Exploring Veneto: A Bassano del Grappa Day Trip - A Palladio Villa

 Visit a 1560 Renaissance Delight by Palladio & Veronese

Palladio's Villa Maser (Villa Barbaro) from 1560. Veronese frescoes enhance the Piano Nobile.

Palladio's Villa Maser - also known as Villa Barbaro - is an easy 30 minute drive from Bassano del Grappa. It was designed and built by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1560, with frescos by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vittoria. The original owners were those name-droppers Daniele Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquileia and ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I of England and his brother Marcantonio, an ambassador to King Charles IX of France. The villa was added to the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1996.

The visitor can tour inside, visit most of the grounds and see some support buildings. The interior is enchanting for the creation of atmosphere through the use of light, proportion, and art - expressed over and over again as you move through the building. Palladio seldom involved himself with planning gardens but outside, amidst other beauties, there's a classical garden feature, a nymphaeum, an arching architectural structure framing a natural spring. We also enjoyed a wooded walk behind the main building to see an interesting collection of evocative old carriages - all the better to imagine the courtly past.

Workers' quarters on the grounds. Taken in May at Palladio's Villa Maser.

    

Visit Info

Visitable from April-October, Tues.- Sun. and with additional special openings through the year.

Villa Maser Official Site  Wikipedia: Villa Maser  Address: Villa di Maser, Via Cornuda 7, Maser TV 

Detailed Bassano del Grappa Travel Blog

Bassano del Grappa Accommodations

Bassano del Grappa Hotel al Castello  Our choice for both good walking access to the old center and easy parking.

Bassano del Grappa - Villa Stecchino  Highly rated for a relaxing stay about 2 miles from the old town.

Bassano del Grappa - Relais nel Castello  We stayed in this nice apartment in the old town. Parking is in a free lot about 300 meters away.

Bassano del Grappa Search All on Booking.com

To find different lodging, we suggest and we use Booking.com in Italy because of verified reviews, good search filters with maps,  and a large selection of hotels, apartments, B&B's, and agriturismi locations.

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