Palladian Villas of The Veneto 8th 12th May 2019
Wednesday 8th May Dear Patrons, I am happy to be writing you with the full programme for our forthcoming Soane Patrons Circle trip to the Palladian Villas of the Veneto, which will take place in May 2019. As you may already know, Soane was inspired by Palladio s architecture: he visited the Veneto during his grand tour of Italy, owned a number of copies of Palladio s handbook on architecture, and also displayed two busts of the architect within his Museum. For this, our first trip for the Soane Patrons, we will be visiting many remarkable buildings, seeing some extraordinary works of art, and getting unrivalled access to some of the handsomest villas in the Veneto. We are particularly lucky to have a number of wonderful guides and hosts, including Countess Giulia di Thiene, who will be giving us an exclusive guided tour of her home and library at Castello Porto Colleoni Thiene, and Guido Beltramini, Director of the Palladio Museum, who will be taking us around a number of Palladian buildings in Vicenza, as well as giving us a private tour of the Museum. Morning: Fly with British Airways from London Heathrow to Venice Marco Polo Airport. On arrival, we transfer to Monfumo where we enjoy a welcome lunch at the Hosteria della Chiesa. Afternoon: We continue to the village of Possagno, the birthplace of Antonio Canova, which is home to the outstanding Canova Museum. Designed in 1836 by Francesco Lazzari and expanded by Carlo Scarpa in 1957, the house-museum and Gypsoteca are home to a remarkable collection of Canova s working models and offer an insight into the incredible precision the master of Neo-classicism put into his work. Nearby is the Tempio Canoviano, an impressive Neo-classical church built between 1819 and 1830 according to designs by Canova. The design is similar to the Pantheon in Rome and the church is where Canova was buried after his death in 1822. The church is adorned with fine paintings by Luca Giordano, Il Pordenone and Palma il Giovane. As some of you may be aware, I have done written extensively on the architecture of Andrea Palladio, and I look forward to showing you some of my favourite works of art and buildings in this enchanting part of the world. I hope that you will be able to join us on what I know will be a memorable trip. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the programme with us in further detail then please contact Kezia Evans at kevans@soane.org.uk or on 020 7440 4243. Yours sincerely, Bruce Boucher Deborah Loeb Brice Director 1. Front cover image: Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza Canova Museum 2.
Thursday 9th May Morning: This morning we start our journey through the Veneto. Many of the remarkable villas, palazzi and churches in the Veneto were designed in the 16th century by Andrea Palladio in a classical style that would profoundly alter the face of not only the region, but in due course would decisively influence the development of architecture in both Europe and North America. Our Palladian journey will follow a generally chronological route in order to understand better how Palladio s designs matured over time, and changed after his visits to Rome. For our first visit, we are invited by Countess Giuliana di Thiene for a special private visit of her home, the Castello Porto Colleoni Thiene. Designed as a country residence and agricultural estate in the 1450s by Domenico da Venezia, it is generally acknowledged that to appreciate Palladio s inspiration and understand the evolution of Venetian villas, one needs to first visit the Castello Porto Colleoni Thiene. Giuliana will give us an exclusive guided tour of the Castello, including the Library, which was one of her late husband Clemente s great joys and includes a first edition of Andrea Palladio s I Quattro Libri dell Architettura. Villa Cipriani, Asolo We make our way to the pretty town of Asolo, our base for the tour. Beautifully situated in the foothills of the Dolomites, Asolo has been described as the pearl of the Veneto. Presented by Venice to Queen Caterina Cornaro in the late 15th century in exchange for her dominions in Cyprus, it is a town of picturesque arcaded streets, villas with luxuriant gardens, and far reaching views across the Veneto. It was her friend Cardinal Pietro Bembo who created the verb asolare to describe the pleasant way of passing time idly in Asolo, and Robert Browning named his last volume of poems Asolando (1899) - for love of the place. Our accommodation for the tour is at the charming Villa Cipriani, one of the most evocative hotels in northern Italy, and home for a time to Robert and Elisabeth Barrett Browning. The Villa Cipriani offers stunning views over the hills and cypresses, and has an enchanting garden. Evening: Dinner at the hotel s excellent restaurant. Castello Porto Colleoni Thiene 3. 4.
