Villa Pisani at Stra refers to the monumental, late-
Baroque rural palace located along the Brenta Canal (
Riviera del Brenta
The Riviera del Brenta is an area of the Metropolitan City of Venice of particular tourist-cultural interest due to the great architectural heritage of the Venetian villas built between the 15th and 18th centuries by the nobles of the Venetian Rep ...
) at Via Doge Pisani 7 near the town of
Stra, on the mainland of the
Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 = ...
, northern Italy. This villa is one of the largest examples of
Villa Veneta located in the
Riviera del Brenta
The Riviera del Brenta is an area of the Metropolitan City of Venice of particular tourist-cultural interest due to the great architectural heritage of the Venetian villas built between the 15th and 18th centuries by the nobles of the Venetian Rep ...
, the canal linking Venice to Padua. The patrician
Pisani family
The House of Pisani is a Venetian patrician family, originating from Pisa, which played an important role in the historic, political and economic events of the Venetian Republic during the period between the 12th and the beginning of the 18th centu ...
of Venice commissioned a number of villas, also known as ''Villa Pisani'' across the Venetian mainland. The villa and gardens now operate as a national museum, and the site sponsors art exhibitions.
History
Construction of this palace was begun in the early 18th century for
Alvise Pisani, the most prominent member of the Pisani family, who was appointed
doge
A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics".
Etymology
The ...
in 1735. The initial models of the palace by
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
n architect
Girolamo Frigimelica still exist, but the design of the main building was ultimately completed by
Francesco Maria Preti. When it was completed, the building had 114 rooms, in honour of its owner, the 114th
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...
Alvise Pisani.
In 1807 it was bought by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
from the Pisani Family, now in poverty due to great losses in gambling. In 1814 the building became the property of the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
who transformed the villa into a place of vacation for the European aristocracy of that period. After 1866 the Villa became the property of the
House of Savoy, who in 1882 transferred it to the Italian state. In 1934 it was partially restored to host the first meeting of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and
Benito Mussolini, after the riots in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
.
Architecture
From the outside, the facade of the oversized palace appears to command the site, facing the
Brenta River
The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region, in the north-east of Italy.
During the Roman era, it was called Medoacus (Ancient Greek: ''Mediochos'', ''Μηδ ...
some 30 kilometers from Venice. The villa is one of many villas along the canal, which the Venetian noble families and merchants started to build as early as the 15th century. The broad façade is topped with statuary, and presents an exuberantly decorated center entrance with monumental columns shouldered by atlantes (an
atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...
being a male version of a
caryatid
A caryatid ( or or ; grc, Καρυᾶτις, pl. ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "ma ...
). It shelters a large complex with two inner courts and acres of gardens, stables, and a garden
maze.
The largest room is the ballroom, where the 18th-century painter
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo frescoed the two-story ceiling with a massive allegorical depiction of the ''Apotheosis'' or ''Glory of the Pisani family'' (painted 1760–1762).
[Villa Pisani](_blank)
/ref> Tiepolo's son Gian Domenico Tiepolo
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (August 30, 1727March 3, 1804) was an Italian painter and printmaker in etching. He was the son of artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and elder brother of Lorenzo Baldissera Tiepolo.
Life history
Domenico was born in ...
, Crostato, Jacopo Guarana
225px, ''Allegory of the virtues Mocenigo'', 1787
Jacopo Guarana (October 28, 1720 – April 18, 1808) was a Venetian painter of the late Baroque period who was born in Verona. He was active mainly in Venice and its mainland territories.
In ...
, Jacopo Amigoni
Jacopo Amigoni (ca. 1685 – September 1752), also named Giacomo Amiconi, was an Italian painter of the late- Baroque or Rococo period, who began his career in Venice, but traveled and was prolific throughout Europe, where his sumptuous portrai ...
, P.A. Novelli, and Gaspare Diziani
Gaspare Diziani (1689 – 17 August 1767) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Roccoco period, active mainly in the Veneto but also in Dresden and Munich. The artist's canvas is the largest painting of the Hermitage Museum in St. Peters ...
also completed frescoes for various rooms in the villa. Another room of importance in the villa is now known as the "Napoleon Room" (after his occupant), furnished with pieces from the Napoleonic and Habsburg periods and others from when the house was lived by the Pisani.
The ''most riotously splendid'' Tiepolo ceiling would influence his later depiction of the ''Glory of Spain'' for the throne room of the Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies.
The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...
; however, the grandeur and bombastic ambitions of the ceiling echo now contrast with the mainly uninhabited shell of a palace. The remainder of its nearly 100 rooms are now empty. The Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to:
* Carlo (name)
* Monte Carlo
* Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...
described the palace in its day as a place of "great fun, served meals, dance and shows".
(Stra) Villa Pisani - Il pozzo nel cortile interno sud-ovest.jpg, The well in the inner courtyard
False facade and stables - Villa Pisani (Stra).jpg, False facade and stables
Villa Pisani - Il retro della villa con il parco e la piscina.jpg, The reflecting pond
VillaPisani.jpg, Facade
Pisani IMG 5896.JPG, Statuary at Villa Pisani
The Apotheosis of the Pisani Family - G B Tiepolo.jpg, The Apotheosis of the Pisani Family
Tiepolo Pisani.JPG, Fresco by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Exhibitions
There are often exhibitions of ancient, modern and contemporary art. The halls host 150000 visitors a year. In 2007, the exhibition "I classici del contemporaneo" and "Extradimensionism" by Paolo Aldighieri. In 2008, an important exhibition by Mimmo Paladino. In 2009 "Impressionismo a Venezia, 1879–1933" by Emma Ciardi. In 2011 "Tutto score" by Oliviero Rainaldi.
See also
*List of Baroque residences
This is a list of Baroque architecture, Baroque palaces and Residenz, residences built in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Baroque architecture is a building style of the Baroque, Baroque era, begun in late 16th-century Italy and spread in Europe ...
* Palladian Villas of the Veneto
*Riviera del Brenta
The Riviera del Brenta is an area of the Metropolitan City of Venice of particular tourist-cultural interest due to the great architectural heritage of the Venetian villas built between the 15th and 18th centuries by the nobles of the Venetian Rep ...
(The Brenta river)
References
External links
Official site of the Villa Pisani
Giambattista Tiepolo, 1696–1770
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which includes material on Villa Pisani
{{authority control
Houses completed in the 18th century
Pisani, Stra
Gardens in Veneto
Italian Baroque gardens
Museums in Veneto
Historic house museums in Italy
National museums of Italy
Pisani family
Royal residences in Italy