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| The rear facade of the villa faces onto the public park. |
Spinea, 5 m/16 feet above sea level. Train station at Spinea on the Venezia-Bassano-Trento line. The villa is located along Via Roma.
In a situation more unique than unusual among the Venetian villas, this villa is not named for an aristocratic family, but for Angelo Simion, mayor of Spinea from 1946 until 1970, who made it his goal to acquire the villa for the city and to open it to the public. Before this the villa was known as Villa Pescarollo-Franco.
The villa is located in the center of Spinea, which in turn is part of the greater metropolitan area of Venice.
The earliest knowledge of this villa dates to 1711 when it was built for a Venetian family, rich but not aristocratic. The identity of the architect is unknown. The villa has a central block with elements that are typical of a Venetian villa: a triangular pediment at the top of the facade; oval windows at the attic level; a balcony over the entry. The back facade is virtually identical to the front facade but faces a large garden.
The villa changed ownership many times passing among others to the Sagredo family, to the Pescarolo family, to the Franco family; finally in 1967 it was acquired by the city of Spinea. Today (2012) the villas houses the town library while the garden is now a public park.
Last visit: 2012-03-31
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.
