Villa Emo is one of the many creations conceived by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. It is a patrician villa located in the Veneto region of northern Italy, near the village of Fanzolo di Vedelago, in the Province of Treviso. The patron of this villa was Leonardo Emo and remained in the hands of the until it was sold in 2004. Since 1996, it has been conserved as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".

History

Andrea Palladio's architectural fame is considered to have come from the many villas he designed. The building of Villa Emo was the culmination of a long-lasting project of the patrician of the Republic of Venice to develop its estates at Fanzolo. In 1509, which saw the defeat of Venice in the War of the League of Cambrai, the estate on which the villa was to be built was bought from the Barbarigo family. Leonardo di Giovannia Emo was a well-known Venetian aristocrat. He was born in 1538 and inherited the Fanzolo estate in 1549. This property was dedicated to the agricultural activities from which the family prospered. The Emo family's central interest was at first in the cultivation of their newly acquired land. Not until two generations had passed did Leonardo Emo commission Palladio to build a new villa in Fanzolo.

Historians do not have firm chronology of dates on the design, construction, or the commencement of the new building: the years 1555 or 1558 is estimated to have been when the building was designed, while the construction was thought to have been undertaken between 1558 and 1561. There is no evidence showing that the villa was built by 1549: however, it has been documented to have been built by 1561. The 1560s saw the interior decoration added and the consecration of the chapel in the west barchesse in 1567.

Partial alterations were made to the Villa Emo in 1744 by Francesco Muttoni. Arches within both wings that were close to the central build were sealed off and additional residential areas were created. The ceilings were altered in 1937–1940. The villa and its surrounding estate were purchased in 2004 by an institution and further restorations were made.  Since 1996, it has been conserved as part of the World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto". The living quarters are raised above ground-level, as are all of Palladio's other villas.

Instead of the usual staircase going up to the main front door, the building has a ramp with a gentle slope that is as wide as the pronaos. This reveals the agricultural tradition of this complex. The ramp, an innovation in Palladian villas, was necessary for transportation to the granaries by wheelbarrows loaded with food products and other goods. The wide ramp leads to the loggia which takes the form of a column portico crowned by a gable – a temple front which Palladio applied to secular buildings. As in the case with the Villa Badoer, the loggia does not stand out from the core of the building as an entrance hall, but is retracted into it. The emphasis of simplicity extends to the column order of the loggia, for which Palladio chose the plain Tuscan order. It is not clear if the long walk, made of large square paving-stones, which leads to the front of the house, served a practical purpose. It seems to be a fifteenth-century threshing floor. However, Palladio advised that threshing should not be carried out near a house.

thumb|upright|Frescoes by [[Giovanni Battista Zelotti, west wall of the hall (c. 1566)]]

Frescoes

thumb|Hall West

The exterior is simple, bare of any decoration. In contrast, the interior is richly decorated with frescoes by the Veronese painter Giovanni Battista Zelotti, who also worked on Villa Foscari and other Palladian villas. The main series of frescoes in the villa is grouped in an area with scenes featuring Venus, the goddess of love. Zelotti appears to have completed the work on the frescoes by 1566. Within the many frescoes are depictions of different flowers and fruit, including corn, only recently introduced into the Po Valley. Many of the frescoes are presented within false architecture, like columns, arches and architectural framework. Bob Vila's three-part six-hour production for A&E Network.

In 2002, Villa Emo was used as a filming location for the movie Ripley's Game, serving as the home of the protagonist.

See also

  • Palladian Villas of the Veneto
  • Palladian architecture

References

Sources

  • - official site