Lunch: Countess Giuliana di Thiene invites us for drinks and a private lunch of local specialities at her home. Afternoon: We make our way north to the village of Lugo di Vicenza, to visit the exquisite Villa Godi Malinverni, one of Palladio s first commissions in the region. Built for the brothers Girolamo, Pietro and Marcantonio Godi between 1537 and 1542, the villa s plan consists of a series of apartments arranged symmetrically on each side of the main sala, fronted by a grand flight of steps leading to a recessed entry loggia. The apartments are sumptuously frescoed by Gualtiero Padovano, Giovanni Battista Zelotti and Battista del Moro, including the Hall of the Muses with its charming depiction of caryatids, muses and poets set against Arcadian landscapes. Ruins of a Greek temple also form the backdrop for the depiction of Olympian gods. This is followed by symbols of peace and justice, a common theme in Venetian villas following the War of the League of Cambrai from 1508 to 1516. Ponte degli Alpini, Bassano del Grappa Continue to the picturesque town of Bassano del Grappa, home to Palladio s famed Ponte degli Alpini, a covered timber bridge which spans the River Brenta. The original wooden bridge was built in 1209, but was swept away during a flood in 1567. It was Palladio who was commissioned by the City of Bassano to design a new bridge, and in 1569 presented a plan for a timber-truss bridge that somewhat resembled the original, but was radically different in its technical and structural innovations, featuring four trapezoidal piers and a deck covered with a continuous roof supported by columns. Palladio s bridge stood for over 20 years, but has been subsequently rebuilt several times, following floods and destruction in WWII. Return by coach to Asolo for some time at leisure. Dinner and the evening are independent in Asolo. 5. Villa Godi Malinverni 6.
Friday 10th May Teatro Olimpico Palazzo Chiericati, Museo Civico 7. Morning: This morning we drive to Vicenza, a city magnificently adorned with the architecture of Andrea Palladio. We begin with a visit to Europe s oldest surviving indoor theatre, the Teatro Olimpico, begun by Palladio in 1579 and his last work. After his death in 1580, just six months after construction had begun on the theatre, Palladio s son Silla took charge of the building, using his father s main sketches and drawings as a guide. Subsequently, his pupil Vincenzo Scamozzi was called upon to complete the work. The result is a remarkable, largely wooden structure, designed to resemble the outdoor theatres of ancient Greece and Rome; the trompe l oeil scenery designed by Scamozzi representing the Greek city of Thebes dates from the 1580s, and creates the startling illusion of streets stretching to a distant horizon. It is the oldest surviving stage set in existence. Following refreshments, we continue to the adjacent Palazzo Chiericati, now housing the Museo Civico, another of Palladio s designs. Begun c.1550 for Count Girolamo Chiericati, the beautiful facade features two logge, with two superimposed orders of columns: Doric below and Ionic above. We view the fine collections of paintings inside, which includes works by Tintoretto, Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo, Sebastiano Ricci, Jacopo Bassano and Van Dyck. We enjoy a walk through the charming centre of Vicenza, passing Palladio s recently restored Basilica Palladiana and admiring the elegant palazzi which line the city s streets. Lunch: We enjoy lunch at Al Ceppo. Established in 1971, Al Ceppo is a renowned delicatessan with an extensive wine cellar, and a gastronomic bistrot. 8.
The four facades of the villa are identical, each with a projecting portico which allows light to enter the villa from each side, reflecting the humanist values so crucial to Renaissance architecture. This enormously influential villa has been the prototype for countless domed civic buildings throughout the world. Continue to the nearby Villa Valmarana ai Nani, another of the Veneto s most beautiful villas. The villa was begun in 1670, a residential property to which a guest house, barn and several other buildings were added later. It was sold to the Valmarana family in 1720, and in 1757 the family employed Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Giandomenico to fresco the interior with classical and mythological scenes, largely from the Iliad and the Aeneid. Giandomenico Tiepolo s festive scenes of urban and rural life, infused with his pungent sense of humour, particularly appealed to late 18th-century travellers such as Goethe. Return to Asolo. Dinner and the evening are independent in Asolo. Villa La Rotonda Afternoon: Following lunch we enjoy an exclusive visit to the Palladio Museum, where we will be welcomed for a private tour by Director Guido Beltramini. Founded in 1958 and initially dedicated to the study of the architecture of Palladio, the focus was subsequently widened to take in the whole period of the Renaissance, and then gradually extended to the history of architecture in general. The Centre now promotes research, stages exhibitions, publishes books, and organises courses and seminars on both historic and modern architecture. 9. Just outside Vicenza, we visit the serenely classical Villa La Rotonda, privately owned by the Valmarana family. Officially known as Villa Capra, after the artistocratic Capra brothers who oversaw the completion of the villa in the final years of the 16th century, it s name La Rotonda derives from its design a dome rising above a cube, which received immediate acclaim. We enjoy an exclusive private visit of the interior of the villa. Villa Valmarana ai Nani 10.
