Villa Porto (Molina di Malo)
Encyclopedia
Villa Porto in Molina di Malo
, Province of Vicenza
, Italy, is an unfinished villa veneta designed by Andrea Palladio
in 1570.
The extraordinary ten brick
-column
shafts which dominate the great 15th century (Quattrocento) farmyard of the Porto family
at Molina mark the first stage of a grandiose project which Palladio conceived on behalf of Iseppo (Giuseppe) Porto: in fact, the patron’s name is inscribed on the plinth
s of the splendid stone column bases, next to the date 1572.
The rich protagonist of one of Vicenza’s most important families, and brother-in-law of both Adriano and Marcantonio Thiene (patrons of the homonymous palace
by Palladio), Iseppo Porto already owned a grandiose city palace which Palladio had designed him over twenty years earlier, Palazzo Porto
.
From archival documents one realises that the enormous columns are not the fragments of a monumental barchessa, like that for the Villa Pisani at Bagnolo
, but rather of the façade
of a true and proper country residence. The enormous Corinthian
colonnade
, a direct quotation from the pronaos of the Pantheon
, would have reached an overall height of over thirteen metres. Lower portico
es, on a quarter-circle plan and still visible in the 19th century, would have tied the manorial house to agricultural annexes to left and right.
This surprising edifice recalls two other projects by Palladio, the Villa Mocenigo on the Brenta and the Villa Thiene at Cicogna, neither of which was ever executed though both are documented by various autograph sketches and were included in the Quattro Libri. It is interesting to note that, in publishing Giuseppe Porto’s city palace in the Quattro Libri, Palladio enriched the original project with a courtyard of a giant
Composite order
extremely close to that of the villa at Molina. Giuseppe’s death in 1580 put paid to the building works, which were never completed.
Malo
Malo was an American Latin-tinged rock and roll group. The San Francisco-based ensemble was led by Arcelio Garcia and Jorge Santana, the brother of Latin-rock guitarist, Carlos Santana....
, Province of Vicenza
Province of Vicenza
The Province of Vicenza is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 840,000 . There are 121 comuni in the province...
, Italy, is an unfinished villa veneta designed by Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
in 1570.
The extraordinary ten brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
-column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
shafts which dominate the great 15th century (Quattrocento) farmyard of the Porto family
Porto family
The Porto surname history has its origins in the Piemonte region of what is today Italy and parts of present day Southern France. They were part of a religious sect called the Valdese; they called themselves the Poor men of Lyon, the Poor of Lombardy, or the Poor...
at Molina mark the first stage of a grandiose project which Palladio conceived on behalf of Iseppo (Giuseppe) Porto: in fact, the patron’s name is inscribed on the plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
s of the splendid stone column bases, next to the date 1572.
The rich protagonist of one of Vicenza’s most important families, and brother-in-law of both Adriano and Marcantonio Thiene (patrons of the homonymous palace
Palazzo Thiene
Palazzo Thiene is a 15th-16th century palace in Vicenza, northern Italy, designed for Marcantonio and Adriano Thiene, probably by Giulio Romano, in 1542, and revised during construction from 1544 by Andrea Palladio....
by Palladio), Iseppo Porto already owned a grandiose city palace which Palladio had designed him over twenty years earlier, Palazzo Porto
Palazzo Porto
Palazzo Porto is a palazzo built by Andrea Palladio in Contrà Porti, Vicenza, Italy. It is one of two palaces in the city designed by Palladio for members of the Porto family...
.
From archival documents one realises that the enormous columns are not the fragments of a monumental barchessa, like that for the Villa Pisani at Bagnolo
Villa Pisani (Bagnolo)
thumb|250px|Villa Pisani, the facade facing the river Guà. The towers recall [[Villa Trissino Trettenero]].The Villa Pisani is a patrician villa designed by Andrea Palladio, located in Bagnolo, a hamlet in the comune of Lonigo in the Veneto region of Italy.- History :The Pisani were a rich family...
, but rather of the façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
of a true and proper country residence. The enormous Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
, a direct quotation from the pronaos of the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
, would have reached an overall height of over thirteen metres. Lower portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
es, on a quarter-circle plan and still visible in the 19th century, would have tied the manorial house to agricultural annexes to left and right.
This surprising edifice recalls two other projects by Palladio, the Villa Mocenigo on the Brenta and the Villa Thiene at Cicogna, neither of which was ever executed though both are documented by various autograph sketches and were included in the Quattro Libri. It is interesting to note that, in publishing Giuseppe Porto’s city palace in the Quattro Libri, Palladio enriched the original project with a courtyard of a giant
Giant order
In Classical architecture, a giant order is an order whose columns or pilasters span two stories...
Composite order
Composite order
The composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order. The composite order volutes are larger, however, and the composite order also has echinus molding with egg-and-dart ornamentation between the volutes...
extremely close to that of the villa at Molina. Giuseppe’s death in 1580 put paid to the building works, which were never completed.
Sources
- Villa Porto (Molina) in the CISA website (source for the first revision of this article, with kind permission)
See also
- Palladian Villas of the VenetoPalladian Villas of the VenetoThe City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site protecting a cluster of works by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called "Vicenza, City of Palladio" and only buildings in the...
- Palazzo PortoPalazzo PortoPalazzo Porto is a palazzo built by Andrea Palladio in Contrà Porti, Vicenza, Italy. It is one of two palaces in the city designed by Palladio for members of the Porto family...