Brenta Canal Part 4: Villa Foscari (Malcontenta)

The final stop on our day-long journey along the Brenta Canal was at Villa Foscari, the closest to Venice of the three villas on the itinerary. 

Vintage drawing of Villa Foscari

The villa rests in an enchanting spot along the canal – with a private landing spot, wonderful views, large lawns, willow trees, and carefully tended gardens. 

 Villa Foscari is the oldest of the three villas visited on our one day canal cruise.  It was built between 1554 and 1557 with an entirely different architectural and decorative style. Compared to the grand ballrooms and ornate details of Villas Pisani and Widmann  (both built in the 1700’s), the Villa Foscari feels much more serious, more subtle, more lived in, and also a bit more mysterious.

Living room, just off the entry, Villa Foscari. Pretty cozy!

 The villa was designed by Andrea Palladio and is considered one of his masterpieces.   It has many typical features of Palladian design. The front facade is a symmetrical 3 stories with a grand front portico. There are classical details - massive columns, a triangular pediment, and dual external staircases all leading to the piano nobile (top photo).  There are few decorative details on the exterior, also typical of Palladian architecture. The villa could easily be mistaken for an ancient Roman temple. The architecture also takes into consideration the building’s position in the landscape, so the views can be appreciated from both the front and rear of the building. 

Rear facade, Villa Foscari, with an ancient wisteria vine. Less classical in design than the front facade, but still beautiful, this would have served as an entrance for the villa’s staff. It is actually the first glimpse of the villa when walking from the boat dock.

Vintage drawing of the front facade and floor plan of Villa Foscari

 Palladio designed and built Villa Foscari for brothers Nicolò and Alvise Foscari.  The brothers were members of the Venetian upper class and descendants of Francesco Foscari, the longest serving Venetian Doge ( he ruled Venice from 1423 to 1457).  This was an important family and the villa reflects that. The interior of the villa was designed with the brother’s needs in mind - there are two symmetrical apartments, one for each brother, separated by the common space of the impressive entry. 

 Inside, the entry hall is expansive with vaulted ceilings, exquisite frescoes, and sunny windows flanked by perfect reading nooks looking out over the rear of the house.  The other rooms on piano nobile are simply furnished but decorated with wonderful frescoes and details. 

 It is a spectacular yet comfortable and warm home.   If I lived here, I would be hard pressed to ever tear myself away from the reading nook.  A cup of tea, a good book (perhaps one of the ones written by the current owner on the history of the villa), and those views! And then maybe a walk through the gardens.

At the far side of the entry, this windowed reading nook looks out over the landscape.

 The air of mystery surrounding the villa is what gives rise to its other name – The Villa Malcontenta.  The legend (as recounted by our tour guide) is that one of the Foscari brothers married later in life to a very beautiful, vivacious, and young woman.  As his business activities meant long stretches away from Venice, the young wife found ways to amuse herself - parties, balls, and young men!   Her older husband was not pleased and so he banished her from the social whirl of Venice to his estate along the Brenta Canal where she would spend her life away from the temptations of Venice, in relative isolation.  Her nickname, La Malcontenta, means the unhappy one.  Today, the villa itself is often referred to as Villa Malcontenta.  A sad name for such a beautiful home.

One of several gardens on the property.

looking down into one of the gardens from the front portico.

 As was the case for so many of the Brenta Canal villas, the Foscari family was forced to sell the property after the fall of Venice.  The estate fell into ruin in the 1800’s and stood mostly empty until restoration work began towards the end of that century.   Both the villa and the gardens were restored after its purchase in 1926 by a trio of wealthy friends.  After that the estate changed hands several times, always as a private home.  In 1973 it was purchased by Count Antonio Foscari, returning it to the ownership of Foscari family.   Antonio Foscari is both an architect and an expert on Palladian villas, the perfect person (along with his architect wife) to restore and preserve the villa.  The villa remains a private home but is also open to tours.  It was certainly a highlight on our one day cruise along the Brenta Canal.

The villa sits along the Brenta Canal and is surrounded by lawns, gardens, trees and wonderful views.

 After visiting Villa Foscari, we headed off across the lagoon and entered Venice itself.  Wandering a bit though the city we stopped for cicchetti at Cantina Do Spado and then wandered our way back to the train station. After that it was a short train ride back to our base in Padova. A perfect end to a fascinating day. 

Arriving in Venice after cruising the Brenta Canal.

Brenta Canal Part Three: Villa Widmann

 After visiting Villa Pisani, the largest and most grand of the “Brenta Riviera” villas included on a recent day-long trip along the Brenta Canal, we reboarded our burchiello to continue the journey towards the Venetian Lagoon.  After passing through the Dolo and the Mira locks, the next stop was the town of Mira, mid-way between Padua and Venice. There, we paid a visit to an 18th century gem, the Villa Widmann.

