Words and photos Tom Weber
Just twenty minutes from Padua’s historic centre, the Veneto countryside unfolds into a landscape dotted with elegant villas built by Venice’s ruling class. For those who have explored Giotto’s frescoes and Galileo’s university, these graceful estates offer a peaceful afternoon journey into the world of La Serenissima’s nobility. Among them stands Villa Molin, a late-16th-century masterpiece by Vincenzo Scamozzi, disciple of the great Palladio.
When the Venetian Republic held sway over the lagoon, its doges and aristocrats built sprawling warm-weather estates across the countryside – agricultural powerhouses that enhanced the merchants’ coffers. Over 4,300 villas once peppered the landscape, monumental centres filled with great art, collectively known as the Civiltà delle Ville Venete (Civilisation of the Venetian Villas). Today, visitors can stroll into the past and admire the trappings of those noble families. One such treasure is Villa Molin.
This landmark villa, standing proudly above a canal near the town of Mandria, just outside Padua, was the creation of Vincenzo Scamozzi, a disciple of Andrea Palladio. Upon Palladio’s death in 1580, it was young Scamozzi who completed two of his unfinished masterpieces: Villa La Rotonda and the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. He soon became the most sought-after architect of the rich and famous, including Nicolò Molin: a nobleman, son-in-law of a doge and Venetian ambassador to the Court of King James I of England. Commissioned by Ambassador Molin to honour his family name, Scamozzi erected, to much fanfare in 1597, an elegant summer villa overlooking the Battaglia Canal.
The interior is magnificent. The two-storey manor house features hand-laid Venetian terrazzo flooring throughout, a 12-metre-high ceiling topped with a stunning frescoed cupola painted by Pietro Antonio Cerva, a six-columned external loggia, a reception space in the form of a Greek cross, double ballrooms and an array of private rooms.
Outside lies parkland considered among Italy’s most beautiful historical gardens. With its fantastic colours and scents, surrounded by centuries-old trees and accented with ancient statuary, streams and footbridges, the gardens of Villa Molin extend over 33,000 square metres and once served as an extraordinary backdrop for High Renaissance guests. Adjacent to the gated entryway, a well-kept scuderia (stables) remains where horses once stood.
Villa Molin is the perfect union of design, art and nature, created by Scamozzi for Ambassador Molin. Today, the villa hosts special events and weddings and opens its doors for guided tours.
- ‘Villa Molin: A Venetian ambassador’s heritage’ is published in Anthology Volume 25. Read more features from this volume or buy it now.
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