Isola Vicentina
Encyclopedia
Isola Vicentina is a small town and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 province of Vicenza
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...

 in the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

 region. Its population is around 9,000.

History

Numerous archeological finds from various epochs bear witness to the ancient past of Isola Vicentina. These finds include pottery dating back to the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

, a column with an inscription in a Venetian language, a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 tombstone, and several Lombardic
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

 tombs.

It is evident from these discoveries that the territory where Isola Vicentina now lies was already very important in very ancient times. This was due mainly to its geographical position along important roads to Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

 and Schio
Schio
Schio is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza situated North of Vicenza and East of the Lake of Garda. It is surrounded by the Little Dolomites and Mount Pasubio.-History:...

.

The earliest written record in which we find Isola Vicentina mentioned dates back to 753 A.D.
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, the territory was owned first by the bishop, later by the Conti family (until the twelfth century), and finally by the Da Vivaro family. The area was repeatedly the scene of conflict between the powerful ruling families of the day.
All of the territory of Vicenza, including Isola Vicentina, became part of the Venetian Republic in the fifteenth century.

Several centuries of peace followed, to be interrupted only by the arrival of Napoleon’s troops in the late nineteenth century. Isola Vicentina was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, along with the rest of the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

 Region.

Arts

Villa Branzo Loschi-Drago in Vallugana is an eighteenth-century building that was designed by architect Domenico Cerato.

Villa Cerchiari.

Churches

  • The Isola Vicentina Parish Church is dedicated to St. Peter. It is a very old church, and is thought to have been founded by St. Prosdocimus. It is mentioned in records from as early as the thirteenth century as being the parish church. Throughout the centuries, it has been renovated various times, and was completely rebuilt in the latter part of the nineteenth.
  • The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Cengio is without doubt the most famous church in Isola Vicentina. It is also a very old church. We find it mentioned for the first time in records from the twelfth century, although it probably existed even earlier than that as a shelter for wayfarers and pilgrims.
  • Web site of The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Cengio (in Italian)


The church building was renovated and given to the monks at San Brigida in the early fifteenth century. It served to house the monks until the monastery could be built.

In 1462, the Lateranense canons from San Bartolomeo di Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

took over the church. The fifteenth-century style of the building has been preserved in spite of the numerous changes that have been made to it.
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