Saturday 11th May Morning: We drive the short distance this morning to the Villa Barbaro at Maser. Considered one of Palladio s greatest masterpieces, it was commissioned in 1550 by the brothers Marcantonio and Daniele Barbaro, both highly cultured and prominent figures in Venetian society, and close friends of Palladio. The central block is designed to resemble the portico of a Roman temple, Palladio s inspiration being the Temple of Fortuna Virilis in Rome, and is flanked by two identical wings which create a wonderful symmetrical whole. The interior was frescoed by Paolo Veronese in the beginning of the 1560s, and is one of his great masterpieces. The wonderful Hall of Olympus fresco features Giustiniana, the wife of Marcantonio Barbaro, with her son and the family dog, who also features in the Room of the Little Dog, a charming and playful work by the artist. The delightful Nymphaeum behind the villa is most likely based on that at Villa Giulia in Rome. Villa Emo, Fanzolo Continue to the nearby Villa Emo in the village of Fanzolo, another of Palladio s masterpieces designed for Venetian nobles, the wealthy Emo family. Begun around 1558 and completed in 1565, the design of the villa perfectly demonstrates Palladio s twenty years of experience in domestic architecture, with simple mathematical rules governing the proportions of both the elevation and dimensions of the rooms. The loggia of the central building takes the form of a column portico crowned by a gable, a temple front design often employed by Palladio in his secular buildings. Two long collonaded wings were used for the villa s agricultural activities, and provided the villa with an elegant symmetrical design. The interior features frescoes by Giovanni Battista Zelotti, with scenes from the life of Venus. Villa Barbaro, Maser 11. Lunch: We enjoy lunch at the charming Senza Tempo - Tiziano is a disciple of the slow food movement and uses only fresh, locally sourced ingredients. 12.
Sunday 12th May Afternoon: A visit to the Brion Tomb and Sanctuary, the masterpiece of the controversial 20th-century architect Carlo Scarpa. A private burial ground for the Brion family, founders of the prestigious Brionvega electronics company, Scarpa employed severe concrete structures to cleverly create a memorial that used form, space and natural light to create a site not only fitting for the dead, but for the living to engage in contemplation. This is particularly evident in the magnificent meditation pavilion, set in a large square pool surrounded by a concrete wall and a band of coloured tiles, creating a totally calm space for reflection. We return to Asolo for a guided walking tour of the charming historic centre. Evening: We enjoy a final dinner in Asolo at Trattoria due Mori, where chef Stefano De Lorenzi fuses the traditional and modern cuisines of the Veneto. Villa Cornaro Morning: Breakfast at the hotel and check out. We make our way to the small village of Piombino Dese in the province of Treviso to see another Palladian masterpiece. Andrea Palladio designed the Villa Cornaro in 1553 as a country residence for Venetian nobleman Giorgio Cornaro. The elegant design features a pedimented porch with open colonnades on two levels, a feature that would influence western architecture for centuries. The villa is today privately owned, and we are welcomed by the current custodian, who gives us an exclusive private tour of the property. Lunch: A final lunch of local Veneto delicacies at Horteria, using fresh locally sourced ingredients. 13. Brion Tomb & Sanctuary Afternoon: We make our way to Oriago to board our boat for a special private boat trip on the Brenta canal to admire the wealth of beautiful villas which line its banks.
Our final visit is to the Villa Foscari La Malcontenta, one of Palladio s late and most accomplished villas. Commissioned by brothers Nicolo and Luigi Foscari in 1558, Palladio designed a villa on the Brenta Canal that combined typical elements of Venetian architecture with the classical art he had seen in Rome. The main façade overlooks the water (like the palaces on the Grand Canal), but the design of the majestic loggia with Ionic columns flanked by two impressive staircases has Roman origins. The richly decorated interior has frescoes by Battista Franco and Giambattista Zelotti, depicting mythological scenes and typical scenes of villa life. Continue to Venice Marco Polo Airport for an early evening flight to London Heathrow. Tour Price: Palladian Villas of the Veneto The cost of the tour Palladian Villas of the Veneto (4 nights) is: The tour cost includes: 3,140 per person, for double occupancy 3,665 per person, for single occupancy Flights with British Airways from London Heathrow to Venice 4 nights accommodation in Asolo at the 5-star Villa Cipriani Full breakfast in the hotels restaurant each day Meals at restaurants as per the itinerary: - 5 lunches - 2 dinners All visits and special private arrangements as per the itinerary Transportation by deluxe motor coach All museum entrance fees Services of an ArtsAbroad tour director throughout Services of an expert local guide throughout All gratuities for restaurants, guides, porters, drivers Porterage at the the Villa Cipriani, Asolo The tour cost does not include: 2 dinners Travel insurance Personal expenditure (such as laundry / telephone calls etc) Villa Foscari La Malcontenta Flight and room upgrades are available please call ArtsAbroad if you would like further information. We will also be pleased to book additional nights before or after the tour.
ARTSABROAD LIMITED 22 Rutland Street London SW7 1EF U.K. info@artsabroad.co.uk www.artsabroad.co.uk TEL: +44 (0)20 7589 9669 MOBILE: +44 (0)7770 272556 FAX: +44 (0)20 7584 1494