Selvatico
The Villa
 North aereal view |
Villa Selvatico
is a Venetian Villa of the earliest period that was built at the end of
the XV Century on the ancient medieval castle remains. During the XII
and the XIII Century the castle owners were the rich and powerful Speronella
Dalesmanin and her shameful son Jacopo da Sant'Andrea, who was even mentioned
in Dante's "Inferno" (Divina Commedia), XIII Canto.
This pre-palladian Villa is a typical patrician country house, where the
nobles used to spend their summer vacation and from where they used to
control their land properties. The main building has a double simmetry
and two simple and elegant similar façades, that are enriched by round
arch doorways with original masks. On the ground and on the first floors
there are large central halls that cross the Villa from North to South,
with smaller rooms all around.
 Panoramic view of the garden |
As a marble
tablet on the northern façade recalls, in 1792 a first restoration of
the Villa ended, during which time the Villa was enlarged with the construction
of the "barchessa", the "barco", the "limonaia" and other smaller rural
buildings.
The park, that is more of three hectars wide and stretches around the
Villa, is rich in ancient trees and is surrounded by the river Tergola
and by canals, such as the ancient "peschiera", that take their water
from the river. Here it is nice to rest under the shade of the trees and
to take a walk in the "brolo" or along the river edge, enjoying the peace
of the countryside and discovering the various fauna that has settled
in the nearby 60 hectars farm.
 South view from the "Brolo" |
Cereals,
soy bean and sugar beet are cultivated on the farm and, in the small vegetable
garden and orchard, the guests can freely pick greens and fruit in season.
After the last careful restoration, ending in 1997, Villa Selvatico gives
hospitality in four comfortable apartments, all nestling in this charming
atmosphere and with views of the large park and the surrounding countryside.
The itineraries
The good location of Villa Selvatico allows the guests to easily travel
all around the Veneto region and further away. The nearest town is Padova,
12 km, with its medieval squares where daily markets take place, the Prà
della Valle square (the largest neoclassical square in Europe), the University
founded in 1222, the frescos made by Giotto and Mantegna, the old ghetto,
the S.Antonio and S.Giustina basilicas and much more.
 South view from the "Peschiera" |
Venice is only 30 km far from here and is reachable
in a thirty minutes trip by car or by train from the nearby railway station
in Dolo; however, it is worth reaching Venice by car, by bike or by boat
along the Riviera del Brenta, that starts just 7 km away from the Villa.
More than fifty villas were built along the river from the XVI Century
to the XVIII Century by the Venetian nobles, nowadays some of these villas,
designed by architects such as Palladio, Scamozzi, Frigimelica and painted
by artists such as Benedetto Caliari, Jacopo Guarana, the Tiepolos, are
visitable.
About 40 km away there is Vicenza, included in the UNESCO World Heritage
List and famous for the Olimpic Theatre, the town palaces and the country
houses all designed by Palladio, and Treviso, a medieval town rich in
rivers and watermills inside its typical historical centre. Each of them
is reachable for a daily visit.
Verona is 85 km away by motorway: inside its Roman Arena there are many
Operas during the summertime and not very far from Verona there is also
the Lake Garda.
As well as the main cities, it is also worth visiting the little towns:
the medieval walled towns of Castelfranco Veneto and Cittadella, Bassano
with its famous wooden bridge, Asolo with the Canova Temple, the impressive
Villa Contarini in Piazzola sul Brenta, towards north; the walled towns
of Este and Montagnana, the Monselice citadel, the charming Arquà Petrarca,
the Poet's village, the seventeenth-century park of Villa Barbarigo in
Valsanzibio, towards south. All these places are at a distance of about
30 km from Villa Selvatico.
If you want to spend a day at the seaside there is Sottomarina, with the
nearby fishermen's town of Chioggia, half an hour away by car, and Jesolo,
about an hour. S.Martino di Castrozza and Cortina, that are the most attractive
places in the Dolomites, are at a distance of an hour and a half / two
hours by car.
Via Selvatico 1
35010 CODIVERNO di VIGONZA (PD) Italy
Tel. Fax +39 049 646092 / 8005361
e-mail: info@villaselvatico.com