Villa Foscari

Villa Foscari: facing the Brenta

Villa Foscari is a patrician villa in Mira, near Venice, northern Italy, designed by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio. It is also known as La Malcontenta, a nickname which it received when the spouse of one of the Foscaris was locked up in the house because she allegedly didn't live up to her conjugal duty.

Architectural Facts

This villa is located beside the Brenta canal. Its construction was commissioned by Nicolo and Luigi Foscari, members of a patrician Venetian family that produced Francesco Foscari, one of Venice's most noted doges. The house was built between 1550 and 1560; it is raised on a massive pedestal, characteristic for the villa constructions of Palladio.

Villa Foscari: entrance avenue

The interior of the villa is richly decorated with frescos by Battista Franco in the Salon of the Giants in a style similar to the work of Giambattista Zelotti, a painter of grotesques and landscapes that can be reconstructed or at least visualized from the descriptions of Ridolfi. Mythological scenes alternate with allegories of the Arts and Virtues, with the usual references to villa life symbolized by Astraea showing Jove the pleasures of the Earth.

The villa lacks the agricultural buildings which were an integral part of some of the other Palladian villas. It was used for official receptions, such as that given for Henry III of France in 1574. Since 1996 the building has been conserved as part of the World Heritage Site Palladian Villas of the Veneto..

Frescoes

The interior of the villa is richlydecorated with frescoes by Battista Franco in the Salon of the Giants in a style similar to teh work of Giambattista Zelotti, a painter of grotesques and landscapes that can be reconstructed or at least visualized from the descriptions of Ridolfi. Mythological scenes alternate with allegories of the Arts and Virtues, with the visualized from the descriptions of Ridolfi. mythological scenes alternate with Allegories of the Arts and Virtues, with the usual references to villa life symbolized by 'Astraea showing Jove the pleasuresof the Earth.

Recent Ownership

Today, the villa is open to the public and ownership has returned back to the noble Foscari family, now belonging to Count Antonio Foscari Widmann Rezzonico. Count Foscari is an archietct in his own right, and he was responsible for the recent restorations of the villa. Antonio Foscari was also one of the archietcts responsible for the restoration of Palazzo Grassi in Venice. The Grassi palace was recently owned by the late Italian tycoon Gianni Agnelli, the former head of the Fiat Group, and used as an art gallery

References

• cisapalladio.org Template:En icon Template:It icon

• Murano, Michelangelo (1999). Venetian Villas. Germany: Könemann. pp. p. 186. ISBN 3-89508-242-2. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

See also

Palladian Villas of the Veneto