Renaissance villas of Veneto, Italy.
Must-see in Vicenza and its province.
First itinerary
Villas of Veneto: Villa Almerico-Capra Valmarana, aka La Rotonda (1566)
This is the most famous building of Andrea Palladio, considered a masterpiece, the quintessence of the palladian villas of Veneto, the prototype of the Veneto’s temple-villa. It has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Unlike other villas of this type, Palladio planned it primarily as a city palace than a country-house.
It is located in the capital city of the Palladian architecture, Vicenza, also known as the city of Palladio.
The german writer Goethe, in its 1786 classic Journey to Italy, extolled the great symmetry and harmony of La Rotonda.
The villa is one of the locations used in the 1979 movie Don Giovanni, directed by the american Joseph Losey.
It is located at the top of a easily reachable low hill, just a stone’s throw from the center of Vicenza, immersed in green and quietness.
As Palladio said, the villa is dipped in a lovely scenery, surrounded by enchanting hills: the view is stunning from all sides, thus a loggia was built in all four facades.
In fact the villa is a cube with four projecting porticos. The name La Rotonda - meaning round, circular - comes from the central circular dome and hall.
Visiting hours:
Period: 15th March – 4th November
Outside: Thu, Wed, Tu 10am-12am and 3pm-6pm
Fri, Sat, Sun depending on the staff availability
Interior: Wednesday 10am-12pm and 3pm-
Address:Via della Rotonda, 45, Vicenza.
Villas of Veneto: Villa Garzadori da Schio (1686)
Just the location, the lush Colli Berici (Berici hills) is a destination in itself and deserves a visit.
The uncrowded Colli Berici are blessed with a magnificent and spectacular landscape, the ideal spot for hiking, bycicling and riding horses.
Those hills framing the city of Vicenza are the setting for the Villa Garzadori da Schio.
Actually it’s about three buildings set on three different height levels inside the big scenic park: a eighteenth-century villa, a manor, and the Villa Garzadori, located at the highest level.
The complex is very evocative, immersed in a romantic big park of great botanical and architectural interest, and part of the Colli Berici wine route itinerary.
There is a suggestive trail amid cypresses and box trees leading to the villa Garzadori, which is dug into the rock.
Once you enter the villa, which is actually a relatively small house, you will be struck by its odd rooms partially digged into the rock.
In the villa, aka Grotta del Marinali (Marinali’s cave) the counts Garzadori housed the famous statues maker Orazio Marinali at the turn of 1700.
The artist would take the stone from the cave beneath. His statues, often sort of grotesque figures, decorate the park all around, besides the gardens of many ancient villas of Veneto.
Beside the villa there is a cave used as a
wine cellar since time immemorial.
Visiting hours (the villa and park are private, thus the timetable is subject to alteration)
Outside(park): Thursday and Sunday
Wine cellar (guided visits and wine tasting): Saturday morning.
Address: Piazza S. Giovanni Da Schio, 4 - loc. Costozza - Longare (province of Vicenza)
ph. 0444-55 70 73
Villas of Veneto: Villa Loschi Zileri Dal Verme
The building was built in the eighteenth-century. It is surrounded by a wide landscaped garden.
It is worthwhile if you are interested in old masters paintings. In fact the most relevant things to see are the superb Gianbattista Tiepolo's frescoes cycle that embellish the interior of the villa.
Nowadays the villa provides rooms for offices, conventions and private dwellings.
Visiting hours:
Mon through Fri: 8.30am -12.30pm and 2.30pm-6.30pm
Saturday and public holidays on request.
Address: Via Zileri, 1 - loc. Biron - Monteviale (province of Vicenza)
ph. 0444-96 50 23
See other stunning villas in the Vicenza province
Hollywood movie set villas in the Padua province
From Villas Veneto to Renaissance architecture
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