Venetian Pedemontana

Villa Trissino Marzotto consists of: an upper villa, a lower villa, monumental late-Baroque entrances, a cedar house or lemon house, an octagonal fountain, and over one hundred statues that adorn the large park, from which one can enjoy the panorama of the Agno Valley and the surrounding countryside. The villa is closely linked to the events of the Trissino family, ancient feudal lords of the area. This villa lies on the hill of Trissino where, since ancient times, a fortress stood, and later, a castle that was the theater for years of the struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines; after which, following the Renaissance fashion, it was transformed into a country villa (the so-called upper villa, as it is situated on the summit of the hill). The villa, expanded and renovated for the last time between 1718 and 1722 by the architect Francesco Muttoni and, after his death, by Girolamo Dal Pozzo, has come to the Trissino Baston family, owners of Palazzo Trissino, the current seat of the Municipality of Vicenza. Count Marcantonio Trissino Baston, in addition to commissioning the renovation works of the villa, had the imposing entrance to the garden built by Muttoni in 1693, and in 1717 the entrance to the upper villa. The architect also oversaw the arrangement of the gardens, from which there is a view of the Agno valley. Muttoni is also responsible for the construction of the stables, completed in 1722. Subsequently, Count Cristoforo Trissino commissioned Muttoni to build the lower villa, inaugurated in 1746 along with his son Ottavio, with whom, however, the line of Trissino Riale ended, allowing the Trissino Baston family to reunite the entire complex into a single property again. At the end of the eighteenth century and again in 1841, the lower villa was struck by lightning. After the first event, the building was restored, while after the second fire, Alessandro Trissino Baston had it renovated as a scenic ruin, according to the romantic fashion of the time. Count Alessandro and his brothers had no direct heirs, so the entire complex passed to their younger sister Francesca; however, their descendants, after a period of abandonment, sold the property to Giannino Marzotto in 1951.

The Loschis acquired the Biron estate in Monteviale in 1436 after a swap contract that the family made with the Benedictine monastery outside the walls of Vicenza of Ss. Felice and Fortunato. Antonio Nicolò Loschi ceded his properties in the vicinity of Angarano to the monastic community, receiving in return the Biron estate, along the waters of Dioma, around which the family's interests had long revolved.
Very little is still known about the subsequent events. It is known that by 1636 the villa was already a respected structure. It was Fabrizio Loschi's wife, the wealthy Elisabetta Poiana, who desired the construction of the small church dedicated to St. Francis, situated in an elevated position at the back of the villa.
The various expansion and redevelopment interventions of the complex, desired by the owners, were carried out over time based on designs and projects by Francesco Muttoni and Ottone Calderari.

Inside the villa, one can admire the numerous frescoes by the great Giambattista Tiepolo, commissioned by Niccolò Loschi to celebrate the public recognition of the title of counts obtained by the family in 1729 from the Republic of Venice.
The iconographic path is inspired by the cardinal virtues of humanity, which are represented by the artist in a simple manner, sometimes ironic, sometimes dramatic. The works belong to the period of Giambattista's early maturity and represent one of the most interesting pictorial cycles of Gian Battista Tiepolo, which opened a successful series of villas and palaces decorated by the artist in Vicenza and the surrounding area. 

The historical park surrounding the villa represents a favorable environment for rare species of spontaneous flora and majestic centenary trees, among which the swamp cypress, with its six meters in circumference at a meter and a half from the ground, is considered a national monumental tree. The park is also characterized by the exceptional fauna: just a few steps from the city, deer, badgers, and many other species practically absent from the surrounding plain find refuge, alongside particular birds such as the finch, the great tit, the great spotted woodpecker, and the jay, which require specific tree conditions for their stay and reproduction.

ENTRY

Full ticket (Salone + Park) € 12.00
Group ticket (Salone + Park) € 8.00
Reduced ticket (Salone + Park) € 6.00
Ticket "Shell Grotto and Church of St. Francis" € 5.00.

Reservations for guided tours can be made by contacting: visite@villazileri.com or by calling: +39 3515345013.

The complex was commissioned by the Piovene Family in the second half of the 17th century and features the classic structure of Venetian Villas. It has an internal courtyard surrounded by columns with barns and a chapel. Initially, the construction began along the current state road, but due to a flood of the Agno river that flows nearby, it was decided to build at the location where the villa stands today. From the Piovene family, the complex was inherited by the da Porto family and later by the da Schio family, the current owners.

The extensive historic park follows the traditional design of 18th-century parks. In front of the facade is a classic Italian garden characterized by boxwood hedges and lemon trees. Numerous are the statues from the "workshop of the Marinali"; in front of the villa is the "fish pond," a large stone swimming pool, the "peschiera," surrounded by statues with biblical and mythological subjects, fed by the water of the Poscola river, which was deliberately diverted to allow for the creation of the park. The garden features three large avenues of linden and hornbeam trees that enhance the perspective effects of the entire complex. At the end of each avenue, there are terraces from which the view extends over the adjacent meadow.
Today, the villa is both an exclusive venue for private events such as weddings, business meetings, parties, receptions, and a place to find hospitality.

