Padua

The playwright Carlo Goldoni would write of the Baglioni family that they possessed a delightful rural villa called Mazzanzago “and perhaps there is no more pleasant and charming place”.

The property takes its present name from a Bergamo family who first chose this site for their summer retreat. The house then may well have been that built by Antonio Lombardo in 1663; when Antonio Lombardo died, the villa had passed to his brother Alvise, who had it completed (one can see what it looked like in a painting by Luca Carlevarijs). When the place became the property of the Baglioni family, the villa was transformed into an imposing palazzo, but still retained its role as the core of a farming estate.
The decoration of the piano nobile was one of the first fresco commissions undertaken by a very young Giambattista Tiepolo, one of the greatest painters in eighteenth-century Europe. Recounting the myth of Phaeton, the scenes he created marked the emergence of a new language in Venetian painting, which would remain dominant right up to the advent of Neoclassicism. Later in the eighteenth century, Antonio Zucchi decorated the ceilings in the ground-floor rooms: seven fresco tondi and a range of stucco work.

A masterpiece of the Venetian Renaissance, set in a large park, it houses frescoes by P.Veronese and G. Zelotti, inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses.

OPEN every first Sunday of the month from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the Mercatino
GUIDED TOURS: market day: 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. or by appointment daily, minimum 4 people

Historical notes
The house on which the Roberti family built their palace was built on the ruins of the Macaruffo castle, of which the medieval tower, later used as a colombara, remains.
In the "Palace," the exteriors, loggia, hall, and entrance hall were frescoed by Zelotti, Fasolo, and Paolo Veronese, with depictions of mythological scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses and with figures representing the Virtues and Giants.
In the recently discovered frescoes on the upper floor of the Villa, there is a curious interplay between the external landscape and the frescoed one.

The Park and the Forest
The Forest, recently restored, thanks to the help of the Municipality of Brugine, can now be visited. Inside there are botanical and dedicated paths for children.
The 1842 Guide to Padua and its Province, points out that the garden of Marquis Domenico de Lazara in Brugine "was among the first in our province to set the example of the gardens that are called English."
In reality, the actual English park must be dated to 1830, that is, when some of the most important Jappellian gardens, such as Treves de' Bonfili in Padua, Cittadella,Vigodarzere in Saonara, and Meneghini in Battaglia Terme, had already been designed and were being built. Much of the original compositional arrangement has disappeared, the extent of the park area and the brolo, in which the greenhouses and fishpond, covered by the hazel grove, still remain.
There are still scattered here and there among the greenery, relics of ancient brick artifacts, two statues of cherubs, and in the middleground area, the tombstone commissioned by Giuseppe Salom.
The special selection of roses, which can be found along the Villa Park and gardens, deserve attention.

The Villa and the Roberti family
Villa Roberti bears witness to the origins and splendor of the Venetian pictorial and architectural Renaissance.
The Roberti family was one of the most influential in Padua because of the prestige of its diplomatic appointments and the enormous wealth accumulated through its activity as bankers.

Around 1544, Canon Girolamo commissioned architect Andrea da Valle to build the monumental complex.
Andrea da Valle, a contemporary of Palladio and Falconetto, famous for his work on Santa Giustina in Prato della Valle and the Cathedral of Padua, finished the work in 1553. At the same time a group of painters from Verona - Zelotti, Fasolo and others - around 1550, was called in to fresco the exterior walls and interior halls of the Villa.

The Maccaruffo Castle Tower
The 14th-century tower along with the well in front of the barchessa are all that remains of the Maccaruffo Castle. Traces of frescoes with the Carraresi emblem are still visible on the tower. In later centuries the tower was used as a colombara, but thanks to recent restoration it has been restored to its original beauty,and is currently used as an apartment.

The barchessa
The barchessa dates back to the late 15th century. Inside there are two large Renaissance fireplaces, the portico cadenced by eight arches rests on columns softened by capitals with the Roberti coat of arms.

