Palladian Villas of the Veneto

The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site protecting a cluster of works by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. [ [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/712 UNESCO World heritage site number 712] ] At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the immediate area of Vicenza were included. Various types of buildings were represented including the Teatro Olimpico, "palazzi" and a few villas. Most of Palladio's surviving villas lay outside the site. However, in 1996 the number of Palladian villas included in the site was expanded to include those in other parts of the Veneto. The site was given its present name.

The term villa was used to describe a country house. Often rich families in the Veneto also had a house in town called a palazzo. In most cases the owners named their palazzi and villas with the family surname, hence there is both a Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza and a Villa Chiericati in the countryside, similarly there is a Palazzo Foscari in Venice and a Villa Foscari in the countryside. Somewhat confusingly there are multiple Villas Pisani, including two by Palladio.

The site includes the following villas:

*Villa Angarano, Bassano del Grappa
*Villa Badoer, Fratta Polesine
*Villa Barbaro, Maser
*Villa Caldogno, Caldogno
*Villa Capra "La Rotonda", Vicenza
*Villa Chiericati, Grumolo delle Abbadesse
*Villa Cornaro, Piombino Dese
*Villa Emo, Vedelago
*Villa Forni Cerato, Montecchio Precalcino
*Villa Foscari, Mira
*Villa Gazzotti Grimani, Bertesina, Vicenza
*Villa Godi, Lonedo di Lugo Vicentino
*Villa Piovene, Lugo Vicentino
*Villa Pisani (Bagnolo), Bagnolo di Lonigo
*Villa Pisani Montagnana
*Villa Poiana, Poiana Maggiore
*Villa Saraceno, Agugliaro
*Villa Serego, San Pietro in Cariano
*Villa Thiene, Quinto Vicentino
*Villa Trissino, Sarego
*Villa Trissino Trettenero, Vicenza
*Villa Valmarana Scagnolari Zen, Bolzano Vicentino
*Villa Valmarana Bressan, Monticello Conte Otto
*Villa Zeno, Cessalto

References