Now a venue for world-class exhibitions, the Palladian Basilica is capped with an enormous copper dome reminiscent of the hull of a ship. The building, modelled on a Roman basilica, once housed the law courts and Council of Four Hundred. Palladio was lucky to secure the commission in 1549 (it took his patron 50 years of lobbying the council), which involved restructuring the original, 15th-century palazzo and adding a double order of loggias, supported by Tuscan and Ionic columns topped by soaring statuary.

　　The building is also home to the elegant Museo del Gioiello and its dazzling collection of historic and contemporary jewellery.