Wing of the Villa Thiene (Cicogna)
Encyclopedia
The Wing of the Villa Thiene is a construction designed by Andrea Palladio
located in Cicogna, a hamlet in the comune
of Villafranca Padovana
in the Veneto
region of Italy
.
The barchessa which exists today is the only part of an ambitious project drawn up by Andrea Palladio for Francesco Thiene and his sons Odoardo and Teodoro.
(1570) Palladio declares that it was Francesco who initiated building works, and since he died in 1556 it is probable that Palladio’s project must have been conceived previously. In 1563 building works were in full swing, and a map dating from the following year well represents the state of the works which would halt in 1567, when Odoardo hastily abandoned Vicenza
fleeing into Protestant
territory for religious reasons.
Andrea Palladio was probably Odoardo’s personal friend, since he actually assisted him at the alarming moment of his flight, and witnessed the notarial act which nominated Odoardo’s brother Teodoro trustee of the properties he necessarily abandoned behind him.
The project for Villa Thiene is documented by an engraving
in the Quattro Libri: decidedly ambitious, it was characterised by a great loggia
with a giant order
, enclosed between tower
s arranged at the building’s four angles. A drawing by Marcantonio Palladio of the realised barchessa exists, which is extremely close to the executed form.
Both barchesse of the project should have been connected to the lordly house by two curvilinear portico
s, identical to those designed by Palladio in 1554 for the Villa Badoer
at Fratta Polesine
.
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
located in Cicogna, a hamlet in the comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
of Villafranca Padovana
Villafranca Padovana
Villafranca Padovana is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 40 km west of Venice and about 11 km northwest of Padua...
in the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
region of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The barchessa which exists today is the only part of an ambitious project drawn up by Andrea Palladio for Francesco Thiene and his sons Odoardo and Teodoro.
History
In I Quattro Libri dell'ArchitetturaI Quattro Libri dell'Architettura
I quattro libri dell'architettura is an Italian treatise on architecture by the architect Andrea Palladio . It was first published in four volumes in 1570 in Venice, illustrated with woodcuts after the author's own drawings. It has been reprinted and translated many times...
(1570) Palladio declares that it was Francesco who initiated building works, and since he died in 1556 it is probable that Palladio’s project must have been conceived previously. In 1563 building works were in full swing, and a map dating from the following year well represents the state of the works which would halt in 1567, when Odoardo hastily abandoned Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
fleeing into Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
territory for religious reasons.
Andrea Palladio was probably Odoardo’s personal friend, since he actually assisted him at the alarming moment of his flight, and witnessed the notarial act which nominated Odoardo’s brother Teodoro trustee of the properties he necessarily abandoned behind him.
The project for Villa Thiene is documented by an engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
in the Quattro Libri: decidedly ambitious, it was characterised by a great loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
with a giant order
Giant order
In Classical architecture, a giant order is an order whose columns or pilasters span two stories...
, enclosed between tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
s arranged at the building’s four angles. A drawing by Marcantonio Palladio of the realised barchessa exists, which is extremely close to the executed form.
Both barchesse of the project should have been connected to the lordly house by two curvilinear portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
s, identical to those designed by Palladio in 1554 for the Villa Badoer
Villa Badoer
Villa Badoer is a villa in Fratta Polesine in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed in 1556 by Andrea Palladio for the Venetian noble Francesco Badoer, and built between 1557 and 1563, on the site of a medieval castle which guarded a bridge across a navigable canal...
at Fratta Polesine
Fratta Polesine
Fratta Polesine is a comune in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about 70 km southwest of Venice and about 11 km southwest of Rovigo...
.
See also
- Palladian Villas of the VenetoPalladian Villas of the VenetoThe 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. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the...