Gian Giorgio Trissino was a poet, diplomat and amateur architect, and in the 1530s he had a clever idea. He saw a young stonemason working at his villa in Cricoli, on the edge of Vicenza, and decided to turn him into an architect. He gave the man a classical education, took him to Rome to study the ruins, and gave him a new name, Palladio, after Pallas Athena and the angel in his own epic poem. The stonemason was Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, and he became the most influential architect in the history of the West. The villa at Cricoli, where it all began, is a modest building of the early sixteenth century with a loggia and a tall, plain front.
Palladio's villas, scattered across the Veneto, are part of a UNESCO listing together with the buildings in Vicenza itself. Villa Pojana, at Pojana Maggiore, which is on this ride, is one of the best, with elegant rooms and decoration. The city of Vicenza, a short distance away, is where Palladio's buildings cluster most thickly. The Basilica, the Teatro Olimpico, with its theatrical stage of an ancient city built in wood and stucco, and the palaces along the Corso Palladio give the city a distinctive grandeur.
The riding here is a modest matter. The roads around Vicenza are flat, straight and busy, with trucks and commuters. For a more rewarding ride, the Colli Berici, a range of low hills south of the city, offer lanes between vineyards, olive groves and cypress, with sudden views of the plain. The surface is good, the bends gentle, and there are villas and trattorias at every turn. Monte Berico, with a hilltop basilica, gives a view over the city.
Vicenza, with a hundred and seven thousand inhabitants, has plenty of fuel, parking and places to eat. Motorcycle parking is available in the old town, but the traffic zone means you should check where you can ride. A plate of bigoli with duck sauce and a glass of local red make a good lunch.
Spring is lovely, with blossom on the hillsides. Autumn brings mist, and the city is quieter after the summer.