Villa Saraceno

Villa Saraceno is located in the countryside of the southeastern sector of the province, about thirty kilometers from Vicenza, not far from the Riviera Berica, which runs along the edge of the Colli Berici and descends towards Noventa Vicentina and Este. The residence commissioned by Palladio from Biagio Saraceno is certainly one of the first and least lavish among the existing Palladian villas: this makes Villa Saraceno particularly significant within the collection of Palladian works that have survived to this day. These villas reinterpret the Roman ideal of escape from the city in a Renaissance key, indeed they are the ideal place to retreat from urban chaos, allowing one to lead an independent and culturally enriched countryside existence.

The proposal, as stated in “I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura”, envisages a villa surrounded by two large farm buildings at right angles. The work actually pertains only to the residence, which is characterized by essential lines, making it one of the most interesting architectures from the 1940s, demonstrating the artist's ever-increasing formal mastery. The volume is set on a podium revealing the existence of semi-basement service spaces. The noble floor is accessed via an elegant loggia with three arches, preceded by a staircase and adorned with a triangular pediment. The use of stone is limited to the frames of doors and windows, a choice that emphasizes the simplicity of the overall design. Below the roofline, small windows correspond to the spaces designated for a granary. The internal spaces, arranged around a central T-shaped hall, are symmetrically and proportionally distributed. Noteworthy is the decoration in the vault of the Loggia and inside, attributed to Brusasorci (1539-1605). For a stylistic comparison, consider villa Gazzotti in Bertesina and villa Caldogno in Caldogno. Currently, the villa is owned by the Landmark Trust, an English architectural association that, after undertaking the restoration of the property, has allocated it for cultural events and partly for tourism residence.