Villa Emo
Villa Emo is one of Palladio’s best achievements, probably the most representative of his villas.
He designed it towards the end of the 1550s for an affluent Venetian family, owners of a vast country estate where the main crop just arrived from America. The villa was the centre of a working farm and Palladio was able to organize its different parts perfectly, from the central residential block, to the side barns and the pigeon lofts.
A guided tour of villa Emo focuses on the perfect proportions of the building and on the frescos by Zelotti; illustrating some enjoyable mythological stories and other themes. According to the latest critical orientation, Palladio himself liked the idea of having frescos on the walls of the residences he had designed. Therefore, the mural paintings of his villas should be seen as parts of a whole and not as inappropriate additions.