The Villas of the Venetian Riviera

The villas were constructed along the Riviera starting in the 15th century, when Venice extended her holdings to include a chunk of the mainland. The quiet beauty of the Brent countryside, the bounty of the land and the easy access for water trade combined to create a powerful pull, attracting the attention of the Venetian nobility. The fields were soon cultivated and opulent homes began to spring up along the river forming an appendage to the city of Venice itself. This allowed the nobles to observe their investments first-hand and their families to enjoy the best months of the year at the shore.

As time progressed, the villas became more and more sophisticated, more and more elaborate until by the end of the 1500's, jewels such as the Villa Foscari were appearing, constructed by Palladio and Malcontenta. The 1600's saw their numbers increase, the gardens with their statues and Baroque decor multiply. One of several good examples of this period is the Villa Sagredo di Vigonovo. During this same period, various clever optical illusions and tricks of perspective were employed to create an impression of depth and space; these proved particularly successaful in the Villa Serimann-Widmann and the ducal palace on the mainland at Stra, the Villa Pisani.

VILLA SERIMANN-WIDMANN
The villa was built by nobles of Persian descent, the Serimann family, at the beginning of the 1600's. It later passed into the hands of the Widmanns who modernized it in the then-popular French Roccocò style. The pride of patrician families of the day were their frescoes, and particulary prized by this family were those of Giuseppe Angeli, of the Giambattista Piazzetta school, painted on the ceiling of the great hall. Guest included popes, composers (Stravinski) and poets such as Gabriele D'Annunzio.

VILLA FOSCARI
Constructed by Palladio around 1560, this is without doubt one of the most impressive villas on the whole Riviera. Over the years, it has hosted many an illustrious guest, including a number of the crowned heads of Europe. A brilliant example of an aristocratic residence on the water, the villa blends perfectly into the landscape. It represents some of the best of 16th-century decor, boasting frescoes by Giovanbattista Zelotti, so well-suited to Palladio's architecture. The effect is warm and complex, enveloped in hues and shades so light they're nearly transparent.

VILLA PISANI
Symbol of 16th-century society pomp and splendor, the Villa Pisani is considered the Versailles of Italy, remarkable for its magnificent architecture, beautiful park with sculptures and precious works of art that decorate its interior.
The grand ballroom is covered in frescoes by GianBattista Tiepolo which celebrate the Pisani family: indeed, the ceiling of the salon is painted with his celebrated work entitled "Gloria dei Pisani". Recently restored, the villa has retained much of its past in the form of splendid decorative touches and art works executed by the most prominent Venetian painters of the 18th century. The park surrounding the villa is stunning, enclosing the famous labirinto di siepi described by Gabriele D'Annunzio in his novel Il Fuoco. The structure was declared a national landmark in 1882.

VILLA SAGREDO
Erected atop the ruins of an ancient Roman castle, the structure was made into a residence in the 16th century and was obviously executed by a masterful architect, most likely the celebrated Jacopo Sansovino. The villa, which still contains the family chapel, is famous primarily for its gardens, though probably owes much of its notoriety to the fact that it housed Galileo Galilei in the summer seasons between 1592 and 1608.

The Brenta Riviera
Along the River