Villa Ruzzini

Villa Badoer-Michieli-Ruzzini (known more simply as Villa Ruzzini) was built in the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century to provide a more modern country residence for an aristocratic Venetian family whose numerous illustrious members included Carlo Ruzzini (elected Doge in 1732).
The decoration of the villa probably dates from the first two decades of the seventeenth century, and the work adorning its piano nobile is unique within this area. The frescoes in the main salon on that floor depict six episodes in a war of 1350 that had involved Marco Ruzzini as Capitano da Mar [admiral] of the Venetian fleet.
The goal is clearly apologetic, aiming to restore the good name of an ancestor who, at the time of the battle, had been accused of seriously mishandling a series of events that had occurred in the sea between the island of Corfu and Negroponte. A swirling mass of ships, battle scenes, Venetian views and seascapes, this response to the contemporary criticisms of Marco Ruzzini are a fascinating - if anachronistic – evocation of the past.