The frescoes of the Renaissance
The Fresco Paintings of the halls and exterior walls of the Villa are certainly among the earliest works executed by the Veronese group of artists.
The Roberti family, portrayed in the two scenes of life in the loggia, welcomes the visitor who, through the vestibule of the Grotesques and Landscapes (the Lagoon and the Euganean Hills) enters the sumptuous Salone del Piano Nobile, characterized by its Sansovinian-decorated ceiling. Zelotti, frescoed eight mythological scenes telling of the loves between gods and mortals. The figures of the Giants and Virtues in the superstructures and the episode of Venus and Adonis turn out to be interesting.
On the upper floor we find the Studiolo, decorated by the frescoes Amor sacro and Amor profano executed by Zelotti and Veronese artists.
The faux mesh tapestry, in imitation of a brocaded damask, gold and silver, that decorates the other rooms represents the first example of a series of replicas of the design module that Paolo Veronese would use in painted textiles in his own canvases beginning in 1552.
On the ground floor can be visited the ancient kitchen with the fireplace, and the floor still with the original slope, which was used to drain water, and the well room with the foundations of the medieval castle and cistern.

The complex stands on a pre-existing structure from the 14th century, likely a fortified tower-house, of which traces remain in the masonry, the crenellated fence, and the base of the dovecote in the southeast corner. The current layout developed in the 16th century when terraced houses were built to the west of the courtyard, suggesting a possible monastic presence connected to the Olivetans active in Sant’Elena since the 15th century.

In addition to the villa, the courtyard, the dovecote, and the brolo, the complex also included a fish pond and a brick barchessa from the late 16th century, characterized by a long series of semicircular arches on pillars and pilasters. The church, located between the main entrance and the service entrance, dates back to between the 17th and 18th centuries.

In 1857, the entire ensemble was reorganized by Achille Casanova, who transformed the brolo into a romantic park of about 8 hectares designed by Osvaldo Paoletti: it features nymphs, caves, a small shrine dedicated to Cavour, a mill, and a Swiss-style house for the gardener. During this period, greenhouses and a lemon house were added, connected to the dovecote.

The facade of the main body was reworked in a Renaissance style, preserving the Gothic portal, while the interiors were decorated with fake coats of arms, drapes, and zodiac motifs in the main hall and in the "Gallery of Fans."

Ca' Conti is a monumental complex of sixteenth-century origin. Originally a Benedictine station, it became the property of the Conti family in 1580. In 1832, Cristoforo Camerini purchased it and it became part of his properties. At the beginning of the 1900s, it was left, along with the surname, by Giovanni Camerini to Giovanni Rusconi, becoming the residence of the Rusconi Camerini family. Surrounded by a wonderful and romantic Italian-style park, enriched with statues and centuries-old plants, it is a place of great charm, where one can admire splendidly preserved seventeenth-century frescoes and stunning decorations by Giovanni Biasin.

Excellences of the villa: Ca' Conti welcomes its guests in a beautifully preserved courtyard. The imposing threshing floor (aia) made of trachyte is surrounded by the barchessa, stables, and other agricultural annexes, which narrate the story of daily life dedicated to work in the countryside. Among its walls, splendid rural-themed frescoes painted on the occasion of Manfredo Conti's wedding in 1632 and the original furnishings surprise visitors who are struck by the magnificence of the hall that leads to the ancient park. The romantic Italian garden with its statues, icehouses, impressive plants, and pond captivates and fascinates those who visit it.

Excellences of the context: Starting from Ca' Conti, it is possible to visit the beautiful Villa Pisani Bolognesi Scalabrin in Vescovana, Villa Miari de Cumani in Sant'Elena, and the splendid castle of Monselice.

The Cittadella Vigodarzere park, now owned by Valmarana, was designed by Giuseppe Jappelli in the early 19th century, establishing a sort of English-style model in the Veneto region. The park covers an area of about 14 hectares, initially enclosed and protected by a moat along the country road surrounding it. For the creation of the park and to shape the originally flat site, Jappelli used the excavated earth from the lake and the perimeter moat. The lake has a surface area of about one and a half hectares. Much of the shores and the islet are protected from water erosion by the roots of numerous taxodium planted over the last 80 years specifically for this important role. Another feature of the lake is that, despite its modest size, it was designed in such a way that from any viewpoint, one can never see it all at once. The temple, near the lake, partially destroyed by the two world wars, was dedicated by the architect to commemorate the tragic end of the Knights Templar. Today, the three rooms dedicated to Masonic rituals are still intact and open for visiting. The Villa, the 5,000 trees in the forest, 4 kilometers of paths, five oak and robinia wooden bridges, two greenhouses, two porticos, the ice house, and the famous "duck house" complete the site.

