Villa Thiene

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Villa Thiene is a sixteenth-century villa at Quinto Vicentino in the province of Vicenza. The villa takes its name from the Thiene family who commissioned it (as well as the Palazzo Thiene in Vicenza).

The building as it stands today was only partly designed by Palladio. However, since 1996, the villa has been conserved as part of a World Heritage Site, the "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".

The villa's external brickwork has been stripped of the stucco which would have originally covered it. There are also many holes done during war time, to extract metal used within the villa's construction.
The villa's external brickwork has been stripped of the stucco which would have originally covered it. There are also many holes done during war time, to extract metal used within the villa's construction.


[edit] Architectural Details

For Villa Thiene, Palladio appears to have adapted a design by Giulio Romano[1].

A version of the villa is illustrated and discussed in I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura the architect's landmark publication of 1570. Palladio designed an imposing courtyard which was never completed. . The hall is in the middle of the villa, and large rooms are vaulted. The present main facade of the Villa Thiene acquired its current appearance in the 19th century. At that time, the great portal in the centre of the main facade was broken into the stone-work. This facade was probably not originally intended for the mansion, but for one of the villa's agricultural wings, where Palladio planned granaries, cellars and stables. [2]

View of the present rear facade; it debatable how much of the design is attributable to Palladio, but there is Palladian detailing visible on the left-hand side of the building
View of the present rear facade; it debatable how much of the design is attributable to Palladio, but there is Palladian detailing visible on the left-hand side of the building


The garden facade of Villa Thiene can be attributed to Francesco Muttoni. Both the thermal window in the concluding gable and portals in the centre part are displeasing. These elements cannot be reconciled with Palladio's formal idiom.[3]

Design by Palladio for the villa (mainly unrealised), from I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura
Design by Palladio for the villa (mainly unrealised), from I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura

[edit] References

  1. ^ International Centre for the Study of the Architecture of Andrea Palladio. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
  2. ^ I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura, English translation republished by Dover (New York 1965) ISBN 0-486-21308-0
  3. ^ Wundram, Manfred, "Andrea Palladio 1508-1580, Architect between the Renaissance and Baroque" Taschen, Köln 1993 ISBN 3-8228-0271-9 p.40


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