Built by the Dominicans in 1261 to house a relic from Christ’s crown of thorns donated to the bishop of Vicenza by Louis IX of France, this Romanesque church also houses three light-filled masterpieces: Palladio’s 1576 Valmarana Chapel in the crypt; Paolo Veronese’s Adoration of the Magi, much praised by Goethe; and Giovanni Bellini’s radiant Baptism of Christ, where the holy event is witnessed by a trio of Veneto beauties and a curious red bird.
