Giardino e Teatro Jacquard

The Jacquard Garden was created starting in 1859 during the renewal and growth phase promoted by Alessandro Rossi, with the aim of offering a place for leisure and culture to workers and citizens. Thus begins the landscaping of the area in front of the Francesco Rossi Wool Mill. The garden is named after the inventor and patentee of the loom for weaving that allows for the creation of complex designs on fabrics: the Frenchman Jean Marie Jacquard. This green space, which naturally presents a gentle slope towards the hill, before being transformed into a romantic garden, housed functional structures for textile production, such as drying racks and cloth hangers for wool, as well as the ancient building used for weaving, specifically the original mill of Nicolò Tron, during the period from approximately 1864 to 1879. Part of the weaving was eventually replaced with the "Shelter for Workers" designed by engineer Pergameni, which is still visible to the left of the entrance gate.
The Jacquard Garden is the work of architect Antonio Caregaro Negrin, who skillfully integrated new elements into the existing context: the two corner houses facing the current Via Pasubio, the octagonal tower with a pagoda roof, and the sixteenth-century church of San Rocco. The tower once closed off the weaving area and was meant to contain the “pisciatoj,” based on the custom of using urine in the wool processing due to its high ammonia content. It was later transformed into a pigeon tower, following the traditional canons of the Venetian rural villa.
Another significant element of the garden is the sinuous exedram greenhouse that limits the flat area and serves as a backdrop to the rear section. At the back, the mysterious nymphaeum opens up, made with various materials such as natural stone, brick, river gravel, and iron, to create a system of artificial caves, single and double windows, flying arches, some winding paths, rustic steps, and the belvedere.
The Jacquard Garden, with its peculiar stylistic eclecticism and richness of arboreal essences, including exotic ones, is an interesting expression of late nineteenth-century Venetian and European culture. The building that borders the right side of the garden, once a house for the caretaker, a stable, and a storage facility, initially also supported the productive activity of the Rossi Wool Mill. After 1860, the building was transformed into a recreation center with an evening school, rehearsal room for the band, and a library. In 1869, according to the will of the client and for educational purposes, the upper floor of the building was transformed into a Civic Theater, capable of hosting 800 people. In the theater hall, shaped like a horseshoe, operettas and melodramas inspired by the lives of workers, musical performances, and assemblies were staged. The ground floor housed the ticket office and the coffee room; the entire complex properly functioned as a multifunctional cultural center for the entire community. The Lombard-style facade of the building alternates with windows framed by red bands, featuring 12 terracotta medallions created by Milanese sculptor Giovanni Battista Boni, representing illustrious figures from the history of Schio. The Jacquard Garden Complex as a whole constitutes a precious example of a late romantic garden, where the designer was able to express his eclectic culture harmonizing it with the client's wishes, Alessandro Rossi, represented in the bronze monument, created by Achille Alberti, which welcomes visitors right as they enter the Garden.