Villa Valmarana ai Nani outside Vicenza, Italy

A jewel in the Veneto countryside

I visited the Villa Valmarana during one of my stays in Venice when I was writing the book about the Serenissima. It was a day trip, a pleasant break from writing. I longed to wander around the area outside Vicenza with its famous Palladian villas and to embrace with my gaze the Renaissance architecture with its classical Greek-style columns, pediments, and linear harmony, so familiar to me, since I was born in Athens, Greece.

An aerial view of the Villa Valmarana ai Nani, north of Vicenza.

As much as rock and a bare landscape are necessary to highlight the beauty of ancient Greek architecture, so the Renaissance villas of the Veneto need the calming loveliness of the green landscape to relax the eye. After all, they were built as elegant summer houses for the nobles who left their palazzi in the noisy, bustling center of Vicenza at that time.

Just a short distance from the famous Villa La Rotonda, whose style influenced the taste of the British to build similar villas in the English countryside, a perfectly wrought-iron gate was my entrance to the Villa Valmarana ai Nani. It made such an impression on me from the first moment I saw it, with its clean lines and appealing geometry, as well as its Italian-style gardens, while the green scenery behind was a stage set through which the villa emerged like a fairy tale.

Entrance to the Villa Valmarana ai Nani.

In 1757, Giustino Valmarana, belonging to the old nobility of Vicenza and owner of the villa, invited the Venetian artist Gianbattista Tiepolo to give colour and light to the interior. Eight hundred square meters of walls were covered with magnificent frescoes to turn the Palazzina into a real jewel. The sixty-year-old artist, who had decorated the finest palaces on the Grand Canal in Venice, executed the frescoes according to the taste and the favorite subjects of the owner, which were the mythical stories of the poets of Antiquity.

“The Sacrifice of Iphigenia”, fresco by Gianbattista Tiepolo in the main hall of the Villa Valmarana.

When I entered, I felt as if I was flying back in History and I found myself engulfed in exquisite emotions. It was the astonishingly innovative style of Gianbattista Tiepolo that took me to the world of epics, as I gazed at Iphigenia in the main hall.  Iphigenia is ready to be sacrificed in order for her father’s, Agamemnon’s, ships to set sail for Troy. The Sacrifice of Iphigenia is the prelude to the Homeric Iliad. The dramatic scene, masterfully painted by the artist with the amazing trompe l’œil technique, captivated my gaze thanks to the high theatrical manner of Tiepolo’s brush. Furthermore, the fresco alone gives the tone of the decoration as a stage scene when various events are organized at the villa, such as banquets. Only the white colour, crystal and silver are needed to embellish the table.

A banquet at the Palazzina - in the background a detail of “The Sacrifice of Iphigenia” fresco by Giambattista Tiepolo.

Moving from one room to another, I marveled at other sets of frescoes inspired by the poets of Antiquity, such as the dramatic moments of the semi-hero Achilles from the verses of Homer in the Iliad, or the great works of Latin literature, such as the Aeneid written in the 1st century BC. by the Roman poet Virgil. He tells the legendary story of Aeneas who left Troy and travelled to Italy where he becomes the progenitor of the Romans. This theme was much liked by the Italian nobles and, in their splendid palazzi, such frescoes were celebrated to evocate the mythical origins of their ancestors.

“Aeneas presents Cupid dressed as Ascanio to queen Dido”, fresco by Gianbattista Tiepolo in the Aeneid room.

Leaving the Palazzina, I went out in the gardens. I walked to sit at the Villa Caffè, bathed in sunlight, although I was not quite sure if the light of Tiepolo's brush had completely disappeared because the extraordinary view in front of me was as if I was looking at a painting. These are the hidden corners that hold small surprises for the wanderer, and I must confess that in the Villa Valmarana every step was a revelation.

View of the scenery surrounding the Villa Valmarana ai Nani.

Upon entering the Foresteria (guest house), I descended from the divine heights of Gianbattista Tiepolo’s artistic manner and landed to the realistic painting-style of his son Giandomenico. Each room had a different theme executed in a delicious way: rural everyday life scenes of peasants and farmers of the Veneto region, relaxing after a hard day’s labor. They were painted with such charming details, as the eggs in the basket which a contandina is looking at. Giustino Valmarana's descendant, Maria Carolina, says that her uncles used to sleep in this room when they were very young, observing the life of the peasants on the walls. How they could sleep in such a masterfully painted room was questionable, but the little Valmaranas found it normal because they were just used to living surrounded by works of art.

“Peasants of the Veneto countryside in a hot summer day”, fresco by Giandomenico Tiepolo in the room of rural scenes.

The boys' parents, who were Maria Carolina's grandparents, slept in the Chinese room. Oriental figures wearing peculiar hats and other delightful oriental scenes such as The Mandarin’s Walk or The Chinese Fabric Seller were testimony to the attraction of art devotees of the 18th century to this genre of decoration, called chinoiseries.

Oriental scenes in the Chinese room by Giandomenico Tiepolo.

On the left: “The Chinese Fabric Seller”. On the right: “The Mandarin’s Walk” - frescoes by Giandomenico Tiepolo in the Chinese room.

The last room enchanted me the most with its amazing trompe l'œil staircase. It bade me to go up to the second floor of the Foresteria, holding the hand trail, which of course does not exist. The scene shows a Moorish servant ascending to his master’s room, carrying a tray with two cups of coffee.

The staircase in the Carnival room, fresco by Giandomenico Tiepolo.

“The New World” , fresco by Giandomenico Tiepolo in the Carnival room.

The villa is still privately owned. The Valmarana family continues to use it as a countryside villa and the cousins Giulio and Maria Carolina share the pleasure of staying here. As Giulio says, they consider it their home and, as they have inherited such an artistic treasure, they feel responsible towards humanity. They opened the villa to the public and people come to visit it from all over the world.

The Villa Valmarana ai Nani.

Furthermore, considered as one of the pearls of the Veneto region, weddings, music evenings, banquets, even the welcome of antique cars going down the idyllic hills of the vicentino territory are organized at the villa in an atmosphere sealed by elegance and, above all, the deep love for the continuation of the cultural heritage.

After all, for us sensual travellers, this is Italy!

My long sojourn in Venice is described in the book My Venice