Italian
Four weeks of music in the Venetian Villas among history, art, and contemporary suggestions
ASOLO (TV) – The first edition of Serenissime Dimore concluded with enthusiasm, a festival conceived and realized by Asolo Musica – Veneto Musica under the artistic direction of Vincenzo De Vivo. Throughout the month of October, it brought music back to the historic spaces of the Venetian Villas. Homes of work and beauty, where music has been a domestic practice and collective ritual for centuries, resonated once again thanks to the performances of around ninety Italian and international artists.
The festival, held over four weekends across the provinces of Vicenza, Padua, and Venice, took place in nine venues with fifteen concerts, reinterpreting the dialogue between music and architecture in a contemporary key. Frescoed halls, courtyards, and theaters of the villas welcomed sonatas, motets, madrigals, and sacred pieces, offering the audience fragments of a still vibrant musical history.
Among the most significant moments of the festival, the modern premiere of the oratorio Il Tobia by Josef Mysliveček at the Cathedral of Este, entrusted to the ensemble Oficina Musicum conducted by Riccardo Favero, with the narrating voice of Luca Scarlini. Composed for Padua in 1769 and remaining unpublished for over two centuries, the oratorio has represented a true act of musical rebirth, intertwining art, faith, and memory in a space of great identity value.
The program ranged from the Baroque repertoire to the 18th century, with events such as #soloMonteverdi at Villa Priuli Crisanti in Val Liona, the dialogue between East and West at the Teatro di Villa dei Leoni in Mira, the Italian Dances by the Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca at Villa Fracanzan Piovene in Orgiano, up to Villa Pojana in Pojana Maggiore with the Arco Amoroso Ensemble and at Villa San Fermo in Lonigo with the Ensemble dell’Arcimboldo. Five centuries of music intertwined with the history and architecture of Venetian residences, creating a unique cultural journey.
“This first edition of Serenissime Dimore has been complex and exciting – said Vincenzo De Vivo –. We have created a festival based on the research and rediscovery of repertoires related to musical life in the Venetian Villas. The support of the artists, the owners of the residences, the municipalities, the sponsors, and the public entities has been essential. We are already working on the 2026 edition, titled ‘Naples in Venice,’ which will continue the investigation into the relationships between the musical schools and the Venetian families.”
The festival was made possible with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Veneto Region, and the Municipality of Este, with the backing of Aermec, Hausbrandt Trieste 1892, and Luxottica, and under the patronage of the Regional Institute of Venetian Villas and the Municipalities of Este, Lonigo, Mira, Orgiano, Pojana Maggiore, Teolo, Val Liona, and Zugliano.
