|
|
A DESCRIPTION OF THE ARCHITECTURAL COMPLEX
 
The whole complex of “VILLA GARBINATI”, now “ZANOTTI FRAGONARA RIGO”, is situated in Lupiola of Sandrigo, in the province of Vicenza. It is formed by several units, assembled in different ways.
At the moment, the complex is made up by a three-floors main building, that is the real Villa, with its façade west oriented. The east side of this unit is connected to the columbarium tower, which has the function of a staircase leading to the three floors of the Villa.
Attached to the south side of the tower, the major barchessa is situated: it has two floors, and stretches from North to South, with a portico of the same height and before the inner garden.
A neo-gothic style building, with a two-floors square plant, is situated north of the Villa, in a position that appears slightly turned in relation to the other units of the complex.
A long one-floor building is attached to its north-west corner: it is placed against the perimeter walls and was used as a greenhouse. A low colonnade with gothic age capitals follows, continuing as far as the wall that separates the Villa from the road.
A long two-floors building is situated on the north-east corner of the Villa, having the same north-south orientation as the previously described barchessa.
The whole complex is surrounded by walls, covering its north, west and east sides and closing the inner garden. The east side is closed by the wall of the main building and the above mentioned barchessa.
The park outside the walls is part of the complex: it stretches southward up to the stream called Dindarello and northward as far as St. Cristina road.
|
| |
SUCCESSION OF PROPERTY
1600 and before:
Famiglia GARBINATI
Early 1600:
Geronimo GARBINATI
Mid-1600:
Antonio GARBINATI
From Mid-1600 to 1700:
Famiglia GARBINATI
Mid-1700:
Francesco GARBINATI
Second half of 1700:
Giovanni GARBINATI
From late 1700 to 1805:
Eredi del fu Giovanni GARBINATI (Cecilia, Maddalena e Francesca GARBINATI)
From 1809 to 1813:
Capitano Ignazio DI FRANCESCO;
Maddalena GARBINATI LAGHI;
Francesca GARBINATI TECCHIO.
From 1829 to 1850:
Francesco TECCHIO del fu Sebastiano.
From 1850 to ca. 1920:
Famiglia TECCHIO.
From ca. 1920 to 1936:
Famiglia MORGANTE
From 1936 to 1989:
Famiglia GIARETTA
From 1989:
Famiglia ZANOTTI FRAGONARA RIGO
|
|
HISTORICAL REPORT
From a careful analysis of the documents taken from several bibliographic and archival sources, in combination with researches made on the site, concerning the texture and the structure of the walls as well as the possible sequence of the interventions, approximately right hypothesis can be made on the evolution of the complex along the ages. The stages of this evolution are the following:
Stage 1: 1500 and before
It is quite difficult to decide about the original composition of the core complex: nevertheless, we can say that its main element was the columbarium tower.
The morphological changes brought about on that complex have substantially hidden or modified the most of the original foundation, though they have proved useful as a basis for the evolution of the building.
With reference to the researches developed along the years and on the basis of the land registry and many cartographical evidences, we can suppose that the previous foundation consisted of a central unit attached to the above mentioned columbarium tower, on which the 17th century intervention will be set off.
The isolated position of the tower makes it possible to imagine, by analogy, its different function of watchtower in the early Middle Ages, though this, as far as we know at the moment, is quite hard to demonstrate.
Stage 2: 1500-1600
This is the period in which, presumably, the original complex began to be destined to agricultural use, with the addition of two long buildings, lined up north and south of the tower, and of the present neo-gothic building, which was, at that time, already disposed crosswise and with its axis inclined in relation to the core building.
Foundation and building reports have allowed us to go back to the original plan of the house: at the time, the complex preserved its integrity , if compared to its destination use . Presumably, the south building included the residential unit, as we can see subsequently, while the north one was used mainly for agricultural activities, such as cellar, store or barn.
Stage 3 : 1600-1672
The final plan of the house has been almost fully developed in this stage; particularly, the manor house of the Garbinati family is erected in 1672, and the whole complex is definitely destined to agricultural use.
This building enlarges the pre-existing unit which is next to the columbarium tower; the latter is used to contain the well of the stairs of the villa, while the barchessa is only slightly modified.
Stage 4: early 1800
The interventions made in the 19th century were mainly intended to repair the attached rural buildings, as testified by the data found in the land-registry office.
The above mentioned interventions concerned:
|
- |
the building of the greenhouse and of the north walls; |
- |
the extension northwards of the corresponding rural building, so forming the north-east corner of the complex; |
- |
the resetting of the building front, with the closing of some original first-floor windows and the creation of new windows decorated with Vicenza stones; |
- |
the demolition of the south rural building and its reconstruction, as it appears today, on a wider scale as a barchessa, and intended to be used as a house or for the breeding of silkworms, with the insertion of a loggia with Doric columns. |
This is the most unitary, organic and harmonic setting of the whole complex.
