Villa Soranzo, Fiesso d’Artico (VE)
Fiesso d'Artico, altitude 8 m/26 feet above sea level; train station at Vigonza-Pianiga, 4 km/2.5 miles to the north on the Venezia-Padova line. The villa is located along the Riviera del Brenta on the opposite side from the Ciclopista del Brenta bike route; when approaching the town of Fiesso d'Artico from the west, it is just a few hundred meters past the Villa Pisani at Stra.
Among the countless Venetian villas situated along the Riviera del Brenta this one is notable for its frescos that decorate the facade; local tradition and the sign in front of the villa attribute these to Benedetto Caliari, brother of Paolo (Veronese), but this attribution has been put in doubt, and nowadays we can only hypothesize that it was an artist from the school of Baldassarre Longhena.
The villa was built at the beginning of the seventeenth century on behalf of the Soranzo Venetian family, hence the popular name of La Soranza. The name of the architect is unknown. The building has the form of rectangular solid and consists of three floors topped by a dormer at the main facade. A wide staircase leads to the entrance which is surmounted by a balcony.
At this time (2011) the villa is not available for visit and can be viewed only from the outside.
All photos by Paolo Bonavoglia, unless indicated otherwise
For an overall interactive map of the Veneto, showing all these villas and many more, please see this custom Google map