The heart of historic Vicenza is Piazza dei Signori, where Palladio lightens the mood of government buildings with his trademark play of light and shadow. Dazzling white Piovene stone arches frame shady double arcades in the Basilica Palladiana . Temporary exhibitions are held in its upstairs hall, but at the time of writing the whole complex was closed for renovations. Across the piazza, white stone and stucco grace the exposed red brick colonnade of the 1571-designed Loggia del Capitaniato .