Stage 5: 1900
Some of the interventions carried out in the first half of the 20th century resulted to have no clear relation with the original conception of the complex. They were therefore removed, bringing back clearly the connection between the greenhouse/neo-gothic and the north building.
Stage 6: 1990 and later
This final stage, which began in 1990, has seen the elimination of all those units which had no relation with the original complex and its orderly resetting. All the coverings have been restored and the barchessa has been completely brought back to its original beauty.
ARTISTIC REPORT
THE VILLA
The front façade of the villa shows a texture that, in its composition, is similar to the usual architectural features of the second half of the 17th century.
The peculiar aspect of the front façade (west) is a triangular pediment, with a tympanum showing the coat-of-arms of the Garbinati family and a stone tablet bearing the Latin words: ("REI RUSTICAE INCREMENTO ET AGRICOLARUM COMMODO ANTONIUS GARBINATUS HIERONYMI FILIUS EXCITAVIT MDCLXXII"). The front of the building is formed by a series of Ionic pilasters, with balaustrades in the intercolumns, situated over the ashlars and having the same height as the ground floor.
The rest of the front develops symmetrically, with simple and elegant decorating finishes, with grotesque masks on the keystones and with elegant frames around the windows.
A fresco-painted sundial is situated as high as the first floor of the south front of the villa.
The other fronts bear windows with similar frames and iron gratings in 19th century style, which have partially substituted the previous ones. Inside the villa, in the large central hall, four doors with horizontal mouldings are situated. They lead to the four lateral rooms, while the back wall opens into a couple of arches based on an intermediate pilaster, with masks on their top, leading to the stairs obtained in the space of the ancient columbarium tower.
The fireplaces are exquisitely finished: the one situated in the north-west corner room, made of Verona red marble stone in the 16th century, is particularly valuable.
All the previously described elements and architectural decorations are made of Vicenza marble stone.
THE NEOGOTHIC BUILDING AND THE GREENHOUSE
We have already described the origin and the evolution of this unit, whose peculiar feature is the insertion of original gothic elements of great value and remarkable work, all made of Verona red marble stone, integrated and associated in a composition involving other 19th century elements in Vicenza marble stone.
The distinguishing feature of the front façade (south) is a valuable three-mullioned window, put in rectangular reflection, with a double indentation plumed frame, on the top of the three lobes inflected arches which are included in a wide arched lintel with four centres, placed on the side of pateras pierced by pins and matched, on the first floor, by three windows with four lobes in a checked frame.
The west front is remarkable as well, with three one-mullioned windows, framed one by one in a double indented frame, whose poli-lobes inflected arches are surmounted by plumes placed on the side of pateras pierced by pins, surmounted by the same number of four-lobes windows, as for the south front.
An elegant frame decoration, made up by a series of small three-lobes arches, closes the south and the west front.
The holes of the doors and the windows situated on the other two fronts (north and east) are, on the contrary, framed by simple elements made of Vicenza marble stone. The windows have early 1800 gratings, as for the villa described above.
The adjoining greenhouse, whose main front is south-oriented, is divided into eight holes with overlights. Continuing westward to the surrounding walls on the main road, an elegant series of original gothic capitals rises above the corresponding low columnade and ends in a valuable wrought iron gate on the above mentioned walls.
THE NORTH RURAL BUILDING
The windows on the first floor, as specified above, are framed by simple straight elements in Vicenza marble stone, with rhomboidal gratings of the early 1800.
The elegant 19th century façade takes up again the 18th century pattern, with two rectangular windows included in a couple of oval windows, all provided with gratings.
The original windows on the ground floor are made exclusively of bricks and their lintel is slightly cambered.
The rhythmic modularity of the framed openings on the first floor, clearly visible before the recent restoration, made the complete philological recovery possible.
THE SOUTH BARCHESSA
The present edifice took the place, between 1813 and 1829, of the pre-existing rural building, whose dimensions were similar to the one described above.
A very elegant columnade, composed by five Doric shafts, holds a trabeation, in Vicenza stone, of valuable neoclassic style.
Every hole in the original doors and windows is framed by simple stone elements with rhomboidal gratings, similar to the ones of the north barchessa.
The space inside the building, on the ground floor, appears to be variously modulated and divided. A wide hall covers the space of the first floor (it was once destined to the breeding of silkworms).
THE SORROUNDING WALLS
They are made of various materials (mainly stream pebbles and bricks) disposed at intervals and recall the texture of the north front of the complex. A triangular stone moulding rises above the west wall, on the main road. The access to the villa is possible through elegant gates in wrought iron with lead bows, both for pedestrian and for carriages.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES
- Renato CEVESE - "Ville della provincia di Vicenza" - Vicenza, 1971; 980 and bibliographical sources quoted.
- PUBLIC RECORD OFFICES
- PUBLIC LIBRARY BERTOLIANA, VICENZA.
(68 kB)
www.adobe.it