August 23, 2015
Villa Poiana was commissioned by the Vicentine Bonifacio Poiana and was designed by famed architect, Andrea Palladio, who also included it within his Four Books on Architecture. Poiana was given the huge estate for his services to the Venetian Republic during the War of the League of Cambrai. It is estimated that the villa was designed towards the end of the 1540s and was completed in 1563.
"It seems here that Palladio was attempting to emulate the utilitarian logic of the architecture typical of thermal baths in classical times, through the use of an architectural ‘language’ that appears to be an extraordinary synthesis of forms, quite abstract and almost ‘metaphysical’. The absence of orders and parts in worked stone (excluding the portals of the loggia) must have ensured considerable savings in the implementation of this project." [Poiana]
The overall site design of the property was very Palladian; however, only a small portion was actually realized. The facade is composed of Serlian windows with a double frame and five circles. Bricks and moulded terra-cotta were used instead of the typical stone elements [most likely to save money]. The interior layout is symmetrical with a large rectangular barrel-vaulted hall in the center. The interior decoration was done by painters Bernardino India and Anselmo Canera as well as the sculptor Bartolomeo Ridolfi.
This was only a quick stop on my way to Montagnana. I happened to be driving past it, so I swung back around and took a quick look. It was a great find and worth the trip.
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