The origins of Vicenza reach back into distant epochs. The Venetians settled there some centuries before Christ, as can be seen from the archeological finds from this period now kept in the Santa Corona Museum. During the period of Roman domination, the city was organized as a “castrum.” The road from the main entrance (decumanus), the present Corso Palladio, crossed the centre from west to east and corresponded to the Roman Postumia Way consular road. In Piazza Duomo, under Palazzetto Proti, the “Roman Cryptoporticus,” part of an ancient patrician house, may be visited.

The early Middle Ages, saw Vicenza become the seat of a Lombard dukedom and in 899 the city was destroyed by barbarian invaders. It was after this that the inner circle of walls that encloses the urban centre was built. In the thirteenth century Ezzelino III of Romano, known as “The Tyrant,” successfully took possession of a large territory and Vicenza became the center of his seigniory. On Ezzelino’s death, in 1259, Padua extended its dominion over part of the province until the Scaligeri took over (1311). In 1404, after a brief period under the Visconti’s, Vicenza agreed to join the “Serenissima,” the Republic of St Mark, and remained part of it until Napoleon brought to an end the centuries-old history of the Venetian state, in 1797. In the course of the three “Venetian” centuries, Vicenza was transformed, acquired architectural riches, and became one of the major artistic centers of Italy.