Tom`s travels: Trip north of Vicenza (21/12/2024)

I decided to visit a few towns north of Vicenza, which I had previously visited. I started out with Costabissara, where I first headed to visit its main church, San Giorgio Martire. It was built in 1920 to replace the smaller one located on a nearby hilltop in order to serve the growing population of the town, which was expanding on the lower part. In front of the church stands the memorial to the victims of the First World War. From there, a short walk took me to the main street where I passed a nice 15th-century house with the fresco of the Lion of St Mark's and in the background an old view of Costabissara, probably dating to the 18th century. Right across from it, I passed the small oratory of Sant'Apollonia, dating to the 17th century in a baroque style. As I walked to the southwestern edge of town, I reached another small oratory, San Valentino, built in 1684 and with a beautifully decorated facade. At that point, I started walking uphill and reached the old church of San Giorgio, once the main one in town before the construction of the new one. Supposedly of Langobard origin, it was rebuilt in a Romanesque style during the 15th century and then partially refurbished in the 17th century, and then again in the 19th century when it got some Neo-Gothic features. Nowadays, it is used by the local Romanian Orthodox church. From there, I then walked on and passed the large Villa San Carlo, an 18th-century villa that is currently used as a house for spiritual exercises of the catholic church and is surrounded by a beautiful park. Not far from there, I passed the Castello Bissari Sforza Colleoni, once a 12th-century castle, then refurbished and turned into a villa in the 19th century. From there, I then walked back to the car and drove on to the nearby town of Castelnovo. Here, I first visited the main church, San Vitale, built in 1912 alongside the old church, which was eventually demolished a decade later. From the church, I then started heading uphill and passed by two medieval towers, once part of the castle that dominated the town from up there. A little further, I then reached the church of San Lorenzo, a small medieval church dating to the 10th century and rebuilt in a Romanesque style in the 12th century. It was closed but from up there I still admired the beautiful panorama of the snow-covered mountains, not too far. Once back down in town, after taking the car, a short drive brought me to Isola Vincentina. I first climbed up the hilltop to reach the church and convent of Santa Maria del Cengio. Originally dating to the 12th century, it was then enlarged with a convent in the 15th century. It features a small church and a nice cloister, and the view from the hilltop was great, with the whole plain in front and the mountains in the background. Back down from the hilltop, I then passed by the town's main church, San Pietro Apostolo, built at the beginning of the 20th century over a previous one. It was closed, so I continued on, passing through the small main square where a nice fountain was located. At the eastern end of town, I then reached the 18th-century Villa Cerchiari, now used as the local library. Back at the car, I then drove on to the next town, Malo. Once there, I first walked up the hilltop to reach the sanctuary of Santa Maria Liberatrice. Built around the 12th century, where once was the castle, it was expanded and refurbished, particularly in the 17th century when it took its current baroque form. Among the interior decorations is a painting of the Madonna from the 13th century, considered one of the oldest depictions of the Madonna in the province. Just outside, next to the church, I then had a great view of the nearby mountains of Carega and Pasubio. Descending back down into town, I then reached the southeastern end of town where the Villa Clementi is set, an 18th-century villa refurbished during the 19th century and now holding the town's library. Continuing on through some nice streets lined by old buildings, I passed another villa, Muzani Castellani Fancon, and its annexed church of San Francesco with a nice Gothic bell tower. Further on, I passed another church, San Nicola, late Gothic in style and from the beginning of the 17th century, and then another at the northern end of town, San Bernardino, built in the 15th century, and now used as a council chamber. From there, I walked along the main street and then took a side street to reach the large Duomo. This 19th-century neoclassical church replaced an older 16th-century one, while its bell tower still has its medieval 13th-century aspect. Once I was back at the car, a short drive led me to the next town, San Vito di Leguzzano. Once there, I first headed to the main church, Santi Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia, located slightly uphill from the center. It was built in the 18th century, and after finding it open, I headed inside to visit it; at one point, though, a man who was fixing some lightning inside noticed me and told me that the church was actually closed. I told him I wasn't aware, and he still let me take a few pictures before leaving. Heading back into town, I walked along the main street and reached another, smaller church, Immacolata Concezione. A bit unassuming from the outside, it contains a noteworthy interior with frescoes dating to the 14th and 15th centuries, including one with Jesus and Saint Sunday, and a series of objects relating to works connecting it to the forbidden trades on Sunday. After the visit to the church, I headed back to the car and drove on to reach the town of Marano Vicentino. Here, on the main square, I then visited the main church, Santa Maria Annunziata. Dating to the 18th century, it replaced an older church and features some nice paintings, mostly from the 17th century, in the baroque style. After a small walk around the area, I got back in the car and drove on to the last stop of the day, the town of Villaverla. Here was a nice square with a monument to the fallen of WWI at its center, to the north Villa Martinengo Spiller refurbished in the 17th century, and to the east the church of San Domenico dating from the 19th century. Walking further, I then reached a part of town, which once used to be the main square, where the main road cuts through town. Despite the traffic, I managed to admire the nice porticoed houses along the square's perimeter and the two large villas. The first, Villa Verlato, was built in 1576 by Scamozzi in the style of an imposing palazzo and with an annexed small church. On the other side of the street, the grandiose Villa Ghellini, built by Pizzocaro in 1664, with a nice main facade and a central courtyard. At that point the sun was setting and it was time to head home.