VENICE AND THE PALLADIAN VILLAS

Transcription

1 SPRING TOUR 2011 BALBIANELLO CIRCLE VENICE AND THE PALLADIAN VILLAS MAY 12 18, 2011 RESERVED TO THE BALBIANELLO CIRCLE

2 Villa dei Vescovi, Luvigliano di Torreglia, near Treviso FAI property since 2005

3 Marella Agnelli Honorary Chairman Bona de Frescobaldi* International Chairman Lynn Forester de Rothschild Chairman of Advisory Trustees * Founders Board of Advisory Trustees Giorgio Armani Leo Arnaboldi Anna Bulgari Laura Casalis Giulia Maria Crespi* Chiara Ferragamo Audrey Gruss Gail Hilson Dana W.Hiscock Maria Manetti Farrow Ann Nitze Paolo and Henrietta Pellegrini Marilyn Perry* Giorgio Poggiani* Roberta Ritter* Nancy Rubin Mariuccia Zerilli Marimò Board of Directors James M. Carolan President Giancarla Berti Vice President Susan Bender Treasurer Giovanna Loredan Bonetti Ilaria Borletti Buitoni Vannozza Guicciardini Paravicini Crespi Luigi E. Moscheri Alessandra Pellegrini 3

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5 Thursday 12 Day 1 / Asolo Maser Friday 13 Day 2 / Este - Bassano Mussolente Albergo Al Sole Via Collegio, Asolo (TV) Tel Villa Cipriani Via Canova, Asolo (TV) Tel Welcome meeting at the Albergo Al Sole and Villa Cipriani. This will allow the travellers to get to know each other and to meet the staff, the lecturer and the representative of Friends of FAI who will travel with them. Dinner For our first evening, we will be dinner guest of the Countess Diamante Luling Buschetti, at Villa Barbaro, one of the greatest masterpieces of Andrea Palladio, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Villa maintains the fascinating character of a home where the owners still live and work, and during the many events staged, its beauty and magic atmosphere can be enjoyed throughout the changing seasons. Inside there are six rooms with frescoes by Paolo Veronese, which represent his largest and most important fresco works and from where one can see the Ninfaeum with stuccoes by Alessandro Vittoria. Evening Attire: lounge suit, with jacket and tie for the gentlemen and dresses or suits for the ladies. < Villa Barbaro, Maser < Ponte degli Alpini, Bassano del Grappa Distilleria Nardini, Bassano del Grappa Daytime Attire: for lunch and tour, we recommend informal dress, comfortable walking shoes, umbrella or raincoat. Morning This morning we will travel to Este, a city near Padua and one of the most famous towns for ceramic in Italy, to visit the ceramic factories. Lunch We will be hosted for lunch by the Countess Marina Emo. The sixteenth century Villa Emo, attributed to Vincenzo Scamozzi, stands at the foot of the Euganean Hills, not far from Monselice. Its garden, although a recent creation, is still classically Italian in conception, uniting typically Italian Renaissance elements such as the hornbeam pergola, the orchard and fish ponds while including an exceptional variety and number of flowers. Afternoon In the afternoon we will travel to Bassano del Grappa to visit the Distilleria Nardini. Grappa liqueur has been produced in Bassano since 1779, when Bortolo Nardini founded the oldest Italian distillery, opening his distillery and grapperia at the entrance of the famous Bassano Bridge on the river Brenta. We will also visit the Nardini distillery designed in 1779 by the famous architect Massimiliano Fuksas. The two glass bubbles, seemingly an allusion to the distillery s stills, are the above-ground portion of the structure housing the new expansion of the distillery. One of the two bubbles contains a testing laboratory, while the other is a multi-functional hall. The two ellipsoidal forms are made of 360 forms of laminated glass curved in two directions. The two structures stand in a large green area, and a grass-covered stairway leads to the underground levels where the auditorium is located. After the visit to the distillery we will walk through the Ponte di Bassano or Ponte degli Alpini. The wooden covered Bridge on the Brenta River, designed in 1569 by the architect Andrea Palladio to replace a pre-existing construction which can be dated back to On our way to Mussolente, we will explore the art and tradition of Emilio Eger, the factory that produces damask, stripes, muslin, jacquard, silk, linen and cotton. Dinner We will be dinner guests of Franca Coin. Evening Attire: lounge suit, with jacket and tie for the gentlemen and dresses or suits for the ladies. 5

