Vicenza - Italy
Vicenza About, a city in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Venice and 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Milan.
Vicenza is a thriving and cosmopolitan city, with a rich history and culture, and many museums, art galleries, piazzas, villas, churches and elegant Renaissance palazzi. With the Palladian Villas of the Veneto in the surrounding area, and his renowned Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theatre), the city of Palladio has been enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.
In December 2008, Vicenza had an estimated population of 115,927, and a metropolitan area of 270 000. Vicenza is the third-largest Italian industrial centre as measured by the value of its exports, and is one of the country's wealthiest cities,[2][4] in large part due to its textile and steel industries, which employ tens of thousands. Additionally, about one fifth of the country's gold and jewelry is made in Vicenza, greatly contributing to the city's economy. Another important sector is the engineering/computer components industry (Federico Faggin, the microprocessor's co-inventor, was born in Vicenza).
Thiene (Vi).wmv
Thiene is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, in northern Italy, located approximately 75 km west of Venice and 200 km east of Milan.
The city has an active and lively industrial sector, composed mainly of small-to-medium sized companies. It also has one the top ranked Italian boardwalks (listed as number 3 of the top 10). Thiene also has a tradition every 24 December to unite its community to sing a song indigenous only to this town.
The "Centro Europeo per i Mestieri del Patrimonio" is located at Villa Fabris.
Thiene is a lively busy town of more than 21,000 inhabitants, and dates back to Roman times. It was developed around a "castrum" and in Medieval times was transformed into a castle to defend the village and protect the local church: "Pieve di S. Maria".
In 1281 the Thiene Irrigation Ditch was dug, and numerous craft workshops and craftsmen's homes opened along its banks. A castrum, a castle and its parish church, a road and an irrigation ditch are those vital factors that gave life to Thiene. Its lucky geographic position and important road network for traffic from the Veneto Region, the Tyrol and beyond have all helped its growing prosperity.
Thiene became part of the Veneto Republic in 1404, which gave it the security and peace it needed to develop its economy and spread the arts and cultures. Markets, rural in medieval times and Free in 1492, then weekly every Monday, Festivals (St. John Baptist and the third Monday in October), workshops and stores all became the nerve centre for business for the town and larger territory.
Members of noble Vicenza families, middleclass merchants, artisans and professionals all invested money into buying, reclaiming and irrigating the land, trade, building work which would all change and enrich the appearance of streets, squares and corners of the town.
The old St. Mary's Parish Church became the town Church, beautiful villas and palazzos were built with their own private chapels (Villa Porto-Colleoni-Thiene and Palazzo Cornaggia) smart noble homes, important factories and farms.
Thiene gradually grew over the years, showing its genuine spirit and cultural, artistic and social soul in the dynamic and busy area that surrounds the town.
Still today Thiene is a valid example of the Veneto model, being a reference centre for the social and economic fabric of the northern part of the province of Vicenza.
Thiene è un comune di 23.171 abitanti della provincia di Vicenza.
La città di Thiene è situata al centro dell'ampia pianura nord vicentina, nella cosiddetta zona della Pedemontana, vicino allo sbocco della Val d'Astico, antica via per la Germania. Dista in linea d'aria 10 km da Schio, 20 da Vicenza e 22 da Bassano del Grappa. Fanno da corona: a est le colline pedemontane di Sarcedo e Fara Vicentino; a sud la pianura che scende con dolce inclinazione verso il capoluogo di Vicenza e i suoi colli Berici; a sud-ovest le prime propaggini dei monti Lessini, la zona collinare di Monte di Malo e Monteviale digradante dolcemente fino a Sovizzo; a nord-ovest il cono del Monte Summano e a nord l'Altopiano dei sette comuni.