Villa Barbaro at Maser – Palladio, Veronese, and the Triumph of Venetian Renaissance

The main facade of the Villa di Maser. Designed by Palladio in the mid-16th century, the building consists of a central block sided by two beautiful wings, called barchesse. The sculptures were created by Alessandro Vittoria; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

Villa Barbaro at Maser – Palladio, Veronese, and the Triumph of Venetian Renaissance

Widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, the Villa Barbaro at Maser, also known as Villa di Maser, is a 16th-century building in the Veneto region designed by architect Andrea Palladio and decorated with fresco paintings by Paolo Veronese.

History
The villa, located near the village of Maser, not far from Treviso, was designed by Palladio around 1550 on a commission by the brothers Daniele and Marcantonio Barbaro, members of one of the most prominent Venetian families of the time.
The building is sited in the center of a large farm; like many other villas in Veneto, its scope was twofold, on one side it was the nerve center of a flourishing agricultural property that produced wine and other products, on the other side it was a place for its owners to leisure, relax and enjoy arts.
After various vicissitudes, the villa was first bought by the Giacomelli family, who restored it in the mid-19th century, and then, in 1934, by Giuseppe Volpi, Count of Misurata, who opened it to the public at the end of WW2. The villa and its estate are still owned by the Count’s heirs.

The complex, comprising the villa and various gardens, is partially open to the public; only the private rooms and the service buildings can’t be visited. Therefore, visiting most of the rooms decorated by Veronese on the main floor, the Italian-style garden, greenhouses, a bookshop, and a gift and wine shop is possible. As mentioned, the villa is part of a 230-hectare farm estate where DOC-class red and white wines are produced.

The Villa overlooks an Italian-style garden and the Venetian plain with the estate’s vineyards; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

From the west porch, a simple double staircase leads to the villa’s main floor; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

The complex, which has always been the centerpiece of a large agricultural estate, comprises both grandiose architecture and more modest service buildings; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

One of the rooms painted by Veronese and a selection of wines produced by the Villa di Maser estate; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

Visiting the Villa di Maser
I visited the Villa di Maser in early November when it is open only on the weekends.
The Villa can be found easily along SP 84, a nice road between the Venetian plain and the hills where most of the grapes for the Prosecco wine come from. From the parking lot, free of charge, a gently sloped path takes the visitors to the complex’s main entrance.
I suggest you go further to the Villa’s most famous parts and explore its beautiful Italian-style garden, the ground-floor porticoes, and the west courtyard with early-20th-century greenhouses and rare species of citrus trees.
Inside, the rooms open to the public are not many, since most of the Villa’s rooms are still inhabited by its owners; yet, almost all the most artistically important ones can be visited.
The experience at the Villa di Maser is more than a museum visit; it gives the occasion to experience a gesamtkunstwerk, a total artwork that was conceived since the beginning as a place in which architecture, painting, sculpture, landscaping, and nature meet.

One of the two greenhouses, which during my visit accommodated a small exhibition of architecture; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

One peculiar aspect of the Villa di Maser is that it is a monumental complex inhabited by its owners, something quite uncommon in Italy; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

Architecture
The Villa consists of a two-story central block flanked by two wings, called barchesse, each with a sundial on the facade. Unlike other villas of the time, Palladio conceived the villa as a unified entity where the main residence and service buildings are interconnected. A nymphaeum is located at the back of the main building, separated from the villa by a small courtyard.

The south facade is inspired by Classical architecture with a pediment, decorated with the emblem of the Barbaro family, supported by four large ionic-order columns. The two-story symmetrical wings are marked by porticos decorated with mascarons.
Overall, the Villa designed by Palladio extends in length, probably to adapt to the sloped terrain and get as many panoramic views of the Venetian plain and the Barbaro’s property as possible.

The Villa’s interiors are relatively simple with barrel-vaulted rooms, stucco decorations, large fresco paintings on walls and ceilings, and terrazzo flooring.
The building overlooks an Italian-style Garden, decorated with statues by Alessandro Vittoria, and is surrounded by a forest and various service buildings. The complex also includes a small central-plan church, possibly the last building designed by Palladio.

The central block is topped by a pediment decorated with the emblem of the Barbaro family, while a sundial adorns each of the facades of the two “barchesse” wings; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

Ground-floor Plan and main facade elevation of the Vila Barbaro at Maser, from the Four Books of Architecture by Andrea Palladio, Venice, 1570.

One of the wings with the sundial and the portico decorated with several mascarons; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

The interiors of the Villa di Maser are relatively simple, with barrel-vaulted rooms, stucco decorations, large fresco paintings on walls and ceilings, and terrazzo flooring; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

This view of the famous Hall of Olympus demonstrates how architecture and decoration intertwine at the Villa di Maser; foto © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

Paolo Veronese at the Villa di Maser
In 1560, to decorate the Villa, the Barbaros hired Paolo Veronese, who was already a famed painter – he had decorated some of the rooms of the Ducal Palace and the Church of San Sebastiano in Venice – and one of the main artists of the Venetian Renaissance together with Titian and Tintoretto.

At the Villa di Maser, Veronese creates an exceptional and innovative ensemble of fresco paintings that amplify and animate the building’s spaces.
He invents landscapes that expand the main floor rooms, creates faux architecture, paints allegoric figures and classical deities, portrays members of the Barbaro family and their dogs, and even depicts himself in a mysterious self-portrait.

In the Hall of Olympus, for example, Veronese paints several members of the Barbaro family: on one side we see Giustiniana Giustiniani, wife of Marcantonio Barbaro, with his youngest son Alvise and a nurse; on the opposite side, her other sons Almorò and Daniele. Near them, we see their pets: a dog, a parrot, and a monkey.

The trompe l’oeil fresco on the Olympus Hall’s ceiling presents a faux architecture, populated by allegorical figures, classical deities, and members of the Barbaro family; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

The Crociera Room is the largest room on the central block’s piano nobile; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

Various details of the Crociera Room’s fresco paintings. At Maser, Veronese creates a painting cycle full of faux architectures, trompe l’oeil views, and visual inventions such as the famous little girl peeping out an imaginary door, and a hunting dog emerging from a fake landscape; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

Another dog, possibly the same depicted in the Olympus Hall, can be seen in the room that is named after him, the Dog’s Room; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024 

The paintings on the barrel vault of the Room of the Oil Lamp; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024 

Even if it is not known what Palladio thought of Veronese’s work at the Villa di Maser, the decoration perfectly matches the architecture and amplifies its perspective; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024

A painting which is believed to be a self-portrait of Paolo Veronese himself is placed at the end of one of the wings on the main floor; photo © Riccardo Bianchini/Inexhibit 2024