Villas of the Veneto: Villa Valmarana ai Nani (Vicenza)

Only a few steps away from the church in Monte Berico and Palladio's masterpiece the Rotonda, Villa Valmarana ai Nani is certainly not an attention seeker.  Within the compounds, protected by high walls topped with statues of dwarves, is a modest villa with no striking feature other than a disproportionately small pediment and a grand view of Colli Berici.  Inside, however, are the Tiepolos' Rococo masterpiece.   

Another sign of autumn in Italy: the Luna Park

The bright lights of the luna park (also known as the amusement park for us English-speaking folk) have been up in Vicenza's Campo Marzio for a week now, signaling the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. 

L'incompiuta in Brendola

The imposing yet hauntingly incomplete church of Brendola, a few miles outside of Vicenza at the edge of the Berici hills.

Villas of the Veneto: Villa Gazzotti (Vicenza)

Largely forgotten and allowed to rot and crumble, Villa Gazzotti is definitely not one of Palladio's greatest achievement.  It looks more like a barn than a villa, its modest size dwarfed by the modern buildings around it.  It is definitely assertive, and it is clearly apparent as something other than just a regular ancient abode built simply to satisfy that need.  However, although left unrestored in the middle of a field somewhere in the northeastern part of Vicenza, the villa is an important milestone in Palladio's evolving use of decorations to mold the shape and look of a building, and a great display of the use of cheap materials (sadly, only apparent due to the building's state of disrepair) that made Palladio the Reniassance version of a McMansion designer.    

Andrea Palladio Recognized by the US Congress

Original document downloaded from here

Watch out: the recent celebrations of Palladio's 500th birthday gave me an idea. I'm in Vicenza, yet the only Palladian ville I have seen are Villa Contarini in Piazzola sulla Brenta and the crumbling Villa Gazzotti in Bertesina (which I pass on my daily run route). I need to remedy this. I aim to visit one of the sites at least each week, and hopefully post pics and interesting tidbits about them here. As if the almost 30 villas to pick from isn't daunting enough, I will also visit other villas around Vicenza such as Villa Valmarana ai Nani which, although not done by an architect as well-known as Palladio, are beautiful enough on their own to be visited and appreciated. Standby...

Summer flea market in front of Villa Contarini (attribution to Palladio is controversial)