Exterior view

The Palazzo Franceschini (later Folco), in the parish of San Marco, Vicenza, was the town residence of a rich family of silk manufacturers. The silk factory was situated at the back of the palazzo and the ground floor contained the warehouse, with offices occupying the mezzanine and family residential quarters on the upper floors. The main elevation has an ashlar rusticated base and plain window openings, with windows on the first floor supporting alternating round and triangular tympani in the Palladian style; the repeated and accentuated horizontal lines of the fa�ade, however, are derived from Scamozzi. The elimination of classical columns and decoration gives the structure a rigour and severity that harks back to traditional Vicentine architecture.