Description of the attraction
Palazzo Porto is a palace designed by Andrea Palladio in Contra dei Porti in Vicenza. It is one of two residences designed by Palladio for members of the Porto family (the other is called Palazzo Porto in Piazza Castello). Together with other creations of the great architect, this palace is included in the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites.
Palazzo Porto was built for the aristocrat Iseppo da Porto. The creation of the project took quite a long period of time, and the construction itself was accompanied by numerous problems, and the building remained partially unfinished. It is likely that Iseppo da Porto decided to build a palace for himself only to compete with his relatives Adriano and Marcantonio Thiene, who in 1542 began building their own Palazzo just a couple of kilometers away. It is also likely that it was Porto's marriage to Livia Thiene that enabled him to hire Andrea Palladio.
The Porto family, related to the Thiene family, became one of the richest and most influential in Vicenza, and the residences of its numerous offspring were scattered throughout the territory of the Contra (district), which today bears their name - Contra dei Porti. Iseppo was a significant figure in the Vicenza government and held several important positions and in the course of his work clashed with Andrea Palladio. The relationship between them was probably closer than the relationship between the customer and the contractor, given the fact that 30 years after the completion of Palazzo Porto, Palladio began construction of a luxury villa in Molina di Malo for the same Iseppo. Both friends died in 1580.
Since 1549, the Palazzo Porto has been inhabited, despite the fact that only half of its facade was completed (it was finally completed only in 1522). From the surviving sketches of Palladio, it is clear that from the very beginning he intended to build two separate living quarters - one along the street and the other at the back wall of the courtyard. Both buildings were connected by a wonderful courtyard with huge composite columns.
Compared to Palazzo Civena, built just a few years earlier, Palazzo Porto illustrates the evolution of Palladian craftsmanship after his trip to Rome in 1541 and his exposure to ancient and classical architecture. In his creation, Palladio reproduces the Palazzo Caprini of the great Bramante, taking into account the local characteristics and the way of life adopted in Vicenza (for example, the tradition of living on the ground floor, which was therefore higher than in other cities). And the superb four-column atrium is reminiscent of the ancient works of Vitruvius. The two rooms to the left of the atrium were painted with frescoes by Paolo Veronese and Domenico Brusasorzi, and the stucco molding was by Bartolomeo Ridolfi. On the pediment of the palace, you can see statues of Iseppo and his son Leonidas in ancient Roman robes, who to this day watch the visitors of their Palazzo.
