Walking through the so-called Social City (increasingly referred to as the City of Harmony), among its tree-lined avenues and austere architecture, means immersing yourself in a suspended atmosphere where the echo of industrial fervour blends with the tranquillity of a project conceived for collective well-being. A series of emblematic buildings defines its identity. Dominating the scene is the imposing Marzotto industrial complex, still partly active today – a testament to the manufacturing power that set everything in motion. Its austere, functional façades tell stories of labour and innovation, representing the engine from which the life of the entire community once radiated. A short distance away stand the facilities designed for the daily lives of the workers and their families. The nursery and primary schools, with their large windows and spacious courtyards, reflect the attention given to education and childhood. Overall, the district’s architecture is a continuous dialogue between rationalism and monumentalism, with a clear emphasis on functionality. Completing the picture is the Park of Villa La Favorita, a green lung accessible through two monumental entrances that open onto a grand staircase – a gentle challenge to the hillside slope – guiding both gaze and footsteps upward and revealing panoramic terraces. Here, Bonfanti’s genius is evident in the harmonious fusion of architectural and natural elements, with stone and grit balustrades tracing elegant boundaries around a meticulously orchestrated landscape. The green heart of the park beats thanks to an arboreal heritage of remarkable richness: 50 different species create a sanctuary of biodiversity. Walking along the tree-lined avenue or venturing into the more ‘romantic’ area of the park, with its winding paths and unexpected viewpoints, is an experience that restores the spirit and invites contemplation.

It is on the right bank of the Agno, in the eighteenth-century town shaped by the Republic of Venice, that the historic heart of Valdagno reveals itself. Here, the urban fabric is compact and intimate, with narrow lanes weaving between history-laden buildings and squares that have long served as the town’s living rooms. The undisputed landmark of the historic skyline is the Cathedral of St Clement, a building whose origins lie in the Middle Ages, though its current appearance is the result of eighteenth-century alterations. What we see today took shape between 1748 and 1778 from the drawings of the Bassano architect Giovanni Miazzi. The bell tower, built between 1545 and 1547, bears the imprint of Agostino Righetto, the Magistro Marangon whose skill as a carpenter translated into solid architecture. An imposing, orderly mass, it stands as a mature and assured expression of Mannerist forms. At the end of the eighteenth century, a new and daring vertical extension reshaped its profile: a second belfry was added, this time with an octagonal plan. Finally came the distinctive copper, bulb-shaped spire. Along Corso Italia, the silhouette of Palazzo Festari rises in turn, built in the second half of the eighteenth century. Its façade, marked by restrained symmetry, leads into an atrium that still preserves its original river-pebble floor. From here, elegant twin arches, embellished with floral motifs, open the way to the grand staircase, a masterpiece of wrought iron with a refined eighteenth-century design. This architectural leitmotif reappears gracefully on the main floor and in the central hall. Tuscan-Doric columns mark the passage into the bright inner courtyard. On the right stands the unusual ‘Galleria dei Nani’, a portico originally used as stables, whose sequence of nine lowered arches is watched over by a curious parade of small stone sculptures. Finally, a short distance away, Villa Valle, now home to the civic library and gallery, is a gift from the Marzotto family in memory of Count Gaetano. At the heart of a vast complex, with porticoes, a Neo-Gothic guesthouse and a scenic outlook over Piazza Roma, only the majestic façade now remains, having survived the radical transformations of the 1950s. Its noble front is defined by imposing composite pilasters and a pediment bearing a heraldic emblem; the rear, more austere, displays a clock in place of the family coat of arms. On one side, sixteenth-century traces whisper of even older origins. Built between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, perhaps to a design by Frigimelica Roberti, the villa contains a double-height great hall, a luminous echo of the layout typical of Veneto villas.