 (Above, frescoes at Villa Widmann, artist unknown)

Villa Widmann is much smaller than Villa Pisani, but every bit as glamorous.  The size and style of the home evolved from the early 1700’s when it was built by the Serimann family of Venice to the mid-1700’s when the Widmann family purchased it.  Over time, the villa had a series of owners, a fact reflected in its complete name - the Villa Widmann-Rezzonico Foscari.  Eventually ownership returned to a later generation of Widmanns who owned the villa until 1970.  Today, it belongs to the City of Venice. The villa is open for tours, events, and exhibits. And, fortunately, it was included on our Brenta Canal day cruise.

The villa is sumptuous.  Like the larger villa Pisani, the house wraps around a frescoed ballroom with a large and ornate balcony overhead.  The huge venetian glass chandeliers that light the ballroom are impressive works of art. 

 Heading upstairs, we found elegant bedrooms, sitting rooms, and en-suite bathrooms. 

The upper floor also held the entry to the lofty balcony above the ballroom.  Stepping out onto the balcony provided a wonderful birds-eye view of the frescoes overhead, the chandeliers, and ornately decorated ballroom below. 

Looking down into the ballroom from the balcony above. This is the view the musicians would have had when the entertained the guests.

The barchessa, an outdoor service building which would have housed kitchens, stables, and storage, is a long building behind a series of graceful arches.  Peek inside to see the old carriages and saddles in the stable

  The villa is elaborate and yet somehow the scale is cozy.  It’s easy to imagine a life here - from family dinners to card games to fancy balls.

After a lunch break, we were on our way to the Villa Foscari, the closest to Venice of the three villas visited on this canal cruise and the only one by the architect Andrea Palladio.   More on that in a future post!

The gardens are filled with statues, a large greenhouse, and lots of leafy trees

Brenta Canal Part Two: The Villa Pisani

The Villas along the Brenta Canal were built between the 16th and 18th century.  Some were built for agriculture and commerce but many as summer getaways for rich and powerful Venetians.  They lined the canal between Venice and the city of Padova, forming an extension of Venice that became known as the “Brenta Riviera”. 

A beautifully decorated hallway in Villa Pisani

The front entrance to Villa Pisani

The villas were designed to impress.  Their ornate trimmings, art filled halls, grand ballrooms, and sweeping gardens played host to Doges, Popes, Kings, Emperors, artists and wealthy merchants during the height of the Venetian Empire.   After the fall of Venice, in 1797, with the arrival of Napoleon, many of the villas changed hands, often due to the financial problems of the owners. 

Today some villas are in disrepair (imagine the costs of upkeep!), some are abandoned, some have been converted into museums, restaurants or hotels. Others are privately owned. A few of the most spectacular ones are open to the public.

The villas can easily be visited by car, but a more elegant (though much slower) way to tour the villas is to arrive by burchiello – a modern version of the historic boats that once moved people and goods along the canal. That is exactly what a group of friends and I did recently.  The boat trip from Padua to Venice took about 9 hours, with stops at 3 villas along the way.  The visits included a guide who shared the history of each villa, details about the art and architecture, and some good 16th – 18th century gossip about villa life.

The first villa on the itinerary was Villa Pisani.  Built to celebrate the election of Alvise Pisani as the 114th Doge of Venice, the villa is the crown jewel of the Brenta Riviera.  The Pisani family owned the villa until it was sold to Napoleon in 1808.  

The villa is remarkable in many ways.  First, its size.  The place is massive!  The 144 rooms are said to represent the number of Venetian Doges up to Pisani.  One room is filled with wall mounted sculptures of the head of each doge.  Look carefully on the wall to the right to find the likeness of Alvise Pisani.   

The Pisani’s must have loved to entertain, because their ballroom is nothing short of spectacular.  The room shimmers with gold trimmings.  High above is an ornate balcony which rings the room – a place for the musicians to play.  And the ceiling! The ceiling fresco is by Tiepolo and it is a marvel. The ballroom is the truly the elegant heart of the villa. Standing here you can almost hear the music playing and can imagine the finely clothed Venetians enjoy a luxurious party.

The visit to the villa includes the piano nobile where a series of rooms are filled with history.  There is the bedroom where King Vittorio Emanuele II slept (left below).  Next door, the room of his second wife, the Contessa di Mirafiori, with a reproduction of one of her dresses (right).

The room dedicated to music and the elegant sala di pranzo (dining room) face out onto the immaculate grounds and the stable (shown below at the end of the reflecting pool and looking very much like another villa).

Napoleon only spent one night here, but he left the villa in the hands of his stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy.  The Viceroy lived there with his wife, adding fireplaces for heating (most of the Brenta Villas were not heated as they were intended to be summer homes), and creating a chapel, a study and a games room.  The study is where a later historic meeting between Mussolini and Hitler took place prior to World War II.

A peak at the grounds outside the villa. I’ll need a return visit to explore the gardens!

The grounds are equally impressive.  The 30 acres contain a large reflecting pool, stables, an orangery, ice house, and a labyrinth.

Is it true that Napoleon got lost in the labyrinth?  It is said that he did but, to use the Italian phrase, chissà (who knows)?  

The only drawback to our guided visit is that we did not have any time in the gardens.  I will need to go back and wander those beautiful spaces.

Today the Villa and surrounding park is a National Museum.  