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7 Saturday 14 Day 3 / Vicenza Daytime Attire: today we won t go back to the hotel before dinner. We recommend informal dress, comfortable walking shoes, umbrella or raincoat. Morning This morning we depart by private coach to reach Vicenza, the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region. It is a thriving and cosmopolitan city, with a rich history and culture, and many museums, art galleries, piazzas, villas, churches and elegant Renaissance palazzi. We will visit Villa Capra La Rotonda, a Renaissance villa just outside Vicenza, designed by Andrea Palladio. The correct name is Villa Almerico-Capra. It is also known as La Rotonda, Villa Rotunda, Villa La Rotonda, and Villa Almerico. The name Capra derives from the Capra brothers, who completed the building after it was ceded to them in Like other works by Palladio in Vicenza and the surrounding area, the building is conserved as part of the World Heritage Site City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto. Before lunch we will visit Villa Valmarana ai Nani, a marvellous architectural and artistic site composed by three buildings and an extensive 18 th century park. The Palazzina and the Foresteria have frescoes by Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo, hired in 1757 by Giustino Valmarana. The Villa takes its name from the statues of the 17 stone dwarfs, originally placed in the garden, now on the walls surrounding the house. Among them, we find a number of characters from the Teatro dei burattini and from the Commedia dell arte (the King, the Soldier, the Doctor, the Turk, the Guardian of the Seraglio, etc.). The dwarfs were probably sculpted by Francesco Uliaco, most likely from the drawings by Giandomenico Tiepolo. The Valmarana family still lives in the Villa, which is universally considered the highest expression of eighteenth century painting and one of the greatest examples of Tiepolo s genius. Afternoon Later on we will visit the Teatro Olimpico ( Olympic Theatre ) in Vicenza: constructed in , it is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. The theatre was the final design of the the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and was not completed until after his death. The trompe-l œil onstage scenery, designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi, to give the appearance of long streets receding to a distant horizon, was installed in 1585 for the very first performance held in the theater and is the oldest surviving stage set. The Teatro Olimpico was designed for the Vicenza Accademia Olimpica to stage theatrical performances. After his visit at La Rotonda, J. W. Goethe said: Perhaps the art of architecture has never reached such a level of magnificence. Dinner For dinner we will be hosted in an aristocratic home. Lunch Lunch at Villa Valmarana ai Nani. < Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza < Villa Capra La Rotonda, Vicenza Villa Valmarana ai Nani, Vicenza 7

8 Sunday 15 Day 4 / Padova and Venezia Daytime Attire: for lunch and tour, we recommend informal dress, comfortable walking shoes, umbrella or raincoat. Morning This morning we will travel to Padova by private coach. Padua claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy. It is the setting for most of the action in Shakespeare s The Taming of the Shrew.We will visit the Cappella degli Scrovegni (Scrovegni Chapel), also known as the Arena Chapel, with a fresco cycle by Giotto, one of the most important masterpieces of Western art. The church was dedicated to Santa Maria della Carità at the Feast of the Annunciation, Giotto s fresco cycle focuses on the life of the Virgin and celebrates her role in human salvation. The chapel was commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni, whose family fortune was made through the practice of usury, which at this time meant charging interest when loaning money, a sin so grave that it resulted in exclusion from the Christian sacraments. Before lunch, we will visit the nearly restored FAI property, Villa dei Vescovi. The Villa will be reopened in occasion of our tour and its restoration works have been possible thanks to the generosity of the Friends of FAI. Villa dei Vescovi (Bishops Villa) was erected for the bishopric of Padua between 1535 and 1542, on an embankment in the Colli Euganei, in order to provide the resident bishop with a sumptuous vacation home. As an integrated whole, therefore, Villa dei Vescovi is an extraordinarily valuable architectural document, a unique example in its regional context, offering important insights into the evanescent artistic milieu that preceded the magnificence and acclaim of the Palladian period. In the 1960s Vittorio Olcese bought the monument from the local church government in order to restore it and bring it back to life.

9 Lunch We will have lunch at Villa dei Vescovi. Afternoon After lunch, Ilaria Borletti Buitoni, President of FAI, will give a brief lecture on Italian artistic heritage. We will leave Villa dei Vescovi and head to Villa La Malcontenta, near Venice, where we have been invited for tea by Antonio and Barbara Foscari. The villa was commissioned by the brothers Nicolo and Luigi Foscari, members of a patrician Venetian family that produced Francesco Foscari, one of the most noted Venetian doges. It was built between 1558 and In 1973, Antonio Foscari and his wife recovered the villa, and have undertaken a painstaking process of restoring the villa to its original grandeur. Since 1996 the building has been conserved as part of the World Heritage Site City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto. In the late afternoon, we will have the unique experience of reaching Venice by boat from La Malcontenta, while the private bus will take the luggage to the Hotel Luna Baglioni. Dinner Dinner free. Evening Attire: lounge suit, with jacket and tie for the gentlemen and dresses or suits for the ladies. Villa dei Vescovi, Luvigliano di Torreglia, Padova

