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| Map of the villa and surroundings |
Vicenza, locality of Bertesina, 35 m/115 feet above sea level, located on Via San Cristoforo; train station at Vicenza 6 km/3.7 miles to the southwest; reachable on bicycle from the center of Vicenza: from Teatro Olimpico [Olympic Theater] cross the bridge over the Bacchiglione River, from there take Via San Domenico and then Strada di Bertesina.
This villa was commissioned to Palladio in 1542 by the Vicentine Taddeo Gazzotti a lover of music and architecture and a friend of Trissino; in 1550 Gazzotti suffered financial difficulties which forced him to sell the still-unfinished villa to the Venetian nobleman Girolamo Grimani who completed the project. It then passed on to the Marcello family (one of the plaques in the entry still bears the name Villa Marcello) and subsequently to the Curti family.
The villa was created by expanding on a pre-existing tower house, which Palladio adapted by creating two symmetrical apartments that face onto the central loggia; at the center is a large vaulted room. The facade is made up of the loggia with three arches surmounted by a triangular pediment that recalls other Palladian villas of this period, such as Villa Saraceno, but also Palazzo del Tè by Giulio Romano in Mantua.
The villa is private property and in a poor state of presevation; it is open to the public by appointment only.
Latest visit: 2013-10-27