Villa Todesco

This rural complex is already shown in seventeenth-century maps of the areas. In the eighteenth century it would undergo a number of changes; then, after it was bought by Paolo Zara, the eastern side was modified and the structure was also extended southwards. In 1839 it was described as a “country retreat”. The interior of the villa has decorative frescoes of architectural views that are attributed to the Ticino-born artist Vincenzo Vela; the same artist would be commissioned by Padua City Council to sculpt the two statues of Giotto and Dante that were placed in the Loggia Amulea (in Prato della Valle) to celebrate the entrance into the city of the king of Italy in 1866.
The statue of Dante, in fact, also figures here, in the frescoes of the ground-floor Salon, which has a marvellous Venetian terrazzo floor of six different colours. The barchessa [agricultural outbuilding] is linked to the main body of the residence and has wide arches on rusticated pilaster strips. The complex has a large garden, complete with small lake and centuries-old trees. Listed by the Superintendence for the Artistic and Cultural Heritage, the Villa has recently been restored and is now an agriturismo [a facility that both serves food and provides accommodation]