Villa Gazzotti Grimani, Vicenza, Italy

Villa Gazzotti Grimani is a Renaissance villa, an early work of architect Andrea Palladio. In 1994 UNESCO designated it as part of the World Heritage Site 'City of Vicenza and Palladian Villas of the Veneto'.

The villa was designed and built in the 1540s for the Venetian Taddeo Gazzotti and, like a number of Palladio's buildings, it incorporates a pre-existing structure. In 1550, before the building was completed, Gazzotti was facing financial problems and sold the villa to Girolamo Grimani.

For the first time Palladio presents the body of the building as a clearly defined cube. The three-fold arcade in the central section, which is reminiscent of Villa Godi, is crowned by a triangular gable and is the dominant shape of the facade.

The body of the building rests on a base, from which it is divided by means of a ledge which runs along the entire width of the facade. On the one hand this serves to protect the working areas from damp, but on the other hand, it also raises the villa above the surrounding landscape.

The villa is currently in need of restoration, particularly the exterior stucco which has peeled to expose the underlying brickwork. The restored Villa Saraceno is an example of how impressive restored stucco can look.

References:

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User Reviews

Massimiliano Fiore (2 years ago)
Villa Gazzotti Grimani is wonderful in the evening....I visited it for the first time thanks to some theater friends where they had organized a very particular and fascinating theater show.

Alberto Zoin (4 years ago)
They have finally made the area usable with some refurbishment works

Luca Marzegan (4 years ago)
And a place worth visiting ???

Luca Grolla (5 years ago)
Park outside the villa as beautiful as the real Palladian villa

Francesco Brasco (5 years ago)
The villa needs urgent renovation. The bell tower must be masked or "moved". Otherwise, redoing the square will not help. Today the construction site is underway

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