10 Monday 16 Day 5 / Venezia Tuesday 17 Day 6 / Venezia Luna Hotel Baglioni San Marco, Venezia Tel Daytime Attire: for lunch and tour, we recommend informal dress, comfortable walking shoes, umbrella or raincoat Morning This morning we will walk to the Gallerie dell Accademia. The glory that was Venice lives on in the Accademia, the definitive treasure house of Venetian painting and one of Europe s great museums. Exhibited chronologically from the 13 th through the 18 th centuries, the collection features not simply one hallmark masterpiece from each period, but is in fact an outstanding and comprehensive showcase of works by all the great master painters of Venice, the largest such collection in the world. After that we will visit Punta della Dogana. Lunch We will be hosted for lunch by art collectors in Venice. Afternoon This afternoon we will take a walk and stop at Nico, to taste the best gelato in Venice. After that we will visit the Fondazione Vedova. Created by Emilio Vedova and his wife Annabianca, the Emilio and Annabianca Vedova Foundation is situated at the Zattere in Venice. The main aim of the Foundation is to promote the art and work of Vedova and to highlight his importance in the history of 20 th century art. Return to the hotel. Daytime Attire: for lunch and tour, we recommend informal dress, comfortable walking shoes, umbrella or raincoat. Morning For our second day in Venice, we will have a walking tour of Piazza San Marco, visiting the Negozio Olivetti, the new FAI headquarters in Venice, and then the Querini Stampalia Foundation, one of the most interesting cultural complexes in the city of lagoons. Lunch We will have lunch in a fascinating Venetian Palazzo. Afternoon We will visit Palazzo Fortuny, a fifteenth-century building, once the property of the Pesaro family, and also known as Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei. It is an imposing building and largely unrestored, which gives it a real sense of history. At the beginning of the twentieth century it belonged to Spanish fashion designer Mariano Fortuny. We will also visit the famous textile manufactory Rubelli, hosted by the owner, the cavaliere del lavoro Alessandro Favaretto. Return to the hotel. Dinner Dinner in Venice. Evening Attire: black tie for the gentlemen and evening gowns for the ladies. Dinner We will have dinner at Palazzo Albrizzi. Evening Attire: lounge suit, with jacket and tie for the gentlemen and dresses or suits for the ladies. Wednesday 18 Departure > Gondole, near San Marco square, Venice > Ponte dei Sospiri, Venice PS: The program may undergo modifications based on invitations we may receive and various logistical issues. 10

11 Tour Guide Maria Cristina Paoluzzi Maria Cristina Paoluzzi During the entire tour the group will be accompanied by Mrs. Maria Cristina Paoluzzi, who will help us to refine our appreciation of the historic and artistic curiosities and wonders that we will be seeing. Maria Cristina Paoluzzi has been a Professor since 2000 at the University of Chieti, where she teaches the History of Prints and Drawings. She was born in Rome and educated at the University of La Sapienza. In 1992 she received her degree in Art History, and in 1996 she received her Diploma of Specialization in the History of Medieval and Modern Art attained with 70/70 summa cum laude at the same University. In 2003 she received her PhD at the University of Rome La Sapienza. Research: Ciro Ferri, the catalogue of a baroque painter. From she was a Fellow at the University of Chieti, G. d Annunzio, where she researched Devotional Painting in the XVII Century in the Abruzzi Region. Since 1994, she has worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in organizing historical programs and conferences for diplomats residing in Rome, and she has worked with several politicians and international personalities on official business to Italy, including President George Bush, Sonia Gandhi, Simon Perez, The Royal Families of Belgium, England and Sweden, and President Gorbachev among others. Paoluzzi has written several publications and organized seminars, courses, conferences, historical itineraries and tours for the most important international foundations and museums from the United States and other countries (including: the Vatican Museum, the World Monuments Fund, the National Library of Washington, the Metropolitan Opera of New York, the Whitney Museum of NY, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, SFMoma, the Los Angeles County Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation of Venice).

12 For further information TERRAE Srl Patrizia Barassi Via Rita Tonoli, Milano Phone: Friends of FAI c/o Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò 24 West 12 th Street - New York, NY Phone: [email protected]