Architecture

Architecture

The architectural complex of Villa Selvatico da Porto presents classical characteristics in its "noble" spaces, and at the same time is characterised by its centuries-old function as an agricultural centre.

The complex is composed of the mansion, the barchessa and the rustic outbuildings, all set in a large garden park.

The main body of the villa has a rectangular plan and is characterised by a symmetrical arrangement of the rooms that develop on a ground floor, a mezzanine and a noble floor.

The hall passing through on the ground floor, oriented from north to south and characterised by a considerable height, has four symmetrical false doors at the four corners. Beyond them there is a basement with a vaulted ceiling once used as a "cellar" on the east side, while on the west side there are rooms once used as service spaces and now converted into living spaces.

In the centre of the room there are four large arched doors, two on each side and one of the two false, each with a mask that acts as a keystone.

The mezzanine floor is accessed via a short staircase to the east and a more imposing staircase that also leads to the noble floor to the west. In each mezzanine there are two rooms of equal size. Continuing along the west staircase, you reach the main floor, also with a passage hall and four identical rooms on the sides, above those of the mezzanines.

The north and south facades are identical and are characterized by the large arched doors with a keystone mask, which represent the main lights and the ideal axis of symmetry of the halls on the ground floor and on the main floor. The ceilings of all the rooms maintain the wooden floors decorated in the Sansovino style.

On the west side develops a lower body of the building, probably built at a later time, once intended to house part of the servants who lived at the Villa.

The Barchessa is sited on the east side of the villa and develops approximately perpendicular to it. This building once housed the stables, the mews and some warehouses. In ancient times, the west side of the Barchessa had arched openings that were later filled in. Other rustic annexes are located to the east of the Barchessa, as well as the villa's ancient greenhouse, now converted for residential use.

The villa and its buildings are surrounded by a “Peschiera” (fishpond), once fed directly by the Tergola river that flows a few meters from here, and it was also used for fishing.

This small internal watercourse flows into the Cognaro canal which, also coming from the Tergola, delimits the border of the villa and the park to the north. A small brick bridge and a large ancient iron gate, surmounted by the letters ES (Estense Selvatico), constitute the main access to the villa on the side of Via Selvatico.

On the south side, a small bridge crowned by columns surmounted by statues crosses the fishpond to lead to the villa’s “brolo” (orchard). A small canal once fed directly by the Tergola, delimits the garden of Villa Selvatico to the south, separating it from the surrounding farm.