Excellences of the villa: The Villa is an imposing rectangular volume with a longitudinal development facing the park. The building has three levels, resting on a base where the dark cellars are often below groundwater level. The ground floor consists of a series of sequential rooms, while the second and third floors are designated for residential rooms, libraries, and lounges. Noteworthy is the dining room, furnished with original furniture and decorated by the frescoes of Michele Fanoli on the ceiling and some paintings by Chiara Dario Varotari depicting members of the Cittadella and Vigodarzere families. Following is the coffee lounge with four identical tables at the corners, the billiard room with English prints, and two lounges, one frescoed on the ceiling by Michele Fanoli where the hole made by English soldiers at the center of the fresco stands out for hanging a lamp…. Among the annexed buildings, the neoclassical chapel designed by Angelo Sacchetti should be mentioned.

Excellences of the context: Originally, about 30,000 plants of various special species were planted in the park, specifically studied to guide visitors in the "initiatory path." Today, the original arrangement of the various species has been lost, some due to epidemics (plane trees, horse chestnuts, and oaks), others due to a natural lesser adaptation to the climate. Currently, there are over 5,000 tall-stemmed plants, of which at least six are from the initial planting; five plane trees and one oak over 220 years old, which are subject to constant care and maintenance. Four of the five plane trees have a circumference at the base of over 7.5 meters.

The villa, located on the immediate outskirts of the municipality of Padua (in the Brentelle di sotto/Brusegana area), has undergone various building interventions and expansions over the centuries, the sequence of which cannot be reconstructed. Archive documents attest that the lands where the main building and rural annexes developed, probably starting from the 17th century, belonged to the Zambelli family branch known as S. Giacomo dell’Orio, one of the sixty-seven families registered in the Golden Book of the Venetian nobility. As Zambelli property, the villa with its characteristic circular garden and rustic annexes appears in the Gran Carta del Padovano by Rizzi-Zanoni from 1780. In 1816, the property passed to the Vicentine Folco family; it is referred to as Palazzo Folco by Andrea Gloria (Il territorio padovano illustrato, Padua 1862, I, p. 50).

The last heir of the Folco Zambelli family, Matilde, who was born in Brusegana, married a Dalla Baratta; from her, in 1935, the villa and its lands were passed to the current owners, who still reside there and with whom the final arrangement was made. The complex consists of a manor villa with a park and rustic dependencies centered around a courtyard; all of this faces south directly onto the Brentella canal, not far from its confluence with the Bacchiglione, rivers along which the transport of people and goods occurred until the early 1900s. The central block is three stories high, with an entrance door surrounded by Vicenza stone, surmounted by a balcony with columned balustrade. The ground floor, which is accessible, overlooks the park with a portico enclosed by glass and includes a study-library and the old laundry with a fireplace. Two staircases lead to the first floor, structured with a large central hall, from which four symmetrical rooms branch out; the floors are made of Venetian terrazzo; the walls and ceilings are decorated with stuccos, featuring predominantly floral designs.

Highlights of the villa: The villa, park, and rustic dependencies form an "island" within a context that was intensely urbanized in the 1950s and has become an integral part of the city of Padua, from which it is only a few kilometers distant. Although devoid of the surrounding countryside and lacking monumental features, the original layout of the Venetian villa is still perfectly legible in its essential elements, represented by the manor building, the park, and the productive sector (courtyard, stables, granary, animal shelters). Equally evident remains the privileged relationship with the waterway of the Brentella canal, the bank of which is directly accessible from the park. The park features a distinctive circular shape, with an axis marked by two large centuries-old magnolias, statues, and stone benches; at the center, there is a wrought iron well; the most significant element is the double hornbeam in a circle, a favored space for a shaded walk.

Highlights of the context: The villa is close to the center of Padua, which is accessible by public transport or by bicycle. Not far away are the thermal areas of Abano and Montegrotto, the Abbey of Praglia, and the Euganean Hills. The displayed contents have been provided by the owners of the facilities. The location of the villa on the map is provided through an external service and may be approximate.