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Villa Emo - Villa Palladiana a Vedelago (Treviso) - Discover Italy
Villa Emo is one of the many Palladian creations conceived by the great architect Andrea Palladio. It is a patrician villa located in the Veneto region of northern Italy, near the village of Fanzolo di Vedelago and the Province of Treviso. The patron of this villa was Leonardo Emo and remained in the hands of the Emo family until it was sold in 2004. Since 1996, it has been conserved as part of the World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto"
Andrea Palladio's architectural fame is considered to have come from the many villas he designed. The building of Villa Emo was the culmination of a long-lasting project of the patrician Emo family of the Republic of Venice to develop its estates at Fanzolo. In 1509, which saw the defeat of Venice in the War of the League of Cambrai, the estate on which the villa was to be built was bought from the Barbarigo family.
Leonardo di Giovannia Emo was a well-known Venetian aristocrat. He was born in 1538 and inherited the Fanzolo estate in 1549. This property was dedicated to the agricultural activities that the family prospered from. The Emo family's central interest was at first in the cultivation of their newly acquired land. Not until two generations had passed did Leonardo Emo commission Palladio to build a new villa in Fanzolo.
Historians unfortunately do not have firm chronology of dates on the design, construction, or the commencement of the new building: the years 1555 or 1558 is estimated to have been when the building was designed, while the construction was thought to have been undertaken between 1558 and 1561. There is no evidence showing that the villa was built by 1549: however, it has been documented to have been built by 1561. The 1560s saw the interior decoration added and the consecration of the chapel in the west barchesse in 1567.[1] The date of completion is put at 1565; a document which attests to the marriage of Leonardo di Alvise with Cornelia Grimani has lasted from that year.[3] Partial alterations were made to the Villa Emo in 1744 by Francesco Muttoni. Arches within both wings that were close to the central build were sealed off and additional residential areas were created. The ceilings were altered in 1937-1940. The villa and its surrounding estate were purchased in 2004 by an institution and further restorations were made. Since 1996, it has been conserved as part of the World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".
The villa is at the center of an extensive area that bears centuriation, or land divisions, and extends northward. The landscape of Fanzolo has a continuous history since Roman times and it has been suggested that the layout of the villa reflects the straight lines of the Roman roads.
