Villa Cornaro

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Villa Cornaro in Piombino Dese in the province of Padua, Veneto was designed by Andrea Palladio around 1552. According to Trevisan, it presents itself as a kind of mixed form of villa in the strict sense, i.e. country house, and city residence.

History
The client of the villa was Giorgio Cornaro, a younger son from the Venetian Cornaro family.
Villa Cornaro remained in the possession of the Cornaro for 253 years and then changed owners three times until 1951. After that, it stood empty for a longer time and was restored from 1989 by the current owners, the American couple Gable, over a period of 20 years.
The building, which can be visited today, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO with other Palladio villas in 1996.

Architecture
From the villa was taken the form open to the landscape, the striving for the interaction of interior and exterior, which makes the extension by the short side wings and the depth of the entrance portico clear. However, the two floors go back to the City Palace and there are no agricultural annexes that would connect directly to the mansion. Thus, the villa alone has the function of a representative building without agricultural useful character.

According to Ulmer, the central section of the villa was ready to move in 1554, but it was not completed until 1596.

Interior trim
The interiors remained for years without artistic design, but the original reddish brick floor from the time of creation is still preserved. It was not until 1588 that Camillo Mariani’s son commissioned six larger-than-life stucco figures. They represent members of the Cornaro family, including the Queen of Cyprus Caterina Cornaro. They are set up in Arcadenese in the representative salon of the villa, which is characterized by four freestanding Corinthian columns. Only a great-grandson of the client tackled the further artistic design of the building. The stuccos and frescoes of various rooms were not completed until 1716. There are 140 frescoes by Mattia Bortoloni, framed by Bartolo Cabianca in stuccos with turkeys and floral decor.

Literature
Sally Gable, Carl I. Gable, Palladian Days. Finding a New Life in a Venetian Country House. Anchor Books, New York NY 2006, ISBN 1-4000-7873-3.

Weblinks

Villa Cornaro

Individual evidence

Cornaro
Piombino Dese
Building by Andrea Palladio
Built in the 16th century
Piombino Dese
Old town of Vicenza and Palladios villas in Veneto
Cornaro