It's amazing how food and a city's history can be so intertwined that they become a unique experience, satisfying both cultural needs and taste. Vicenza is exactly this: a city that speaks of architectural grandeur at every turn, where the beauty of the stone lights up in the sunlight, but which also tells you about itself through the aromas wafting from its taverns, its Saturday morning markets, the mountain cheeses, and the forgotten wines born in the hills of the Colli Barici.
So yes, this is an itinerary of Vicenza, but it is not the usual tour, it is an alternative route designed for those who want to get to know Vicenza through their eyes, ears and above all with their palate.
Morning in Vicenza: between Corso Palladio and the market
With a short-term rental in Vicenza, you can enjoy staying in the city center and experience living like a local: in your own independent apartment, you'll have all the freedom and independence you need to organize your stay according to your routines and needs. You can start your day in the heart of Vicenza, walking down Corso Palladio, a long pedestrian thoroughfare that runs through the historic center from Porta Castello to Piazza Matteotti.
Simply walking along the Corso, you can admire Renaissance palaces, historic shops, and minor churches often overlooked by rushed tourists. Walking slowly, just as the Venetian nobles did, you can admire some of Italy's most noble residences, discover special features like the Colonna Infame, and then reach the Basilica Palladiana in Piazza dei Signori.
This isn't a basilica in the ecclesiastical sense of the term, but rather the civic heart of the city: a 15th-century palazzo clad in Palladio's style, with its famous white loggia and evocative arches. The building hosts high-profile temporary exhibitions, and it's worth climbing to the terrace to admire the view over the rooftops of Vicenza. You can take advantage of the Palladian terrace's recent evening reopening for a stylish aperitivo, overlooking the Piazza tower rising skyward. This way, you can combine the beauty of the city with the deliciousness of its aperitivos.
After your tour and aperitivo, you can take advantage of the market in Piazza delle Erbe to purchase local food products to prepare in your apartment. Local vegetables alternate with cheeses and cured meats sourced directly from the Vicenza countryside. It's the perfect place to get your first taste of the region: a piece of sopressa vicentina DOP accompanied by a slice of homemade bread is the perfect way to start.
A trip to the Berici Hills
From Vicenza, just a few kilometers southward you'll find yourself immersed in the gentle, wooded landscape of the Berici Hills, one of the lesser-known areas of Veneto, and precisely for this reason, among the most authentic. These hills are home to an ancient winemaking tradition and a surprising gastronomic specialty: the Berici black truffle, as fragrant and prized as its more famous Umbrian cousin, yet virtually unknown to the general public. The common black truffle, scorsòn, tartùfole, can be found from May to autumn, but can also be found in spring and winter.
Along the Berici Hills Wine Route, you'll find historic wineries that produce Tai Rosso, a native, tannic wine with hints of red fruit, which pairs perfectly with local meat dishes.
Some wineries offer tastings in villas, inside Palladian or Neo-Palladian residences like Villa Maser or Villa Barbaro, which look like they've stepped out of an eighteenth-century painting. An experience combining flavor and art unlike any other in Italy.
Vicenza-style cod: much more than just a dish
If you're planning a trip to Veneto and aren't sure what to eat in Vicenza , you'll definitely want to try Vicenza's signature dish: baccalà alla vicentina. In Vicenza, it should be noted, baccalà is stockfish, meaning air-dried, not salted, cod. It was imported from Norway in the 15th century thanks to the Venetian Republic's extensive trade. The people of Vicenza traditionally call it bacalà, but the raw material is quite different from that used in the rest of Italy.
The original recipe is preserved and certified by the Venerabile Confraternita del Bacalà alla Vicentina, based in Sandrigo, and follows a slow preparation, with stockfish simmering over very low heat for hours in milk, oil, onions, and a pinch of Parmesan cheese. The result is a thick, fragrant, and enveloping cream that pairs well with yellow polenta. All establishments recommended by the confraternity are a guarantee of authenticity.
An aperitif between Asiago and the Pedemontana
Before dinner, a final tour of the area: the foothills leading up to theAsiago Plateau offer one of Italy's most famous dairy products: Asiago DOP cheese. Many local dairies open their shops for direct sales and tastings, with the option of purchasing whole wheels to take home as a quality gastronomic souvenir.
Pair it with Torcolato di Breganze or Pasquale, a golden, aromatic passito wine made from Vespaiola grapes dried on racks, with notes of honey and dried apricot. It's the wine Vicenza residents drink as a welcome drink: sweet without being cloying, elegant like the city that produces it.
You can end your day in Vicenza by strolling through the illuminated historic center and choosing a traditional city osteria: you'll notice this from the seasonal menu and time-honored recipes: pasta e fasoi, the pasta and beans of Lamon PGI, with the Vicenza version made with thin broken tagliatelle, or a risotto with Broccoli fiolaro di Creazzo, a local variety of broccoli, flavorful and slightly bitter, that grows only around Vicenza.
You can digest all these delicious dishes by taking a stroll through the Barche District, the city's old river port on the Astichello, with buildings reflected in the water and bars with outdoor tables on summer evenings. This is the Vicenza that tourists don't find in guidebooks: the real one, the everyday one, the one worth the trip and the one you can discover by staying in Vicenza.
is Vicenza's cuisine rich and varied, catering to all tastes: perfect for those who love traditional flavors but also adapt to modern times through culinary exploration and experimentation. Today, you can experience interesting and innovative reinterpretations of your favorite dishes and ever-new ways to enhance the flavors of local products, those that speak of a region that knows how to renew and innovate without losing its soul.
This is thanks to the city's connection to art and history, where what Palladio did with architecture is translated into cuisine: enhancing the classical style, adapting it to modern times and giving life to a truly Venetian Renaissance.
Staying in Veneto to discover Vicenza
Vicenza has the particularity of being located right in the centre of the region, just over half an hour from Padua, an hour from Venice and a short distance from the Dolomites.
Choosing a short-term rental in Vicenza means having the freedom to explore this area at your own pace, without fixed schedules and without having to return to the hotel before dinner.
A historical culinary experience like this can't be improvised, but must be carefully planned and begins where you sleep. Then book one of our apartments in Vicenza.
