The Villa Widmann, also called Widmann-Rezzonico-Foscari, is a villa at the shores of the river
Brenta located in the small town of
Mira
Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus.
ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a varia ...
, between
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
and
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 ...
.
thumb
The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...
The present palace was built in the 18th century. A succession of families including the
Sceriman, Donà,
Foscari
The House of Foscari () was an ancient Venetian patrician family, which reached its peak in the 14th–15th centuries, culminating in the dogeship of Francesco Foscari (1423–1457).
History
According to family tradition, they originated from ...
, had previously owned the site. The present palace was apparently designed and built in 1719 by Alessandro (?...Andrea) Tirali, a Venetian architect. The Widmanns commissioned the internal frescoes mainly by
Giuseppe Angeli, a pupil of
Giambattista Piazzetta
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (also called Giambattista Piazzetta or Giambattista Valentino Piazzetta) (February 13, 1682 or 1683 – April 28, 1754) was an Italian Rococo painter of religious subjects and genre scenes.
Biography
Piazzetta was ...
, and
Gerolamo Mengozzi Colonna
Gerolamo Mengozzi Colonna (1688 – Venice, 27 October 1774) was an Italian painter, mostly of frescoed quadratura.
Biography
Born in Ferrara, Gerolamo was a pupil of the painters of architectural perspective painters Antonio Felice Ferrari and ...
, who worked with
Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...
. The Villa is surrounded by cypress and horse-chestnut trees, and gardens interspersed by several stone statues of gods, nymphs and cupids. A ''barchessa'' (a protruding arcade wing usually functioning as storage sheds or stables) and a small church, where Elisabetta and Arianna Widmann are buried, are also part of the Villa's buildings.
Virtual tour
In 2011, it became the first of a series of digital heritage virtual tours that covers the most beautiful Venetian villas. The project was designed by Fotografia Virtuale™, a company specialized in high-tech photography and new media based in Venice with several branches in major Italian cities.
Virtual tour of villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari
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See also
* 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 ...
References
Sources
Fotografia Virtuale ™
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Widmann - Foscari
Gardens in Veneto
Widmann-Foscari
Sceriman family