The Villa Giovannelli Colonna is a rural palace located in

Noventa Padovana Noventa Padovana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about east of Padua. In the 13th century, the castle of Noventa Padovana was the residence of Isabella of Eng ...

, in the region of the

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

near

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, which once was famous for its splendid decorations. The villa was commissioned in the late 17th century by the Giovanelli family to the architect Antonio Gaspari. In 1738, on the occasion of

Maria Amalia of Saxony Maria Amalia (Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga; 24 November 1724 – 27 September 1760) was Queen of Spain from 10 August 1759 until her death in 1760 as the wife of King Charles III. Previously, she had been Queen of Nap ...

, the daughter of the Polish king

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

visiting the villa, who had been married to King Charles of Naples and Sicily, the future Charles III of Spain, Andrea Giovanelli and his brother Benedetto decorated the facade of the Villa with the festive

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

and a precious entrance stairway by

Giorgio Massari Giorgio Massari (13 October 1687 – 20 December 1766) was an Italian late-Baroque architect from Venice. He designed the Villa Lattes near Treviso in 1715, the church of Santo Spritito in Udine, the church of Santa Maria della Pace, Brescia, Sa ...

. On the balustrades are six allegorical statues representing the five senses: the ''Belvedere'' (sight/male), ''Il Odorato'' (smell/male), ''Il Tatto'' (touch/female), ''L'Udire'' (hearing/female), ''Il Gusto'' (taste/female) which are observed by ''La Ragione'' (top right). They were executed by Antonio Tarsia,

Antonio Gai Antonio Gai (Born 3 May 1686 – 4 June 1769) was an Italian sculptor, active in his native Venice and Veneto during the late-Baroque art, Baroque period. Biography He learned his trade from a wood sculptor and his father, Francesco, als ...

and by the brothers Paolo and Giuseppe Groppelli. The interior is frescoed by

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian Baroque painter of the late Baroque period in Venetian painting. About the same age as Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Tie ...

and

Giuseppe Angeli ''Immaculate Conception with Saints'' (ca 1760) Giuseppe Angeli (Venice 1709- Venice, 1798) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque, known for depicting both genre and religious subjects. Biography He trained in the studio of Giambattista Pi ...

, who also did the frescos in

Villa Widmann-Foscari The Villa Widmann, also called Widmann-Rezzonico-Foscari, is a villa at the shores of the river Brenta located in the small town of Mira, between Venice and Padua. thumb The present palace was built in the 18th century. A succession of families ...

. The frescos were changed when Federico Maria Giovanelli,

Patriarch of Venice The Patriarch of Venice (; ) is the ordinary of the Patriarchate of Venice. The bishop is one of only four patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The other three are the Patriarch of Lisbon, the Patriarch of the East Indies an ...

, took over the villa. His brothers Giovanni Benedetto and Giovanni Paolo Giovannelli commissioned two large canvases by

Luca Carlevarijs Luca Carlevarijs or Carlevaris (20 January 1663 – 12 February 1730) was an Italian painter and engraver working mainly in Venice. He pioneered the genre of the cityscapes ('' vedute'') of Venice, a genre that was later widely followed by arti ...

.Christies
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/ref> The gardens consist of labyrinths and designs.

References

External links

* Michela Dal Borgo: Giovanelli, Giovanni Benedetto, ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani''. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Treccani. {{coord, 45, 24, 29, N, 11, 56, 35, E, type:landmark, display=title Gardens in Veneto Giovannelli