Chiesa di Santa Corona
The Dominican Santa Corona complex is one of the most artistically interesting places in Vicenza. The architect Andrea Palladio was buried in this church in the tomb of his wife's family (the memorial stoneis on the last pillar on the left). His remains, or those believed to be such, were removed in the middle of last century and reburied in the monumental tomb in the neoclassical cemetery designed by Malacarne.
In the elegantly designed crypt, by Lorenzo da Bologna, there is a sculptural group representing Christ, Beato Bartolomeo Breganze and the King of France, St. Louis IX, by Girolamo Pittoni da Lumignano.
Next to the church is the genteel chapel of the Valmarana family (1566), one of the few examples of Palladio's religious architecture on the mainland.
This small construction echoes the architectural features of the side chapels in the Church of the Redentore, built in Venice from 1577 to celebrate the end of the plague. Despite the reduced dimensions, the structure is harmonious and balanced: the two minor apses are illuminated by their respective windows. The passage from one wall to the other is enhanced by angular Corinthian pilasters.
The altar has two tapering Corinthian columns crowned by a triangular gable which carries the escutcheon of the Valmarana Counts. This was probably conceived by Palladio and built by the Albanese.