|
| Support buildings in front of the villa that house the winery; visible on the left is the bike path offshoot from the one that follows along Via dei Colli. (photo 20 April 2014) |
Selvazzano Dentro, province of Padova, altitude 45 m/148 feet above sea level, Via Montecchia; train station at Padova 10 km/7 miles to the east. One can reach the villa from the bike path that follows Via dei Colli from Padova, see the Padova-Teolo-Vicenza bike route.
The Paduan nobleman Gabriele Capodilista, during the first half of the sixteenth century, commissioned this villa to Dario Varotari, a painter and architect of German background, in an agricultural area on the outskirts of Padova, on property that had been in the Capodilista family for centuries; Varotari leveled the top of a low hill, transforming it into a garden with a cubic shaped villa at the center.
The villa is one of the few Venetian villas that has perfect central symmetry. The four facades are identical, each with a loggia [porch] of five arches at both floors. The loggias and the interior were frescoed by the same Varotari and by Antonio Vassillacchi.
The Capodilista family were to unite with the Venetian Emo family giving rise to the Emo Capodilista branch, the name by which the villa is also known.
The villa is private property and usually closed to the public; tours are available that require a reservation and only for groups of at least 15 people. The support structures house a winery that produces quality wines; other buildings are used for residences and short term rentals.
Latest visit: 1 May 2014
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.