Godi Malinverni Villa

Villa Godi Malinverni is part of the rich artistic heritage of the Venetian Villas.

Andrea Palladio built this villa in 1542; Gianbattista Zelotti, Battista del Moro and Gualtiero Padovano adorned its interiors with frescoes. It was bought in a state of decay in 1962 by Prof. Remo Malinverni, who dedicated the last years of his life to restoring it to its original splendour. Together with the other Palladian villas of the Veneto region, Villa Godi was inserted in 1996 in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The villa is open to the public for individual visits, as well as group and school visits. It also hosts congresses, cultural and social events. The restaurant Il Torchio Antico is located in the Barchessa.

In 1954 the Italian film director Lucchino Visconti chose Villa Godi Malinverni as the set for his movie titled "Senso", in which the "Villa lifestyle" is portrayed.

Villa Godi Malinverni - Palladian Venetian Villa in Lugo di Vicenza.

The front facade of the Palladian Villa faces west. A staircase leads to a frescoed entrance hall, which overlooks two small terraces. From the hall it is possible to observe the strong pillar structure that supports three arches; above the central arch stands the coat-of-arms of the Godi family (a rampant lion). To the left of the villa a small porch is surmounted by a second floor. The right wing houses the Guest House and the Congress Hall. The plan of the Villa is extremely simple: a loggia and the central hall divide the space on the main floor into two perfectly symmetrical parts, with four rooms on each side.

The frescoes of Villa Godi Malinverni were painted by three artists: Gualtiero Padovano, Gianbattista Zelotti, Battista del Moro. These artworks set the example for the cycles of frescoes of many Venetian Villas of the sixteenth century. The frescoed halls, all open to the public, are nine, in addition to the entrance loggia, frescoed by Padovano.

The park of the Palladian villa

The park of the Venetian Villa Godi Malinverni, with its secular trees and its 1300 meters of pathways, dates back to the last century and was rearranged in 1852 by the Count Andrea Piovene, with a project of the architect Antonio Caregaro Negrin. It's a romantic garden and includes a remarkable variety of trees. At the centre of the garden there is a small lake with swans. In the area where the vegetation is most dense, a corner is dedicated to the loved ones who lived in the Villa; their names are engraved on cylindrical or pyramidal slabs, along with epigraphs by 19^th century Italian poets Fogazzaro and Zanella.

In the back of the Villa there are Italian gardens, with ponds and fountains, around fifty statues by 17^th century sculptors Marinali and Albanese, as well as several small columns. These gardens date back to the 17^th century and beginning of 18^th century. More small gardens are in the back of the Palladian Villa, by the exit of the 16^th century kitchen, by the entrance to the Fossil Museum, as well as in front of the guest house.