on the imposing mountain, Monte Summano, which towers over the town to the north. Along the road, I passed by the town's cemetery and the small church of San Dionigi, before reaching then the main monument of Santorso: the Sanctuary of Sant'Orso. As the name suggests it was this church and its saint which gave the name to the town. Located on an elevated position a quarter of the way up the slope of the mountain it dominates the town and the surrounding landscape. Originally a medieval church, the sanctuary was reconstructed in its current neoclassical style during the 18th century. Unfortunately, it was closed so I decided to sit on a bench right next to it to have my lunch. It was rather warm, especially for late December, which felt really good so I took off my jacket and basked in the sun while eating my food and enjoying the beautiful view of the plain below. Once I was done eating it was time to head back down into town. Along the way, I passed by the Villa Rossi, once the home of the aforementioned industrialist Alessandro Rossi. In 1865 he bought the renaissance villa of the Prosdocimi family and modified and expanded it to his pleasure. He also created a beautiful garden, now a public park, in the romantic style which expands around the villa and down the slope of the hillside. Continuing on through the rest of the town I then reached once again the plain below and from here decided to walk southeast towards the city of Thiene. I walked along a bicycle path for quite a bit eventually passing through the small town of Zanè which forms an urban continuation with Thiene which I then reached after. Right before reaching the old town, I passed by the church of San Vincenzo built during the 14th century in a romanesque gothic style. Unfortunately, it was closed so that meant moving onwards and reaching then the city center shortly after. Here I first visited the Duomo, built between 1625 and 1630 on a pre-existing 13th-century church and later refurbished with the addition of the side naves and the cupola at the beginning of the 20th century. The interior, large and airy, featured a nice coffered ceiling with paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. Right in front of the Cathedral, on the other side of the small square, was the church of the Rosario which was unfortunately closed. To the north though between the churches I then admire the beautiful and tall detached bell tower of the Cathedral built in 1650. A small arched passage below it led me then to the city's main square, the Piazza Chilesotti, with at its center a lush Christmas tree and closed in its perimeter by nice buildings and houses and by the entrance to the castle. The castle, which is more like a fortified palace with crenelated towers at its corners, is known as the Palazzo Porto Colleoni Thiene and dates to the 15th century. It is known for its renaissance frescoes and its early 18th-century stables but unfortunately, visits could only be made on the weekend and so I had to continue on my walk. Nearby I reached the side of the castle palace where the oratory of the Natività della Vergine was located, built around 1476 in a late gothic style with Lombard influences and which once served as the castle's private chapel. As it was also closed I continued my visit to the rest of the city, passing by the neoclassical structure of the Villa Fabris, and the nice Venetian gothic Palazzo Cornaggia from 1470 now used as the city's library. Finally, after one last walk past the main monuments, I then walked to the train station from where I eventually took the next train back to Vicenza.
