Isola Vicentina

Isola Vicentina is a small town and comune in the Italian province of Vicenza in the Veneto region. Its population is around 9,319.

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,  a  column  with  an  inscription  in  a Venetian language, a Roman tombstone, and several Lombardic 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 and Schio.

The earliest  written  record  in  which  we  find  Isola Vicentina mentioned dates back to 753 A.D. During  the  Middle Ages,  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 eighteenth century. Isola Vicentina was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, along with the rest of the Veneto 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.

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 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.

Twin towns
Isola Vicentina is twinned with:


 * 🇩🇪 Mühlhausen, Upper Palatinate, Germany, since 1998
 * 🇧🇷 Marau, Brazil, since 2012