At the center, Piazza dei Signori is graced by Palladio's first public work, the Basilica Palladina (1549), not a church at all, but the old Roman concept of a gathering place for the lawcourts and assemby hall of the Gothic Palazzo della Ragione that it encases with a colonnade and loggia.
The Romans had a concept of gathering places for lawcourts.
Better bets are Ponta do Sol and Ribeira Brava where, during summer, beach umbrellas are put up and locals and tourists crowd onto the rocky shores.