The River Brenta is a waterway which was made navigable to meet the needs of the Venetian aristocracy. These noble families then built their incredible country retreats along the banks of the river where they would spend their holidays.
One such villa is Villa Foscarini Rossi, a property dating from the 17th century, located just a few kilometres from the centre of Padua.
Villa Foscarini Rossi was built and decorated on the orders of the Foscarini family by some of the greatest architects and artists of the era, such as Vincenzo Scamozzi, Francesco Contino, Pietro Liberi and Domenico de Bruni.
The Foscarini family included a Captain General of the Sea and a Doge of the Venetian Republic and they wanted a Villa which immediately illustrated their importance. And the result definitely achieved this: the great hall of frescoes, decorated in 1652, will take any visitor’s breath away with its use of perspective; the façade of the Foresteria guest quarters features an imposing portico and the ovoid windows of the old granary.
If all of this was not enough, the villa also houses the Museum of Footwear which contains 1,350 examples of luxury female footwear produced by Rossimoda shoe factory between the 1960s and the present day for some of the biggest international brands.
Website
