Associazione Città Italiane Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO

Poiana Maggiore Vicenza (1546)

Palladio was commissioned to design this villa was commissioned by the Vicentine, Bonifacio Poiana. This family had held virtual feudal rule over the territories since the Middle Ages and the land bore their name. Palladio probably designed the villa towards the end of the 1540’s, but work proceeded slowly. They only completed the work in 1563, when the interior decoration was given the final touches by the painters Bernardino India and Anselmo Canera, and the sculptor Bartolomeo Ridolfi.
In both the Quattro Libri and Palladio’s signed drawings that are preserved in London, this villa is always treated as part of a wider project to reorganise and standardise surrounding areas and converting them into spacious courtyards. The only part of this design that actually became a reality was the barchessa to the left of the villa that featured Doric capitals but Tuscan inter-columns. Construction was completed in the 17th century, when Bonifacio’s heirs had the building altered to their requirements and tastes that included the addition of another wing to the right of the villa using similar window mouldings to the original.

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Address
Via Castello, 41 Poiana Maggiore Vicenza

Visit
Presently under restoration (call 0444 323014 for further information)
tel. 0444 323014