The Loggia del Capitaniato stands directly opposite the Basilica Palladiana across Piazza dei Signori and was designed by Palladio in 1571 as the residence and offices of the Venetian military governor of Vicenza. The facade is more exuberant than the Basilica — giant composite columns, relief panels celebrating the Battle of Lepanto, and a deliberate asymmetry that signals its unfinished state.
The building now serves as Vicenza's city hall and is generally open during working hours. Standing between it and the Basilica gives you the clearest possible sense of how Palladio's style evolved: the Loggia is later, more theatrical, more confident. Together they frame the finest civic square in the Veneto outside Venice itself.