In 1316, the Fracanzan family purchased land and buildings in Orgiano, the original nucleus of the current complex. In the following centuries, the Fracanzans participated in the political life of the area and contributed to the reclamation of the surrounding lands according to the grand projects of the Venetian Republic. In the early 1700s, the Fracanzan family, having become one of the most important in Vicenza, commissioned the Lugano architect Francesco Muttoni to design the villa and garden in order to consolidate their image. The villa hosted an important literary salon and was long frequented by Elisabetta Turra Caminer (Venice 1751 - Orgiano 1796), the first female journalist of the time, known for her Enlightenment ideas. The villa was occupied by Napoleon’s troops after the Battle of Arcole, by Austrian soldiers in 1866, by Italian commands during World War I, and by the Wehrmacht in 1945. In 1870, the assets of the Fracanzans were acquired by the Orgian family and subsequently passed by inheritance to the Piovene family.

Francesco Muttoni (1668 – 1747), of Lugano origin, was called to Vicenza in the late 1600s. A Baroque architect influenced by Borromini due to his frequent trips to Rome, he studied Palladio and published an important work “Architecture of Andrea Palladio from Vicenza” with tables and observations. Many villas and palaces in Vicenza from the early 1700s bear his signature. When Muttoni was summoned by the Fracanzans to Orgiano to design the villa in the early 1700s, he had to blend parts of the old medieval buildings with the new constructions in a particular and binding environmental context. The monumental Baroque structure designed by Muttoni, rare in Veneto, is the subject of study for the numerous decorative elements of the Palladian tradition. The original projects of the villa are located in Washington at the Library of Congress and in private Italian archives. All the interiors of the villa are perfectly furnished and testify to the lifestyles of past centuries. On the ground floor, the villa is set around the column hall, which overlooks the billiard room, the plebiscite room with historical memorabilia, and the dining room with period plates and services. The famous kitchen, with collections of utensils and branches, is known for the 16th-century red marble sink designed by the Veronese Farinati, which according to tradition Napoleon wanted to take to the Louvre. On the first floor, the large ballroom, the ceramics room, the bedrooms with canopies, the Napoleon room, the bathrooms, and the large old laundry room are located.

The name of Villa Ca' Dotta means: "The House of the Dotto".
The Dotto were nobles belonging to a wealthy family from Padua, who inherited land from another important Vicentine family, the Proti. It was the Dotto who later erected the Sunday house in this pleasant location, which was given the name Ca' Dotta.

After several changes in ownership, Villa Ca' Dotta began to fall into disuse, until the last owner decided to donate it to the Municipality of Sarcedo, hoping for a renovation that would make the building available for public use for socio-health purposes.

The Municipality of Sarcedo decided to renovate the villa, also thanks to public funding, to then allocate it for the intended use by the donor. Given the difficulty of repurposing the building, due to structural reasons, the Municipality, ULSS 7, and the Veneto Region initiated another project: Ca' Dotta became a place for the predominantly school-aged population, to promote healthy lifestyles in an "original" way.
 

The Villa was built in 1764 by the architect Count Orazio Claudio Capra with contributions from Francesco Muttoni and Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi.

Villa Capra Bassani is an example of a neoclassical villa clearly inspired by Palladian architecture.
The Villa features a wide staircase flanked by statues that leads to the Ionic portico. The garden is bordered by a fish pond on the bridge from which the entrance gate opens. Particularly beautiful are the statues of the pediment and the supports of the staircase.

The Hall is enriched at the top of the walls with monochromes depicting mythological scenes that represent Ovid's Metamorphoses and a lively fresco with Phaethon falling from the chariot struck by Zeus's thunderbolt.
Of particular interest are the altar and the palette of the domestic chapel located on the second floor. In the second half of the 1800s, Villa Capra was purchased by the Bassani family, who are responsible for the expansion of the rustic annexes and the barchessa.

The Villa is still today the private residence of the current owners, the Fortunato family, descendants of the Bassani.

Villa Forni Cerato was built around 1565 by reworking an existing building, commissioned by Girolamo Forni, a wealthy timber merchant but without noble title, a more unique than rare case for Palladian villas. Forni had business relations with Andrea Palladio as a supplier of timber, and this is one of the reasons most critics attribute the design of this villa to Palladio himself; the villa's design is also included in "The Constructions and Designs of Andrea Palladio" by Ottavio Bertotti Scamozzi.
It is likely that the dry minimalism of the building reflected the bourgeois social status of its owner.
The building has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1996.
The language of the Villa has generated doubts about its actual Palladian authorship, as well as the simple plan of the building. In reality, the Villa is the result of the restructuring of the pre-existing house and the perspective should be reversed, recognizing Palladio's intelligence in transforming constrained limitations into expressive opportunities.
At the time, the Villa had rich sculptural decoration, partly documented work by Alessandro Vittoria. The nearby farmhouses and the dovecote are in ruins. Villa Forni Cerato has always been the subject of study and historiographical analysis.