The Villa dei Vescovi is a Renaissance-style, rural palatial home located in the neighborhood or frazione of Luvigliano, within the city limits of Torreglia, province of Padova, region of Veneto, Italy. Initially built for the archbishops of Padua, the villa is now owned by the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI), and the grounds and frescoed rooms are open to visitors and guests.
The villa was erected between 1535–1542 by the curia of Padua, to provide a summer retreat for the archbishop. The bishop at the time was Francesco Pisani, of the aristocratic Pisani family of Venice. The commission was begun by the archbishopric's administrator from 1529 to 1537, Alvise Cornaro. The villa was designed by the architect Giovanni Maria Falconetto.
The building initially contained a rectangular courtyard with two wings with an open loggia on the ground floor. The piano nobile had an open loggia looking down to the valley. The interiors and the portico were frescoed by Lambert Sustris. In the following decades, the structure was modified by multiple architects, including Andrea da Valle (pupil of Falconetto, active here circa 1567–1577). A scenographic staircase entrance was added and the central courtyard was roofed. Finally, Vincenzo Scamozzi continued to link the villa to the gardens. Future bishops commissioned additions to the gardens and orchards.
In 1910, the bishop Luigi Pellizzo sold the property, which was by then in need of much restoration. The property for some time during the world war hosted a Discalced Carmelite nuns, but after the war, the villa became known as Villa San Domenico Savio, home of a house of religious retreats for young Catholics. In 1962, the property was sold to Vittorio Olcese, who began further restorations. In 2005, the widow and son of Vittorio donated the property to the FAI. [1]
Padua is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 214,000. The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE) which has a population of around 2,600,000.
Andrea Palladio was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of the most influential individuals in the history of architecture. While he designed churches and palaces, he was best known for country houses and villas. His teachings, summarized in the architectural treatise, The Four Books of Architecture, gained him wide recognition.
The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a pentagonal mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately 50 kilometres north-west of Rome. This villa should not be confused with the Palazzo Farnese and the Villa Farnesina, both in Rome. A property of the Republic of Italy, Villa Farnese is run by the Polo Museale del Lazio.
Villa Badoer is a villa in Fratta Polesine in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed in 1556 by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio for the Venetian noble Francesco Badoer, and built between 1557 and 1563 on the site of a medieval castle, which guarded a bridge across a navigable canal. This was the first time Palladio used his fully developed temple pediment in the facade of a villa.
The Palazzo della Ragione is a medieval market hall, town hall and palace of justice building in Padua, in the Veneto region of Italy. The upper floor was dedicated to the town and justice administration; while the ground floor still hosts the historical cover market of the city. The palace separates the two market squares of Piazza delle Erbe from Piazza dei Frutti. It is popularly called "il Salone".
The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy.
Villa del Poggio Imperiale is a predominantly neoclassical former grand ducal villa in Arcetri, just to the south of Florence in Tuscany, central Italy. Beginning as a villa of the Baroncelli of Florence, it was seized by the Medici, became the home of a homicidal and unfaithful husband, and a lavish retreat for a Grand Duchess with imperial pretensions. Later given to Napoleon's sister, it was reclaimed by the hereditary rulers of Tuscany before being finally converted to a prestigious girls' school. During its long history, it has often been at the centre of Italy's turbulent history, and has been rebuilt and redesigned many times.
Giovanni Maria Falconetto was an Italian architect and artist. He designed among the first high Renaissance buildings in Padua, the Loggia Cornaro, a garden loggia for Alvise Cornaro built as a Roman doric arcade. Along with his brother, Giovanni Antonio Falconetto, he was among the most prominent painters of Verona and Padua in the early 16th century.
The Villa del Balbianello is a villa in the comune of Lenno, a province in the north of the Lombardy region of Italy, overlooking Lake Como. It is located on the tip of the small wooded peninsula of Dosso d'Avedo on the western shore of the south-west branch of Lake Como, not far from the Isola Comacina and is famous for its elaborate terraced gardens.
Villa Pisani at Stra refers to the monumental, late-Baroque rural palace located along the Brenta Canal at Via Doge Pisani 7 near the town of Stra, on the mainland of the Veneto, northern Italy. This villa is one of the largest examples of Villa Veneta located in the Riviera del Brenta, the canal linking Venice to Padua. The patrician Pisani family of Venice commissioned a number of villas, also known as Villa Pisani across the Venetian mainland. The villa and gardens now operate as a national museum, and the site sponsors art exhibitions.
Issogne Castle is a castle in Issogne, in lower Aosta Valley, in northwestern Italy. It is one of the most famous manors of the region, and is located on the right bank of the Dora Baltea at the centre of the inhabited area of Issogne. As a seigniorial residence of the Renaissance, the Castle has quite a different look from that of the austere Verrès Castle, which is located in Verrès, on the opposite bank of the river.
The Villa Medici at Careggi is a patrician villa in the hills near Florence, Tuscany, central Italy.
Villa Molin is a patrician residence in the neighborhood of Mandria, in Ponte della Cagna, south of Padua, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed for Nicolò Molin, a Venetian noble, by Vincenzo Scamozzi and completed in 1597. It faces Mandriola, on the opposite side of the Canale di Battaglia. The original agricultural setting of the villa, composed of pasture and orchards, has given way to a residential dormitory community of Padua.
Padua Cathedral is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and the cathedral located on the east end of Piazza Duomo, adjacent to the Bishop's palace, in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. The cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is the seat of the bishop of Padua. The church building, first erected as seat of a bishop of the diocese in the 4th century, has undergone major reconstructions over the centuries.
The Villa Barbarigo is a patrician villa in the comune of Noventa Vicentina, in Province of Vicenza, northern Italy, also referred to as Villa Barbarigo Loredan Rezzonico reflecting the various marriage alliances among aristocratic Venetian families who have owned the house, is a rural palace built in the late 16th century.
The Villa Pisani is a patrician villa outside the city walls of Montagnana, Veneto, northern Italy.
The Walls of Padua are a complex of defensive works around the Italian city of Padua, designed to defend it from hostile attack. It was built in 4 phases.
The Royal Villa is a historical building in Monza, northern Italy. It lies on the banks of the Lambro river, surrounded by the large Monza Park, one of the largest enclosed parks in Europe.
Villa Contarini, also known as Vigna Contarena, is a villa in Este, Province of Padua, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. The name Vigna Contarena seems to come from the fruit trees and vines originally cultivated in the park of the villa, situated at the foot of the Euganean Hills. The villa was built in the first years of the 17th century and served both residential and agricultural purposes, with the ground floor destined for storage and labor uses, while the first floor, or piano nobile, contained the living quarters and formal rooms.
The Loggia and Odeo Cornaro are two Renaissance buildings, built in the 16th century for the humanist Alvise Cornaro and hosting theater and music performances, locate in via Cesarotti 37 in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. They are now part of the city's museums.
