The central block with stairway and Greek temple front. |
Fanzolo, province of Treviso, 50 m/164 feet above sea level. Train stations at Fanzolo or at Castelfranco Veneto 6 km/3.7 miles to the southwest.
This villa can easily be reached by bike (about 22 km/13.7 miles) also from Treviso, taking the road to Falzè-Montebelluna, turning left in Falzè towards Trivignano, as far as Barcòn and then coming to the villa just before the village of Fanzolo.
The villa is located in the middle of a large agricultural estate, recognized for being the first to experiment with the cultivation of maize [corn] in the Veneto. It was built in 1560 and designed by Andrea Palladio for the Venetian patrician Leonardo Emo. The central block is in the form of a Greek temple front and the pediment has a high relief of the Emo family crest, similar to that of Villa Barbaro.
The villa for centuries was the property of the Emo family, but in December 2004 it was sold to a bank, Il Credito Trevigiano, which has created a Villa Emo foundation for the management of the villa which nowadays is used for various types of events (theater, concerts, exhibits, conferences…).
Also of interest is the farm village (Antico Brolo) [old orchard] that is now separated from the villa by the paved road; it is a complex of buildings that housed the peasants who worked on the estate.
English translation by courtesy of Richard Bosch, Architect, Portland, OR.
Translation is work in progress. A few pages are still in Italian.
Original text and photos are by Paolo Bonavoglia (E-Mail: paolo.bonavoglia@aruba.it) and may be used freely but only for non-commercial purposes and with an explicit and visible link to this site.
The logo picture was taken in Vicenza, in front of Palladio's Villa la Rotonda in 2011.