The Basilica Palladiana is on the Piazza dei Signori in Vicenza, Italy. It was originally the Palazzo della Ragione, the seat of government, with shops on the ground floor. Domenico da Venezia designed the 15th-century building, and Tommaso Formenton added the double column order between 1481 and 1494.
The south-western corner collapsed two years after completion. In 1546 the Council of One Hundred chose Andrea Palladio, and his reconstruction began in April 1549. He wrapped the Gothic building in a Renaissance loggia using the Serliana motif of round arches flanked by rectangular openings. The lower loggia is Doric and the upper Ionic. The building was completed in 1614.
The Torre Bissara clock tower is 269 feet (82 m) tall. The basilica was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, and a major restoration began in 2007. It hosts exhibitions and civic events.
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