Places of historical interest

Palazzo dei Canarini

Via Mazzini 45, Schio

Description

The Palazzo dei Canarini (Canary Palace) is situated in the old contrada del Sojo and probably dates back to the 16th century. It has a handsome neo-gothic façade with lancet arch doors and windows except the triple lancet window on the ground floor that has a round arch. At the center of the first floor, we find an elegant oval, triple lancet window with balcony which, because of its proximity with other two lateral windows, simulates the effect of a five lancet window. The upper floor has windows aligned symmetrically with the ones on the piano nobile while beneath the cornice there are five small lancet windows. The complex decoration of the façade, originally entirely frescoed, was restored in 2012, coherently with the original; it presents diamond-point ashlar stonework on the ground floor, monochromatic fasciae with floral motifs and puttos on an ochre background that separate the various floors of the building and decorate the garret. In the two lateral frames of the five lancet window there are paintings of soldiers, already present in the 16th century colored decoration. The frescos, according to tradition, depicted two soldiers dressed in yellow uniforms that probably inspired the name of the Palazzo dei Canarini (palace of the canaries): the building was used as the headquarters for the Milizia di Pè di Monte, a Venetian contingent that defended the borders between the Serenissima and the Tyrol. The palace’s rear façade presents the characteristic spiral staircase that revolves around a central red stone axis, and leads to the upper floors, standing out on the external part of the building like a protruding cylindrical body. It has had different owners since the beginning of the 19th century: the Covallaro family, the Gianesini and finally, in 1879, the painter from Schio Valentino Pupin, who commissioned various important restoration works.