The Villa is open from 31 March to 30 September this year, 9 am – 8pm (last admission 1 hour before closing), closed on Mondays.  The labyrinth is currently closed for restoration.

 Coming soon – Part 3, Villa Widmann

 Website: villapisani.beniculturali.it

Email: info@museovillapisani.it

Cost €12 villa + park, €6 park only

Brenta Canal Part One: The Journey

A vintage drawing of a the Villa di Oriaggo along the Brenta Canal

Beginning in the 15th century, the merchants and Noblemen of the Venetian Republic (long before Italy as a unified country came into being) began to acquire property on the mainland west of the Venetian Lagoon. 

The land they developed was used for farming and later for building summer homes and grand villas.  Having a villa along the “Brenta Riviera” was quite fashionable for well-to-do Venetians.   

 The Brenta Canal, a stretch of the Brenta River between Padua and Venice, was the waterway used to move people and goods from the lowlands of Venice up river to Padua.  The canal was modified with a series of locks, some built to a design first developed by Leonardo Da Vinci, to allow boats to make the uphill trip.  

Imagine rowing across the Venetian Lagoon in one of these boats and then being pulled up the Brenta Canal by horses! Sadly, there are no surviving examples of a Burchiello as all were destroyed when Napoleon came to power in Venice.

 Two types of boats travelled the canal.  The first, a burchio, carried goods.  The second, a  burchiello was an ornate boat designed to ferry Noblemen in grand style from Venice to their summer homes on the mainland along the Brenta canal.  The boats were rowed across the lagoon and then pulled by horses up river, passing through a series of locks and under several moveable bridges.

 The tradition of spending summers along the Brenta Canal ended in 1797 when Napoleon arrived and the Venetian Republic fell. Sadly, all of the Burchiello boats were destroyed. We have only drawings but no actual boats to see. Today, a different kind of burchiello travels the canal between Padua and Venice.   Modern motorized boats carry tourists on day-long trips to experience the canal and tour several of the Villas along the route.

The boat for our excursion, named the Burchiellino, tied up at the Villa Foscari

The modern route still uses the old locks to climb up (or down) the 10 meter change in water level along the canal. The boats pass under several sliding bridges and swing bridges – some still operated by hand.

 Along the route are scenes of life along the Brenta canal.

The trip passes by a series of the villas along the way.  Some are sadly in need of repair, some have been adapted for use as restaurants or hotels, and some remain as beautiful and well tended private residences.  A few (lucky for us!) are open to the public. (photos below all taken from the boat on a cloudy day)

On the day-long cruise, with the company Il Burchiello, we were able to visit 3 historic villas – Villa Pisani, Villa Widmann, and the Palladian masterpiece of Villa Foscari.  More about the villas in an upcoming post.  

 Contact info: Il Burchiello www.itburchiello.it. Cost for the full day journey €129 for adults, half day €69

Out and About in Padova

Padova (Padua) is a wonderful, vibrant university town located just 30 minutes by train from Venezia (Venice) and about 4 1/2 hours from my home in Lucca.  It’s a wonderful place, full of important churches, art, museums, and historic buildings. It is one of my favorite cities to visit in Italy.    

The architecture of Padova has a Byzantine influence.

Fresco panel, Scrovegni Chapel, Padovs

One of the city’s major attractions, the stunning Scrovegni Chapel, is filled with Giotto frescoes. They are exquisite and beautifully preserved. 

The Basilica of Saint Anthony draws worshippers along with those who appreciate art, architecture, history, and Italian culture.  They are two of Padova’s major attractions, essential to see on a first visit to the city.

Church of Santa Maria dei Servi, Padova

One of the major advantages of living in Lucca is the ability to visit places like Padova easily and often, sometimes just using it as a base for exploring nearby places. 

That was the case on my most recent visit, one in which I didn’t (gasp!) visit either the Scrovegni Chapel or the Basilica of Saint Anthony.  

Instead, my travel companion and I spent time leisurely walking through town. We popped into lesser-known churches.  We visited the market (and drooled over the food choices).  We spent time in two of the city’s wonderful parks. 

Prato della Valle park, Padova

We made a spontaneous stop at a fantastic Monet exhibit in one of the city’s museums.   The closest we got to Saint Anthony’s Basilica was sitting in a nearby cafe where we sipped an Aperol Spritz while gazing at the beautiful and unique domes of the church. 

Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua

The Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza

Along with a small group of friends, I boarded a boat for a day-long Brenta Canal cruise between Padova and Venezia and a chance to visit 3 historic villas along the way.  More detail about that in some future coming posts.

One afternoon, we hopped a train to nearby Vicenza to get a flavor for the city and see a 500+ year old theater designed by Palladio. 

Vicenza

For anyone who has not yet been to Padova, a 4 day stay would allow for a visit to the Scrovegni Chapel (advance tickets required) and the Basilica of Saint Anthony, a one day Brenta Canal cruise, and a couple of days to wander the city visiting some of the other historic places, churches, the market, the Prate della Valle park and leisurely strolling around this beautiful and vibrant city.

And don’t forget to try the Venetian style cicchetti ! It makes a wonderful dinner.

Cicchetti at Bacaro Frescoli in Padova