With the patronage of
VICENZA COUNCIL - Tourism Department
VICENZA PROVINCIAL TOURIST OFFICE - Città D'Oro
PROVINCE OF VICENZA - Tourism Department
THE VENETO REGION
The scope of the VILLAS OF THE VENETO
series is to present and encourage the discovery of the magnificent architecture and
landscapes of the Veneto Region, with historical information about the towns and the
people who contributed to man's betterment and progress with their works.
This first number leads us
"FROM VICENZA ALONG THE ASTICO VALLEY"
It is the ideal starting point for a stimulating journey which follows a path traced by
one of the greatest protagonists in the history of architecture: Andrea Palladio.
We will visit the first country villas designed by him and, along our way, others designed
by architects who followed his example, leaving - on solid walls - a message from the past
which still inexorably fascinates and surprises us.
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject and direction: Enrico B.
Kötterl
Texts: Michele Betterle
Cover illustration: Giuliano Marchioro
VILLA TRISSINO, now Trettenero
The villa is the result of the
Renaissance style renovation -between 1530 and 1538 - of a preexisting Gothic castle.
It was carried out by the proprietor, Giangiorgio Trissino, a Vicenza lord, man of letters
and diplomat, and an enthusiastic proponent of classicism who drew inspiration from
Raphael's project for villa Madama in Rome.
A young uneducated but promising stonecutter took part in the work: this was Andrea di
Pietro della Gondola, the future Andrea Palladio.
The friendship and protection of Giangiorgio Trissino allowed him to obtain that cultural
formation which he lacked as a result of his humble origins, and led to his extraordinary
career as an architect.
The villas is not open to the public
VILLA CALDOGNO
This villa, probably the work of Andrea
Palladio, was completed in 1570 for the proprietor, Angelo di Losco Caldogno.
The very simple layout is based on a central hall, preceded by a loggia and with three
rooms on each side. This arrangement and other formal features link the villa to other
Palladian works designed around the middle of the sixteenth century.
Inside is one of the most important cycles of sixteenth century Veneto frescoes, the work
of Gian Antonio Fasolo and Giambattista Zelotti.
Fasolo is responsible for the loggia and the central hall with "Scenes of Villa
life"; while Zelotti painted "Episodes from the Life of Scipio" and
"Stories of Sofonisba" in the rooms on the left. The seventeenth century
Venetian painter also worked in the middle room on the left with "Scenes from the
Faithful Shepherd".
There are two lovely original fireplaces, carved with classical motifs.
Opening to the public: the interior and the park can be visited from April to October, on
Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and on Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m.. For
information call 0444/585756.
VILLA GHELLINI
Begun in 1664 for the Ghellini family by
Antonio Pizzocaro.
The building work stopped a few years after the architect's death in 1679, leaving the
prestigious complex incomplete, both inside and outside.
The layout is characteristic, a quadrangle closed around a delightful colonnaded
courtyard.
Opening to the public: the exterior of the villa can be visited by appointment from Monday
to Friday: telephone 0445/855022 or 860613.
VILLA VERLATO, now Puttin
The work of Vincenzo Scamozzi, a follower
of Palladio, and dating to 1576, it has the typical features of the town house a facade on
the street inspired by austere monumentality.
There are frescoes by Girolamo Pisani and others inside.
Beside the villa is a late fifteenth century villa.
The villa is not to open to the public.
Link to: VILLA GODI VALMARANA, now MALINVERNI
Built in the years around 1540, this is
Palladio's first villa and, despite its still traditional and archaic aspect, the Master's
hand can already be seen in the equilibrium of the composition and, especially, in the
perfect harmony of the spaces indoors. The pictorial decoration of the interior is
particularly rich. Three important artists of the time worked here, starting from 1550:
Gualtiero Padovano, Giovanni Battista Zelotti and Battista del Moro. Gualtiero Padovano
painted the loggia and then, in the right wing, the "Room of the Putto", the
"Room of the Caesars" (though the ceiling is attributed to Zelotti) and the
"Room of the Triumphs".
The spectacular hall is Zelotti's work, dominated by two great scenes of battle between
Darius and Alexander, along with numerous other subjects and, in the left wing, the
"Room of the Arts", the "Venus Room" with the "Eurialos and
Nisos" attributed to Battista del Moro, and the imaginative "Olympus Room".
The last room before the loggia, called after "The Muses and Poets", is by
Battista del Moro. The "Room of the Seasons" on the ground floor is by Zelotti
too. The annexes of the villa also house a fine collection of nineteenth century Italian
paintings and a fossil museum with outstanding specimens.
Opening to the public: the interior, the picture gallery and the fossil collection can be
visited from April to September every day by groups, and Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
by individuals, from 2 to 6 p.m.; from June to August, the opening hours are from 3 to 7
p.m..
VILLA PIOVENE, now PORTO GODI
Attributed to Palladio as far as the
original core is concerned, the villa was extended and enriched with the Palladian Style
porch in 1587, while its present appearance - the colonnaded wings, the double flight of
steps to the porch, the lower entrance at ground level and the long flight of steps of the
approach, and the landscaping - date back to the first half of the eighteenth century, and
were the work of Francesco Muttoni.
There is a rich collection of original statues (from the sixteenth to the eighteenth
centuries) by various artists.
Outside the villa near the picturesque side entrance is the family chapel dedicated to
Saint Jerome (1496) and the access to the lovely park created by Antonio Piovene at the
beginning of the nineteenth century.
Opening to the public: the exterior of the villa and the park can be visited every
afternoon from 2.30 to 7 p.m.. For information call 0445/860613.
VILLA CAPRA, now Bassani
Built in 1764 in a neoclassical climate
by Count Orazio Capra, man of letters and amateur architect, the noble and harmonious
forms of the facade recall typical stylistic elements of Andrea Palladio, maximum
interpreter of classicism in the Veneto.
The villa is not open to the public.
VILLA FORNI CERATO
The architect and dating are
controversial but this villa can probably be attributed to the young Palladio who designed
it during the fifteen-forties combining a small number of sober compositional elements
with felicitous equilibrium.
The original sculptural inserts in the facade, replaced during the twentieth century,
VILLA MONZA, now TOW HALL
Built in 1715 by Francesco Muttoni, an
architect of Swiss origin who moved to Vicenza, is shows Baroque fantasy in the original
arrangement of ground floor columns and in a series of details especially in the central
part of the facade.
Three statues from the workshop of Orazio Marinali embellish the top of the pediment.
Opening to the public: the interior and exterior can be visited on Monday, Wednesday and
Thursday mornings from 10 to 12.30. For information call 0444/590142.
VILLA DA PORTO, now Del Conte
The present complex is the result of the
extensions and modifications made to the original Palladian style sixteenth central
building.
The modifications, dating to the middle of the nineteenth century, were deisgned by
Caregaro Negrin who used a project by Andrea Palladio from the "Four Books of
Architecture" as a model.
The scenic and landscaping effect is noteworthy, also thanks to the surrounding park in
the romantic style too.
The villa is not open to the public
VILLA DA PORTO, now Casarotto
This neoclassical building erected
between 1770 and 177 by Ottone Calderari reproposes customary Palladian themes with
monumental power.
The entrance from the road, on the other hand, is in lively late Baroque style. The family
chapel, detached from the villa, has a lovely vigorous facade and houses a fine painting
by G. Chiesa.
Opening to the public: the exterior can be visit every day from 9 to 11 a.m. and from 3 to
5 p.m.. For information call 0444/591334.