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We present the VST Early-type GAlaxy Survey (VEGAS), which is designed toobtain deep multiband photometry in g, r, i, of about one hundred nearbygalaxies down to 27.3, 26.8, and 26 mag/arcsec^2 respectively, using the ESOfacility VST/OmegaCAM. The goals of the survey are 1) to map the lightdistribution up to ten effective radii, r_e, 2) to trace color gradients andsurface brightness fluctuation gradients out to a few r_e for stellarpopulation characterization, and 3) to obtain a full census of the satellitesystems (globular clusters and dwarf galaxies) out to 20% of the galaxy virialradius. The external regions of galaxies retain signatures of the formation andevolution mechanisms that shaped them, and the study of nearby objects enablesa detailed analysis of their morphology and interaction features. To clarifythe complex variety of formation mechanisms of early-type galaxies (ETGs), wideand deep photometry is the primary observational step, which at the moment hasbeen pursued with only a few dedicated programs. The VEGAS survey has beendesignated to provide these data for a volume-limited sample with exceptionalimage quality. In this commissioning photometric paper we illustrate thecapabilities of the survey using g- and i-band VST/OmegaCAM images of thenearby galaxy NGC 4472 and of smaller ETGs in the surrounding field. Oursurface brightness profiles reach rather faint levels and agree excellentlywell with previous literature. Genuine new results concern the detection of anintracluster light tail in NGC 4472 and of various substructures at increasingscales. We have also produced extended (g-i) color profiles.  The VST/OmegaCAM data that we acquire in the context of the VEGAS surveyprovide a detailed view of substructures in the optical emission from extendedgalaxies, which can be as faint as a hundred times below the sky level.

VEGAS: A VST Early-type GAlaxy Survey. I. Presentation, wide-field surface photometry, and substructures in NGC 4472