The town's name derives from the Latin personal name "Caldonius", with reference to the inhabitants "gens Caldina" origins. Municipality in the province of Vicenza, located near to the river Bacchiglione, the territory of Caldogno is characterized by the presence of the phenomenon of resurgence and it borders with the nearby provincial capital. The city's economy, once based primarily on agriculture and livestock, today has been enriched by industry and handicrafts.
The area was an ancient Roman settlement, whose influence is clear already from its Latin name. The town was already mentioned in a document of the late XIII century and at the times, belonged to the Bishops of Vicenza. The feudal family, that ruled here for the longest period, has the same name of the town itself: the Caldogno. The most authoritative representative of this Family was Calderico, who was an ambassador of the Emperor Barbarossa. Later the territories of Caldogno submitted the invasion of the Lombards and then of the Franks. In the second half of the XIII century the inhabitants were granted with their own statute and gained a certain autonomy. The town lived its most fruitful period under the rule of the Serenissima Republic of Venice, a time in which citizens were granted with a certain stability, until the advent of Napoleon in 1797. In 1816, during the reign of the Habsburgs, the town of Caldogno was enlarged and enriched with the districts of Cresole and Rettorgole.
Attractions:
- the Church of San Michele, of Romanesque origins, was restored between the XIX and XX centuries. It preserves within precious frescoes of the XIV century;
- the XVI century Villa Pagello;
- the XVI century Villa Caldogno, designed by the architect Palladio, features a simple exterior with three rusticated central arches, a gable roof, the interior is decorated with valuable frescoes of the late XVI century of the artists Zelotti, Fasolo, Massari and Carpioni. The complex also includes a garden area with a large pond;
- the late XVI century Town Hall;
- the early XVIII century Villa De Paoli in Rettorgole;
- the XVIII century Villa Fogazzaro-Arnaldi.