Open Days and Events at
Villa Saraceno to celebrate Palladio's 500th Anniversary
Villa Saraceno - In Italiano
Villa Saraceno appartiene ed è conservata da The Landmark Trust, un ente non profit britannico che recupera edifici storici in situazione critica onde poterli preservare e, per finanziarne le spese di mantenimento, li rende disponibili per il soggiorno self-catering di gruppi fino a 16 persone.
Le stanze principali della Villa Saraceno sono aperte anche al pubblico e si possono visitare il mercoledì pomeriggio, tra le 14:00 e le 16:00, da aprile a ottobre. Solo su appuntamento si possono effettuare visite anche in altri periodi dell'anno.
Se desiderate ricevere maggiori informazioni contattate l'ufficio prenotazioni Landmark nel Regno Unito al numero +44 1628 825925, oppure il rappresentante di Landmark per l'Italia, Lorella Graham , al numero +39 041 5222 481, o scrivete a landmarktrust@fastwebnet.it.
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History of Villa Saraceno
Landmark acquired the Villa Saraceno derelict and forlorn in 1989 and since the completion of its restoration in 1994, thousands of people have experienced what it is like to live in a building designed by Andrea Palladio, one of history's greatest architects. 2008 is the 500th anniversary of Palladio's birth, and Landmark and the Villa Saraceno will play their part in the celebrations.
Palladio was born Andrea della Gondola in Padua in 1508, the son of a carver of millstones. As an apprentice stonemason, he met a noble patron, Giangiorgio Trissino, who encouraged him to study and took him on several trips to Rome, to draw and measure the ancient remains. Trissino also gave him the name by which he became known, Palladio.
Palladio would create a practical grammar of architecture based on his studies of the buildings of Ancient Rome. Most of his work was carried out in the Veneto, fertile hinterland to the Venetian lagoons and designated today a World Heritage Site, called ?Vicenza and Palladio's Villas of the Veneto'.
Towards the end of his life, in 1570, Palladio published a summary of his work, I Quattro Libri dell'Archittetura, perhaps the clearest textbook on architecture ever written. When it was printed in English translation in the early eighteenth century, it became the pattern book for British architecture for the rest of that century and beyond. The influence of Palladianism is clear in many of Landmark's other buildings ? Auchinleck House is a clear expression of Palladianism, but smaller Landmarks such as Ingestre Pavilion, Whiteford Temple, The Bath House and The Château are all typical of its pervasiveness.
Palladio's villas were built to enable his patrons to realise the Roman ideal of a cultured retreat to the countryside from the city. Landmark's Villa Saraceno is one of his earliest and simplest villas. Palladio placed his villa house precisely on the line of the existing corte wall to frame a view of distant hills. His client then either ran out of money or inclination and never built the elegant supporting buildings shown in the Quattro Libri design for the site. Two earlier tower houses remain alongside. Palladio's noble main house (the Landmark accommodation benefits from them all).
At the Villa Saraceno, Palladio combined monumentality with a scale of human practicality. Being first down in the morning and opening the huge sala doors to the landscape outside or dining by candlelight beneath portraits of Renaissance cardinals are experiences to be treasured. Stayling there, you sense your own existence lifted to a greater significance as you move through his well proportioned rooms, just as the villa house seems to draw life force from the landscape around. To visit one of Palladio's grander villas is often to stand in awe before its magnificence. To stay at the Villa Saraceno is actually to become a part of his scene.
Landmark will celebrate this anniversary year with a new guidebook for the Villa Saraceno in English and Italian and extended opportunities for visiting. We will also be liaising closely with Centro Internazionale di Studi di Archittetura di Andrea.
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Open Days and Events at Villa Saraceno
For the latest information on Open Days and Events at Villa Saraceno, please click here.
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Staying at Villa Saraceno
The Villa Saraceno accommodates up to 16 people. If you are interested in staying at the Villa, please contact the Booking Office or consult the Availability List (which is updated daily) to check availability.
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